Read Verses: John 14:9-14
key Verse: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
When you end your prayer, how do you end it? If you are like most Christians you say the words "In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen." Or you say something very similar. It's what we've been taught, when you pray, you pray in "HIS NAME". We fulfill that by saying "in the name of Jesus". But I am wondering if we aren't being a little too...literal when we do that? Even sometimes the AMEN can be a bit on the superstitious side of things. But...but....that's the way its supposed to be done. Again again with the formulas...its one way it can be done, not necessarily the only way. It's not like a stamp on the envelope...the letter is all written and ready for the mailbox...but it needs a stamp to make sure it gets there. Do you really think your prayer won't be heard, or it will be ignored if you don't say "in Jesus name?" Truly?
Ask yourself these questions.....
1. Is this three-word traditional prayer conclusion really what our Lord had in mind when He told His disciples to ask and pray "in My name"?
2. If it is not what he meant, do we honor him by saying "In Jesus Name?" Or have we just entered into a type of religious superstition?
3. If this was not His intention, what do we need to do in order to fulfill the "In my name" clause?
John 14:13-14 – "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
John 15:16 – "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
John 16:23-24 – "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
I deal with these verses all the time...people say "Jesus said to ask ANYTHING in his name and he would answer it." And so, off they go and some silly selfish prayers emerge. Will Jesus really do ANYTHING we ask if we slap the "in Jesus name" sticker on it? Just put these three words at the end of your prayer and abra cadabra...VOILA...answered prayer? No questions asked? And, is it true that speaking these three words represents the spiritual fruit of being chosen by Him? Oh, and will tacking these three words onto the end of our prayer guarantee joy? Then there’s this catch...it always has to glorify the Father. This gets pretty confusing, maybe even restrictive.
We might have to go to other verses in the Bible to explain the phrase "in his name." This is always a good thing to do, especially when there seems to be confusion around a verse or two it is used in. Remember, confusion if from the enemy...where there is confusion there certainly are lies present and misunderstanding...To understand His intention, it is helpful to discover that the New Testament speaks of doing other things in His name. For instance:
In Matthew 18:2 Jesus speaks of being gathered “in My name”.
In Mark 9:37 He said to receive a child “in My name”.
In Mark 9:41 He speaks of giving a cup of cold water “in My name”.
John 1:12 says that we become children of God when we believe “in His name”.
John 20:31 says that by believing we “have life in His name”.
Let me ask some more questions...when you start church do you say "This morning, welcome to Fellowship Church...we meet today IN THE NAME OF JESUS?" The last time you helped someone in need...did you say "I am giving you this quarter to help you buy a coffee, but you probably buy beer, IN JESUS NAME? I don't think so. The use of "in his name" means so much more than just a few words.
In both the Old and New Testaments, to do something in the “name” of God, or another person, was to do it in compliance with that person’s character. It meant to do something just as that person would do it, and in a way that honors the reputation of that person. It was to be an agent of that person's character saying and doing and being EXACTLY what the person who sent you would say and do and be.
So, what do you suppose Jesus had in mind when He told us to pray “in His name”? He really meant that we should pray in compliance with His character, praying just as He would pray, and in order to honor His reputation and purposes in this world. So how can we do that more effectively? Well, when we pray...pray from a desire to be more like Christ. This is the end purpose of all prayer, we want to exude Christ's Character. When people hear us pray they should have a sense that this is the kind of prayer Jesus would pray....or Paul....Or Peter....Or Moses....Or Elijah. It is a prayer that comes to the Father and speaks from the heart regarding the Will of the Father. Do we need to end the prayer "in Jesus name?" No, not really...but you can, nothing wrong with it. I am used to doing it from years of practice...but don't use phrases and words without understanding...or not for long. Such traditions without purpose is what got the pharisees into trouble in the first place.
