Did Jesus make great promises to us without adding conditions? This is important because Jesus clearly stated that “whoever” believes can ask for “whatever” they wish.
However, before claiming them, we must forgive anyone for anything. This appears to be the one qualification to the Lord’s carte blanche promise in Mark 11:23.
When the twin brothers James and John earlier approached Jesus and asked him to promise them a “whatsoever”, before replying, Jesus asked them what it was they wanted.
They said, “Grant to us that we may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your glory.” (Mark 10:37) “You have no idea as to what you are asking”, Jesus replied. He asked them if they could “drink from the cup” of bitterness that he was soon to drink from or were they prepared to be ‘baptized’ with the baptism of suffering that he was about to endure.
“We can!” the brothers assured him. They had no understanding of the meaning of his words. Jesus informed them that the only way to make it to the top would be to begin by serving others below.
Matthew 18:19 records Jesus saying, “If two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” The “anything” of Matthew 18:19 is the “whatsoever” of Mark 11:23. The promises are qualified only by doubt-free hearts, unity of agreement and harmony in asking.
The promises of God in Christ are indeed carte blanche and are ours without qualification on the part of God. Yet certain things in our lives can and do prevent the “whosoever” – you and I – from receiving the “whatsoever” – all the things that God has promised.
God has signed blank cheques that allow us to withdraw unlimited money from the Bank of Heaven, So, why then do we suffer from scarcities? I suggest the following possible reasons:
1. We are not shamelessly persistent in our asking and so think that people might think of us as presumptuous in approaching God so boldly. So, we request Him from a position of religious timidity. (Luke 11:9-13).
2. We allow doubt, which means “to make a difference”, to decide which requests are small and so are “easy” and which are “big asks” and so a bit too much to ask. Even though Jesus said that words spoken with God-given faith could move a mountain as easily as they could a fig tree (Mark 11:23).
3. We think that any two can ask for anything, but Jesus said the “two” who asked must be in agreement: in perfect harmony. (Matthew 18:19)
4. We ask but do not “abide”: live in close relationship to Jesus and this affects his wholesale “whatever” promise (John 15:7). Someone once wrote: “God does not have favorites, but He has intimates.”
5. We pray to Jesus instead of praying through Jesus to the Father, as our Lord clearly instructed (John 16:23, 24).
6. We refuse to forgive and then wonder why we are not forgiven (Mark 11:25-26). Note: These two verses end the popular Mountain Moving Whosoever/whatsoever promise by Jesus in Mark 11:20-24.
7. We ask in prayer but with wrong motives (James 4:3).
8. We pray through dark clouds of self-condemnation (John 3:21, 22).
9. We do not always pray in accord with God’s will (1 John 5:14-15).
Did Jesus make carte blanche promises? Absolutely! Do you make carte blanche promises to your children? I’m sure you do! Your loving care is there for them 24/7. Does their age, understanding or ability change your loving care for them in any way? I’m sure that it doesn’t.
But the age of your child determines what he or is able to handle, so if your eight-year-old son asked you to buy him a chainsaw, I doubt you would. The nine things listed above should not be seen as conditions or qualifiers of the Lord’s carte blanche promises to us; they are like the common-sense attitudes and actions we like to see in our children.
“Yes, Johnny, you can have an ice cream. No, Johnny, you cannot eat the whole tub!”
“Yes, Mary, you can ride your new bicycle on the street outside. No, Mary, you cannot ride it on the freeway in the peak-hour traffic!”
“What’s that, son? Instead of your usual allowance, you are asking me to sign a blank cheque? In your dreams!”
Are we smarter than God? I don’t think so. Carte blanche is not French for “stupid as”!