"Ask whatever you wish": Wrestling with John 15:7 in the wake of seemingly unanswered prayers

 

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 

John 15:7

Have you ever wrestled with a verse like this one? Perhaps you prayed for a miracle–healing over a loved one, restoration within a relationship, relief from pain–and instead of physical healing, you were left with disappointment. 

I felt this when Ethan died. After several years of unexplained infertility, we prayed for a child and praised God when I became pregnant. When I experienced bleeding in the first trimester, I prayed for God to protect my child and the bleeding stopped. When we received a life-limiting diagnosis at 20-weeks, we prayed for a miracle. God, in His goodness, did not heal Ethan’s physical body. He received an eternal healing, rather than a temporary physical one. 

But I wanted him here. I had prayed for it. I knew God could do it. 

So when I came across verses like this, I felt uncomfortable. Hadn’t I trusted God for healing? Hadn’t I asked for healing, for His glory? Were my prayers not enough?

If you are here, I see you. I also want to take your hand and tell you something very important–context matters. 

Every word in the Bible is true and included for a purpose—so how do we reconcile that with the pain of seemingly unanswered prayers? 

To understand Jesus’ words in John 15:7, we must look at the full context of the Last Supper conversation, which spans John 13–17. Jesus was preparing His disciples for His death, His departure, and their coming suffering. He spoke of betrayal, pruning, persecution, and the help of the Holy Spirit. 

In John 16:33, He assures them, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” This wasn’t a promise of ease, but of the hope that is found in Him. 

John 15:7 isn’t about reciting magic words to get whatever we want–it’s about bearing fruit. It’s about bringing glory to the Father. To paraphrase John 15:7, Jesus is basically saying, “I’m about to leave you and things may get tough, but abide in me. Rely on me and my Spirit in you. I will help you bear fruit. I will help you endure with hope. You can’t do it apart from me. Abide in me and I will give you what you need…I will give you fruit. And by this, my Father is glorified. This is how others will know you are my disciples.”

If you are wrestling today, I’d love to encourage you to (1) keep pressing in to God’s Word for answers. It can stand up to your toughest questions. And (2) to ask the Lord for help as you suffer. Ask for patience. Ask for joy. Ask that He would produce fruit in your life and use your grief to point others to Him. 

He promises us that He will grow that kind of spiritual fruit in our lives if we simply ask.