Will God give us all we ask?

Poster Gary M.on Randal Rauser's blog says:

"I never questioned the existence of a creator god. I question the existence of *your* god. Your god (allegedly) made the following statements which any six year old can see are clear statements that if a believer asks for ANYTHING, in faith, it will be done."[1] Of course his point is that this contradicts our experiences. We have all had unanswered prayers.Therefore, in his mind this means Jesus was wrong. Of course he can't follow a savior who was wrong.

Look at one verse:"I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18.19).

He has several such passages:

Matthew 18.19
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." New International Version (NIV)

Matthew 21:22
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Mark 11.24
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

John 14:13
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

John 16.23
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."

There are a couple of problems:

Matt 21 just before triumpal entry

Matt 21:1

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

Mark 11 is the same incient:

11:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

The context of the two passages in John are found as early as John chapter 13, (13:1) "It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."

We can't pin down the exact moment that he said each of these passages. But I think it's clear he did not say this five times. He may have said it twice. More likely once. It's repeated five times. Moreover it is also spoken to the Apostles about a specific point in time not all beleivers for all times.

We can see that it is to the Apostles because the last passage in John 16 is clearly to the Apotles speakg of the time of crucifixion and resurrection.First because they have sitiated the time around that of the last supper (see above). the passage in John 16 is cleary spoken to the apostles about their ministry after Jesus is gone.

[John 16]22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Since that is the same enstance as the others none of them are genral promses to all belivers. We have other promises of Jesus that God is caring for us (Matt 6:25-34).

Isaac Dagneau answers John 14:13, he argues that there are two qualifiers which rule out the notion that Jesus is saying God will absolutly answer any prayer,

Here’s how we know this: the emphasis of these verses is both the phrase, “in my name,” and “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” So, what we can understand Jesus as saying to his disciples (and what he still promises to us) is, “When you pray in my name and your prayer is for the Father’s glory in me, I will do it, whatever it is.” Firstly, we must know what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. Simply put, to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in accordance with God’s will (1 John 5:14-15). It’s to pray in an awareness of the truth of Jesus, the mission of Jesus, and the ultimate goal of Jesus. It’s also to pray in the authority of Jesus, since genuine believers have Jesus living in them (John 15:4-5) and “do the works that [Jesus does].” (14:12)[2]

Grant C. Richardson agrees Jesus is speakimg to the aposotles only.

The word “you” here is plural referring to the apostles in the upper room. Jesus changes from the third person plural (speaking to more than the apostles) to the second person (speaking to the eleven apostles). The future ministry of the apostles was to transition from the presence of Jesus to the promise of the Father and His resourcing their ministry in verses 13 and 14.

“Whatever” harks back to both the “works” and the “greater works” of the previous verse. The “whatever” does not guarantee that whatever whim a petitioner may ask will come his way. Jesus qualifies answer to prayer by the phrase “in My name,” in what is consistent with who Jesus is.....The thought of this verse is no blanket promise to give people whatever they want. Rather, the agreement has to do with fulfilling Jesus’ mission and the glory of the Father on earth. Using Jesus’ name as a formula is not the point. The idea is that our prayer is to accord with all that His name represents[3]

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Charles John Ellicott, renowned Bible Commentary, was one of the most outstanding conservative scholars of the 18th century, argued that there is an impllied condition that "whatever" you ask is in harmoany with God's Will: "(22) All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer.—Here again there is the implied condition (as in Matthew 7:7) that what is asked is in harmony with the laws and will of God. If it were not so it would not be asked in faith, and every true prayer involves the submission of what it asks to the divine judgment."[4]

Notes

[1]Gary M, comment on "a succinct Statememt of Atheist Self Defeat," Randal Ruoser the tentative apologist, Oct 11,2020,
https://randalrauser.com/2020/10/a-succinct-statement-of-atheist-self-defeat/#comment-5144218893

[2] Isaac Dagneau, "Jesus said what? a look at John 14:13=14,IndoubtJuly 18,2018
https://www.indoubt.com/articles/jesus-said-what-a-look-at-john-1413-14/#:~:text=In%20John%2014%3A13%2D14,and%20happiness%20in%20the%20world!

[3]Grant C. Richison, "John 1413,"Verse by verse commenary Mar 6, 2018 https://versebyversecommentary.com/2018/03/06/john-1413/

Dr. Richison has taught at William Tyndale College, Providence Theological Seminary, Northwest Baptist Seminary, International School of Theology, and Briercrest Graduate School.

[4]Charles John Ellicott.quoted in Bible Hub, "mattheww 21:22
" https://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/21-22.htm

Charles John Ellicott. Charles John Ellicott, compiler of and contributor to renowned Bible Commentary, was one of the most outstanding conservative scholars of the 18th century.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/21-22.htm