In a sermon titled, "Can We Get What We Want if We Pray in Christ's Name?", the late, great British preacher, Leslie Weatherhead, examines John 14:13, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." He says: "That sentence certainly sounds like what businessmen call 'a firm offer,' an explicit promise. If we are to bank on the 'promises of Holy Scripture,' then surely we can bank on that."

He adds a personal story: "I remember, as a boy of 15, banking on it. I wanted to pass an examination. I had had a religious upbringing. I read the words of our text carefully. They seemed too good to be true. But there they were, definite and apparently unambiguous. 'Whatsoever!' Surely matriculation could be included. You had only to add the magic formula 'in the name of Jesus,' and the thing was done!"

Weatherhead says, "I very badly wanted to pass that examination, and I had worked hard for it. So, on the night before it began, I reminded God that Christ had promised, in his sacred word, that whatsoever we asked in his name we should have. I failed! What was worse, though I didn't think so at the time, I lost a good deal of faith. It didn't seem fair. What is the good of scripture promises if they let you down just when you want them most? The lamp flickered that time. The light almost went out."