John 15:7

15:7 If you remain ¹  in me and my words remain ²  in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. ³ 

John 15:16

15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you ⁴  and appointed you to go and bear ⁵  fruit, fruit that remains, ⁶  so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

John 16:23

16:23 At that time ⁷  you will ask me nothing. I tell you the solemn truth, ⁸  whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ⁹ 

John 16:26

16:26 At that time ¹⁰  you will ask in my name, and I do not say ¹¹  that I will ask the Father on your behalf.

Matthew 7:7

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ¹²  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ¹³  will be opened for you.

Matthew 21:22

21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, ¹⁴  you will receive.”

Mark 11:24

11:24 For this reason I tell you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Luke 11:9

11:9 “So ¹⁵  I tell you: Ask, ¹⁶  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ¹⁷  will be opened for you.

Ephesians 3:20

3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us ¹⁸  is able to do far beyond ¹⁹  all that we ask or think,

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

James 5:16

5:16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. ²⁰ 

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ²¹  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 3:1

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ²²  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ²³ 

James 5:14

5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint ²⁴  him with oil in the name of the Lord.

[15:7]  ¹ tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ² tn Or “reside.”

[15:7]  ³ sn Once again Jesus promises the disciples ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. This recalls 14:13-14, where the disciples were promised that if they asked anything in Jesus’ name it would be done for them. The two thoughts are really quite similar, since here it is conditioned on the disciples’ remaining in Jesus and his words remaining in them. The first phrase relates to the genuineness of their relationship with Jesus. The second phrase relates to their obedience. When both of these qualifications are met, the disciples would in fact be asking in Jesus’ name and therefore according to his will.

[15:16]  ⁴ sn You did not choose me, but I chose you. If the disciples are now elevated in status from slaves to friends, they are friends who have been chosen by Jesus, rather than the opposite way round. Again this is true of all Christians, not just the twelve, and the theme that Christians are “chosen” by God appears frequently in other NT texts (e.g., Rom 8:33; Eph 1:4ff.; Col 3:12; and 1 Pet 2:4). Putting this together with the comments on 15:14 one may ask whether the author sees any special significance at all for the twelve. Jesus said in John 6:70 and 13:18 that he chose them, and 15:27 makes clear that Jesus in the immediate context is addressing those who have been with him from the beginning. In the Fourth Gospel the twelve, as the most intimate and most committed followers of Jesus, are presented as the models for all Christians, both in terms of their election and in terms of their mission.

[15:16]  ⁵ tn Or “and yield.”

[15:16]  ⁶ sn The purpose for which the disciples were appointed (“commissioned”) is to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains. The introduction of the idea of “going” at this point suggests that the fruit is something more than just character qualities in the disciples’ own lives, but rather involves fruit in the lives of others, i.e., Christian converts. There is a mission involved (cf. John 4:36). The idea that their fruit is permanent, however, relates back to vv. 7-8, as does the reference to asking the Father in Jesus’ name. It appears that as the imagery of the vine and the branches develops, the “fruit” which the branches produce shifts in emphasis from qualities in the disciples’ own lives in John 15:2, 4, 5 to the idea of a mission which affects the lives of others in John 15:16. The point of transition would be the reference to fruit in 15:8.

[16:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “And in that day.”

[16:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[16:23]  ⁹ sn This statement is also found in John 15:16.

[16:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “In that day.”

[16:26]  ¹¹ tn Grk “I do not say to you.”

[7:7]  ¹² sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[7:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

[21:22]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “believing”; the participle here is conditional.

[11:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

[11:9]  ¹⁶ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[11:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:20]  ¹⁸ sn On the power that is working within us see 1:19-20.

[3:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “infinitely beyond,” “far more abundantly than.”

[5:16]  ²⁰ tn Or “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful”; Grk “is very powerful in its working.”

[5:1]  ²¹ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[3:1]  ²² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ²³ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[5:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “anointing.”