In Jesus Name

Introduction- John 14:13-14 , John 15:16, John 16:23-24

Tonight I want to revisit a few verse from our study through the final conversation which Jesus had with His disciples prior to His betrayal.

I want us to take a closer look at a key phrase that is found multiple times throughout these few chapters.

It is a familiar phrase that I am sure the vast majority of us have used hundreds or even thousands of times, but I am afraid that if you are like me you have failed to see the true significance of the phrase.

The phrase I am speaking of tonight is “in Jesus name.”

How many of us end each of our prayers with some form of this familiar phrase?

Yet I wonder do we really understand what it means to pray “in Jesus name.”

If you are like me when you read the passages that we have read tonight the first thought that comes into your mind is “What’s the catch?”

Jesus seems to clearly indicate in all three of these passages that we can ask for anything in His name and expect to receive it.

Tonight I want to deliver the message in a unique way by asking some thought provoking questions that will hopefully help us to begin grasp the significance of praying “in Jesus name.”

Should this be our experience of was Jesus speaking only to the eleven original disciples?

These eleven men were really no different than you and I. They were men who had a sincere faith in Jesus and a heartfelt desire to follow Him.

They were not men of extraordinary faith, they were not men with some special relationship to God that you and I cannot have.

If this were only relevant to these original disciples there would be no application to you and I today.

It seems obvious from the scriptures that these men were to serve as somewhat of a pattern for how Jesus would operate in the lives of future disciples.

Has this been our experience?

I will be the first to admit that far more often than I would like to admit I have prayed “in Jesus name” and I have not received the thing that I have for.

I would venture to guess that the same is true tonight for many of you. You have prayed and closed your prayer “in Jesus name Amen” and yet you wonder why it seems that God does not answer and you do not receive the things for which you asked.

Why is this so often not our experience?

It would seem that something is wrong if we insist that this should be our experience, but we admit that it rarely is our experience.

The prayer life of many believers is marked by much asking and not receiving and the exception is when we ask and we do receive what we have asked for.

So what is the problem? One thing is for sure, the problem is not God’s inability or His unwillingness to answer prayer.

This leaves only one logical answer, the problem lies with us.

In order to understand what the problem is we must carefully consider what it actually means to pray in Jesus name.

If we would be honest, most of us close our prayers “in JESUS name” out of mere habit and we really have given no serious thought to the phrase.

So what does it really mean to pray in Jesus name?

Praying in Jesus name means that we are praying on His authority. This means that what we are asking for is first of all in accordance with His character and nature.

Illustration- telling siblings to do something in mother’s name.

It also means that we are confident that we are praying according to His will.

What we are essentially saying when we pray “in Jesus name” is “Lord Jesus if you were physically here right now I believe that this is what you would want”

Could it be that we often do not receive the things that we ask for because we are merely attaching Jesus name to the things that we desire and not what He desires?

James 4:3 KJV 1900

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

One important test for all our praying is our motivation. Jesus was constantly motivated by a desire to glorify the Father (Vs. 13) and this should be the primary motive that undergirds all our praying.

The final question is:

How can this be our ordinary experience in praying?

Acts 3:6–7 KJV 1900

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.

Acts 16:18 KJV 1900

And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Acts 19:13 KJV 1900

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if unanswered prayer was the exception and not the rule? I am convinced that this can be our experience if we will take seriously our asking in Jesus name.

If we are to be able to truly pray “in Jesus name” we must deepen and strengthen our relationship with Him and by this we will come to know His heart.

Psalm 37:4 KJV 1900

Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

It should be our ambition that what Jesus wants would become what we want and that what we desire is what He desires.

When this is the case, we can pray “in Jesus name” with confidence that we will receive the answer as He has promised us.

If we are unsure what His will is (and this may at times be the case) we ought to seek His face and we ought to pray that He would reveal to us His will that we may know what we should pray for as we ought.

Romans 8:26 KJV 1900

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Conclusion

I hope tonight that praying “in Jesus name” has taken on new meaning in your mind.

May it be that we would begin to really consider what it means to pray in His name that we might have the joy of seeing prayers answered as we receive that which we ask for.

If our relationship with Jesus is not what it should be, is it any wonder that many of our prayers go unanswered?

May we draw ever closer to Christ that our desires may be His desires.