And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14
What does it mean to ask in the name of Jesus? Does it mean that we should tack, “In Jesus Name” onto the end of all our prayers? Possibly! I have heard others explain that it really means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. That sounds like a reasonable explanation and it’s probably true, as far as it goes. But I believe that there is more to it than that. Look what it says in 1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us and if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
John 14 tells us to ask in the name of Jesus and 1 John 5 tells us to ask according to his will, is this a caveat or a contradiction? I think that is neither.
Who is the only one who knows the will of the Father? Matthew 11:27 tells us:
All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
If Jesus is the only one who knows the Father, doesn’t it follow that He is the only one who can pray according to God’s will? But what about the name of Jesus? What if we were to take onto ourselves the name of Jesus like a bride takes on the name of her husband? I know, it’s a rhetorical question! So, what is it to pray?
Prayer is to put on, as if a garment, the holiness, righteousness, worthiness; yes, the very name of Christ and appear in them before God the Father on the behalf of Jesus. It is Jesus praying through us, as us, on the behalf of ourselves and others.
I am still rolling this idea around in my pea brain. I will continue to pray about it as well. If you happen by, feel free to give me some feedback.
2 comments:
I think my thinking is along the same line as yours. I don't think saying "in Jesus' name" is 'wrong,' so to speak, but I do think that "in His name" is more about what you said here in your next to last paragraph. It's not so much saying the name, as it is walking in the life of Jesus.
When someone gives a gift "in the name of" a certain person, it's not that they go around saying that person's name, but it's more that the gift is in honor of that person. I think that's more along the lines of what "in His name" means. My thinking is that it's a prayer, and in fact an entire life, that is submersed "in the name" of Jesus.
I agree with what has already been said. We come before the Father on the merit and virtue of His Son and that is a way of verbally expressing that.
I am so glad that Christ intercedes for us! I am sure that there is so much that I pray according to my will. I think about this alot. Things don't always turn out like I am asking in prayer and guess what? thats a good thing for me!
pennstatefan
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