Holy Spirit, fill us with the Character of Christ. Change us, change our hearts, or desires, make us truly one with the Father in unity and purpose. And teach us to pray, not with flowery words and pretty phrases, but words filled with your power and compassion, words filled with a knowledge of the Fathers heart and purpose. Make our every thought be yours, make our every movement be in step with You. Transform our lives so our prayers will truly be in the "name of Jesus." In honor of your purpose for me...AMEN
key Verse: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
When you end your prayer, how do you end it? If you are like most Christians you say the words "In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen." Or you say something very similar. It's what we've been taught, when you pray, you pray in "HIS NAME". We fulfill that by saying "in the name of Jesus". But I am wondering if we aren't being a little too...literal when we do that? Even sometimes the AMEN can be a bit on the superstitious side of things. But...but....that's the way its supposed to be done. Again again with the formulas...its one way it can be done, not necessarily the only way. It's not like a stamp on the envelope...the letter is all written and ready for the mailbox...but it needs a stamp to make sure it gets there. Do you really think your prayer won't be heard, or it will be ignored if you don't say "in Jesus name?" Truly?
Ask yourself these questions.....
1. Is this three-word traditional prayer conclusion really what our Lord had in mind when He told His disciples to ask and pray "in My name"?
2. If it is not what he meant, do we honor him by saying "In Jesus Name?" Or have we just entered into a type of religious superstition?
3. If this was not His intention, what do we need to do in order to fulfill the "In my name" clause?
John 14:13-14 – "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."
John 15:16 – "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."
John 16:23-24 – "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
I deal with these verses all the time...people say "Jesus said to ask ANYTHING in his name and he would answer it." And so, off they go and some silly selfish prayers emerge. Will Jesus really do ANYTHING we ask if we slap the "in Jesus name" sticker on it? Just put these three words at the end of your prayer and abra cadabra...VOILA...answered prayer? No questions asked? And, is it true that speaking these three words represents the spiritual fruit of being chosen by Him? Oh, and will tacking these three words onto the end of our prayer guarantee joy? Then there’s this catch...it always has to glorify the Father. This gets pretty confusing, maybe even restrictive.
We might have to go to other verses in the Bible to explain the phrase "in his name." This is always a good thing to do, especially when there seems to be confusion around a verse or two it is used in. Remember, confusion if from the enemy...where there is confusion there certainly are lies present and misunderstanding...To understand His intention, it is helpful to discover that the New Testament speaks of doing other things in His name. For instance:
In Matthew 18:2 Jesus speaks of being gathered “in My name”.
In Mark 9:37 He said to receive a child “in My name”.
In Mark 9:41 He speaks of giving a cup of cold water “in My name”.
John 1:12 says that we become children of God when we believe “in His name”.
John 20:31 says that by believing we “have life in His name”.
Let me ask some more questions...when you start church do you say "This morning, welcome to Fellowship Church...we meet today IN THE NAME OF JESUS?" The last time you helped someone in need...did you say "I am giving you this quarter to help you buy a coffee, but you probably buy beer, IN JESUS NAME? I don't think so. The use of "in his name" means so much more than just a few words.
In both the Old and New Testaments, to do something in the “name” of God, or another person, was to do it in compliance with that person’s character. It meant to do something just as that person would do it, and in a way that honors the reputation of that person. It was to be an agent of that person's character saying and doing and being EXACTLY what the person who sent you would say and do and be.
So, what do you suppose Jesus had in mind when He told us to pray “in His name”? He really meant that we should pray in compliance with His character, praying just as He would pray, and in order to honor His reputation and purposes in this world. So how can we do that more effectively? Well, when we pray...pray from a desire to be more like Christ. This is the end purpose of all prayer, we want to exude Christ's Character. When people hear us pray they should have a sense that this is the kind of prayer Jesus would pray....or Paul....Or Peter....Or Moses....Or Elijah. It is a prayer that comes to the Father and speaks from the heart regarding the Will of the Father. Do we need to end the prayer "in Jesus name?" No, not really...but you can, nothing wrong with it. I am used to doing it from years of practice...but don't use phrases and words without understanding...or not for long. Such traditions without purpose is what got the pharisees into trouble in the first place.
Holy Spirit, fill us with the Character of Christ. Change us, change our hearts, or desires, make us truly one with the Father in unity and purpose. And teach us to pray, not with flowery words and pretty phrases, but words filled with your power and compassion, words filled with a knowledge of the Fathers heart and purpose. Make our every thought be yours, make our every movement be in step with You. Transform our lives so our prayers will truly be in the "name of Jesus." In honor of your purpose for me...AMEN
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