Scripture: Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of Him.
“What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Observation: You have to give the Zebedee boys’ mother credit. She was not afraid to ask Jesus for what she wanted. Sometimes we censor our prayers and limit ourselves to what we deem appropriate. She is not shy about asking for the stars.
On the one hand, there is something to be said for self-awareness in our praying. As has been pointed out, asking in His name entails asking for what Jesus would attach His name to. Clearly, there are some things that would align with the name of Jesus and others that would not.
At the same time, this exchange offers us an important perspective on prayer.
The Zebedee boys’ mother is clear and direct in answering Jesus’ question, “What is it you want?” She replies, essentially, “Give my two boys the positions of greatest honor in your kingdom.” No holding back, huh?
Jesus’ response comes across as unexpected to me. Rather than rebuke, He challenges Rather than dismiss, He engages. Everything is an opportunity for Him to teach and for them to learn. And His words from 2000 years ago could have been delivered to me last week: “You don’t know what you are asking.”
What I must wonder is how many of my prayer requests are so tame as to more or less know what I’m asking. It’s doubtful that I’m presenting enough petitions in which I “don’t know what [I am} asking.” I could stand to make more of them.
Here’s why. Jesus doesn’t sweat the fact that her request is outside of His purview at that time, being something that the Father alone already has plans for. Instead He simply explains the situation and moves forward. Jesus is big enough for our big requests. If they don’t match His sovereign plans, so be it. He’ll simply say “no,” “not yet,” or here, “not my call.”
What confidence this should give us to pray boldly and swing for the fences. If we’re unsure about alignment, just ask anyway. He’ll either grant it or He won’t. But we’ll never know what bold prayer He’ll answer unless we ask.
Application:
If you trusted His response and didn’t hold back, what would you ask Jesus for?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me to pray boldly, never timidly, and to trust you with whatever answer you give. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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Helpful, thank you.