Jesus said: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” John 14:13-14
If we add the phrase “In Jesus name” to the end of a prayer, is the Lord bound to give us whatever we ask for? This is a very interesting question, even for those who have known Jesus for quite some time. Is the name of Jesus a magical word that if added to a prayer, grants the petitioners their requests?
If you carefully examine the New Testament, you will see that none of the prayers in those scriptures have the phrase “In Jesus name” at the end of each prayer. What did Jesus mean when He asked us to use His name when we pray?
If you think about it, to come in the name of someone carries with it the idea that we are coming with the authority of that person, if they themselves were a person of some authority. When Peter spoke to the handicapped man in Acts 3:6 he told him “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” Peter understood that he was speaking to this man’s need based on the authority of the one who had sent him, Jesus, not on his own authority.
In Acts chapter 16 Paul had commanded the demonic spirit ‘In Jesus name’, to come out of the young girl who had the power to tell the fortunes of others. When she was set free from the former power of this demon, she no longer was able to predict, and the man who had profited from her was upset with Paul and dragged him before the Sanhedrin. The leaders of the Sanhedrin asked Paul “By whose authority did you do this?”. Paul explained to them that he had done this on Jesus’ authority, not his own.
In 1 Corinthians 5:4, Paul spoke to the church concerning a man who was found to be in a sexual relationship with his fathers wife. Paul told them “In Jesus name deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of Jesus Christ.”
A year later this man had repented of his sin and Paul encouraged the church at Corinth to welcome him back into the church. It was the authority of Jesus name that Paul used to make this command to the church.
So first of all, to “Pray in Jesus name” means to pray with his authorization or authority.
Secondly, whenever a person came “In the name of someone” during that period of time that Jesus was here, they were coming to represent all of that person’s character. If a man was spoken of to have “a good name as in Proverbs 22:1, it meant that they had a good reputation.
When we speak “in the name of Jesus” we should be thinking of all that Jesus is and what His entire character represents. Praying “In Jesus name” means that we are not only praying with His authority, but also in a way that is consistent with what His character represents.
How did Jesus live, what kinds of words did He use, how did He speak to people? The idea then to “Pray in Jesus name”, means to pray according to what His will would be in that given situation.
How can we know what Jesus’ will is in any given situation? We cannot unless we have spent time in the scriptures reading what Jesus said and how He reacted and ministered to people. Being able to properly pray in Jesus name requires that we first understand what Jesus name represents.
The danger in publicly adding Jesus name to every prayer is that it becomes a formula that those who hear us, begin to think must be added to their own prayers to get answers, without understanding what using Jesus name really means.
It is certainly right to add “In Jesus name” to every prayer, as long as we understand what it means to do so. Perhaps we could even explain to others why we add Jesus name to our prayers, so that when they also do this, they understand why it has been done.
We might begin our public prayers like this: “Father, we come to You in the authority of Jesus’ name, seeking to represent in this prayer, all that Jesus name means….”
Finally, it is important to remember that when we pray, we are talking to a person. A wonderful Savior who knows everything about us and everything that we need. He delights when we come to Him to ask anything from Him that represents something that He Himself would want to do for you or someone else we are asking a petition for.
It is not the repetition of the same prayer over and over that the Father seeks from us, but just that we would talk to Him as we would to any person whom we love and are in a loving relationship with.
Use the name of Jesus at the conclusion of your prayers, but more importantly, know the character and nature of Jesus so that when you pray in His name, you understand what His heart and desires are in that prayer in any given situation.
“In Jesus Name…”
Rob Robinson
