Have you ever wondered what it means to pray in the name of Jesus? After all, didn’t Jesus say that whatever we ask in His name, he would do? (John 14:13)
In fact, he even told the disciples that while they hadn’t yet prayed in his name, a time was coming (after his resurrection) when they would be able to do just that.
“Ask,” he told them, “and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.”
What Jesus was saying and what was he not saying? And do these principles apply to us or just the disciples?
What Jesus Was Not Saying About Praying in His Name
Jesus was not giving us the open-sesame command to make God-in-a-bottle deliver our personal wishes for our own pleasure.
That kind of prayer would be not even be in our best interest. We would have a tendency to ask for stuff that we’re betting would make us happy but which would often do more harm than good.
Even more importantly, that kind of prayer would turn us away from God and toward things God provides for us. As a result, we would never learn how to value God above everything else in our lives. We would never become better at loving and caring for others. We would never trust in God’s strength and not ours. We would never understand God’s peace that is beyond human understanding and God’s love that transcends the deepest hurts.
What Jesus Was Saying About Praying in His Name
Because names don’t have the same significance today as they did at the time Jesus walked the earth, we might miss the point here.
To pray in Jesus’ name is to represent him, to stand for or against everything Jesus stands for or against. Whatever Jesus loves, you love. Whatever Jesus wants, you want. You’re essentially a mini-Jesus, which is what the word Christian actually means (little anointed ones).
What comes to mind for me is the time that I tried to cancel our account at a cable TV company, only to find out that because my husband’s name was on the account, he had to get on the phone and give permission for me to talk to them. Basically, he had to authorize me to act on his behalf.
Likewise, Jesus authorizes us act in his behalf, to pray in his name. What a tremendous opportunity but also responsibility! To pray in Jesus’ name means that we are representing him to the Father—so we should have a good idea what Jesus himself would pray.
Who, Then, Can Pray in Jesus’ Name?
I can. So can you. We’re able to pray to the father thorough his son because Jesus opened heaven’s door. In fact, it’s only through Jesus that we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place: “By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God” (Hebrews 10:20-22 NLT).
Any follower of Jesus can and should pray in Jesus’ name. But we should also be prepared to know how to do so, as Jesus told his disciples:
“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!” (John 14:23-24, MSG).
There is power in the name of Jesus–not the God-in-a-bottle kind of power, but instead the power of the one who loves you absolutely and completely as the bread of life; light of the world, the way, truth, and life; the gate; the good shepherd, the true vine; and the resurrection and the life, as illustrated in this video:
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