In Jesus Name

Prayer is our major means of communicating with God. It’s through prayer that the nonbeliever finds forgiveness of sins and the believer communes with his Savior. “What is the purpose of prayer?” The purpose of prayer is first of all, to glorify God; and secondly, to enjoy Him or to enjoy seeing His answers to our prayers. We find these two thoughts given to us in John 14 and 16. In John 14:13, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” And in John 16:24: “Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full.” From these two passages of Scripture, we find the two basic purposes of prayer: one, that God might be glorified; and two, that our joy might be full.

I think that most of us would have to label our prayer life as, “Prayer: Asking and Hoping” because that’s basically the way many of us approach prayer. We wish something. And we would like for God to do something, therefore, we send up a prayer, and we think, "I’ll send up this prayer and see what God will do."

The Bible does not suggest nor approach prayer this way. Scripture approaches prayer from the assumption that it is meant to be answered, not merely hoped for. For example, Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do.” That is one huge promise. But in order to experience this kind of a prayer life, it is important that we know some basics concerning prayer.

We must pray to God in Jesus’ name because this is the only way God has approved for us to approach Him. Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus also told his faithful apostles: “Most truly I say to you, If you ask the Father for anything he will give it to you in my name.”—John 16:23.

In the name Jesus Christ, there is abundant power. However, calling upon Him in prayer is not a magic charm to get what we want. Rather, it is a signal that we are laying down our personal desires and in so doing, we commit to follow God and bring honor to Him, and deepen our intimacy with Jesus.”

We need to understand the phrase, “in the name of.” This phrase, of course, is not limited to religious speech. It is part of the English language. If someone said, "In the name of king Henry the 8th, I hereby declare the following...." what would that mean? It means whatever was to be said next was to be taken literally as if King Henry was standing there himself and saying it. “...in the name of..” carries its typical meaning of “by the authority of.”

This unlocks for us the meaning of asking in the name of Jesus. If we ask for something in Jesus’ name, we are simply saying “This request expresses not only my wishes, but Jesus’ wishes, too. It reflects his will, his interests, his character, and his authority. I am not just asking for this myself; I am asking on behalf of Jesus.” In asking in the name of Jesus, then, we are joining our will with his.

Prayer certainly is a beautiful and undeserved privilege. What an honor it is to come to God, Almighty God, at any time and in any place, bringing our petitions to him. But let us beware of asking “wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” Let us pray in a way that acknowledges Christ’s intercession on our behalf and our union with him, and that humbly aligns our prayers to his will and character.

Always remember, we are ambassadors of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20) When an ambassador goes to another country, he does not go in his own name. He goes in the name of his own government, of his president, or his prime minister, or his king. He is a representative. When we come before God the Father, we’re not only coming in the merit of Christ, but we’re coming in His behalf. That is, we are to ask for things that will further His Kingdom.