PRAYING IN THE NAME OF JESUS

-- { John 14:13-14 }  ¹³ I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.  -- NRSV

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

Prayer is serious business.  We continue our 2005 theme of “Turn On The Light” with our series on “How To Pray.”  We have looked at “Praying With The Right Motive” – that is, praying to sincerely commune with God, in a quiet place where you can know His presence and know that in His wisdom you will be blessed as He sees best.

Also we looked at “Praying With Perseverance” – that is, putting your whole heart into your prayers, knowing God loves you and will hear you, trying to pray in His will, knowing that the answer will come in God’s timing, having faith to continue to pray and thanking Him for His ever-loving care.  

What we are going to look at today is one of the most blessed promises in all of the Bible.  It is a promise to the follower of Jesus – you and me.  It is a promise we must grab hold of with all our being.

Today we focus on “Praying In The Name Of Jesus.”  Our text is a couple of verses from John 14:13-14, "Jesus said to His disciples, '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.'”

We note three things here.

First, prayers heard and answered are those asked “in Jesus’ name.”  One can go so far as to say “only” those prayers heard and answered are those asked “in Jesus’ name” but I don’t like to put God into a box.  I will explain.

It means two things to pray in Jesus’ name.

1. The believer in Jesus prays – approaches God - knowing that God hears because Jesus is acceptable to God.  According to the Bible:

1. The only Mediator between God and humankind is Jesus.  

2. The only Intercessor before God on our behalf is Jesus – asking God the Father to accept and forgive us.

3. The only Person, the only name that is perfect enough to approach God is Jesus.  Therefore, Jesus enables us to get into the Heavenly Father’s presence.  

It is like sending a letter “In Care Of.”  Our prayers are sent to our Heavenly Father, “in the care of Jesus.”  Jesus is the address that enables our prayers to reach God our Father.

2. The believer in Jesus seeks to glorify the name of Jesus only.  No one else should be put on the same level as Jesus.  No saint, no one.  When you pray “in Jesus’ name” you ask only those things that will…

1. honor His name.

2. praise His name.

3. bring glory to His name.

4. lead to His name being lifted up.

Jesus says in John 16:23-24, “In that day you will no longer ask me anything.  I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

This is a very key and critical Scripture.  What does it say?  It says that the disciples had been praying but to whom?  Probably directly to God the Father or to Jesus.  Prayer has existed in the world from its beginning.  Has God heard those prayers?  Of course.  Were they pleasing to God or effective?  God only knows.  But now we are given direct instruction on how to make prayer contact with God our Father.  It is through our faith in Jesus.  

Humankind has struggled to understand their Creator God and sought to communicate with Him.  I am not going to say all their effort has been fruitless but we do now have a guaranteed way to approach our Heavenly Father and be heard – through Jesus.  As John says in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.'”  I think we can apply that to prayer.

Second, why Jesus answers the prayers of the believer. Notice that His purpose in answering our prayers, and the only purpose for which He prayed when on this earth was to glorify the Father. When our prayers are answered the Father and Jesus get all the glory. When you pray and receive answers to your prayers...

1. your attention is upon both the Father and the Son.

2. your praise and thanksgiving are given to both the Father and the Son.

3. your loyalty is to both the Father and the Son.

Paul says in Colossians 1:12-14, “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.  In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

The writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:15, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.”

Third, the believer is to pray to Jesus as well as to the Father.  Jesus said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

You have heard the statement?  “There is power in prayer.”  Do you believe that?  Why?  There is no power in prayer.  Prayer is simply communication.  But there is power in the One to whom we pray?  Understanding this is critical.  It is what Jesus is saying here.

Notice Jesus’ claim here?  He is claiming to be God!  He is claiming to have…

1. the wisdom and knowledge

2. the power and ability

3. the love and care

4. the desire and willingness to do anything.

Now that is a phenomenal claim.  Yet He can back it up because He is the Son of God.  

Consider prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, the saints or angels.  Do they have the attributes of God to be able to answer prayers or even bring them into the presence of God?  Do they have the ability to handle millions of prayers a second?  If you think about it for a moment, I think you will come to the conclusion that you would rather have Jesus.  But, hey, you can pray to anyone and try to pray through anyone.  It is up to you.  I prefer Jesus.

Now to the real question on your mind.  “Pastor, I have prayed a lot of prayers without ending in Jesus’ name.  Were all those prayers a waste?”  Honestly, I don’t know.  Maybe.  Probably not.  But why did you pray them without Jesus?  Why would you want to pray in any other way?  As a follower of Jesus you have been given the greatest access to your Heavenly Father ever, why pass it up?

When I attended the Clergy Day at Wright Patterson Air Force Base last week I was interested in how the chaplains exercised their faith.  I expected a generic type of chaplain so when one of the chaplains prayed before we had a snack I listened carefully.  Would he end “in Jesus’ name” or not.  He ended “in Jesus’ name.”  I was impressed.  I know some pastors who don’t have the guts to even do that in a mixed crowd.  And I learned that Air Force chaplains are not asked to compromise their faith.

If you pray silently or out loud and don’t end “in Jesus’ name” what are you saying.  Maybe you are saying, “Well, God the Father should take it for granted that I am praying ‘in Jesus’ name.’”  Or “God knows my heart and that I am praying in the spirit of Jesus.”  Ok, but if you are praying out loud it doesn’t leave much of a witness if Jesus is left off.  I have learned that God doesn’t take faith for granted.  He expects it to be expressed and witnessed too.  So if you are not ending your prayers “in Jesus’ name”, please reconsider.  Maybe this verse will help.

Jesus said something recorded in Matthew10:32 that you may want to think about, “Whoever acknowledges me before men.  I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”  Personally, if I were to pray and not end “in Jesus’ name” I would feel that I had disowned or denied my Savior.

So what is the bottom line of a Christian’s prayer?

I encourage you to follow this simple formula for your prayers:  

“Heavenly Father,…  
(insert your personal information of praise, 
confession, thanksgiving and petition) 
  …in Jesus’ name.  Amen.”

If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus that makes you comfortable in using His name in prayer, pick up one of the “Why Jesus?” booklets in the Narthex or talk to me.