Texts: Heb. 10:19-25; John 16:23-28

Key Question: What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?

Intro

Nothing is more common among us as evangelical Christians than to hear us end our prayers with the phrase “in Jesus name, amen.” So, it is very important ask two questions. Where does that comes from? And, what does it mean?

It is very significant that in his last discourse with his disciples as recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord spoke six times in close succession about praying in my name (John 14:13, 14; 15:16; 16:23 – 27). That answers the question quickly about where we got the idea. So what does it mean? Certainly it must be much more than just a liturgical phrase, indicating that we are Christians as opposed to Buddhists or something else. So let’s explore the meaning of that phrase as we use it in prayer.

Because of relationship

In John chapter 16, we find a key answer to our questions about what it means to pray in the name of Jesus and why it is that we can expect answers to prayer when we pray in the name of Jesus. The question being answered in that text is: Who is it that can receive answers to prayer? The answer being given is that the promises were not to just anybody, but specifically to those in relationship with Jesus; to those who were his disciples. He explains the relationship, saying, “The Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (Jn 16:27 NIV).

An illustration of this is found in Acts chapter 19 in the story of the sons of Sceva. They try to get prayers answered; in this case casting out a demon; by invoking the name of Jesus (Acts 19:13-16). But, it did not work. The reason it did not work is because they had no relationship to Jesus.

This relationship with Jesus is based on believing in him; trusting the Bible record that he was who he said he was; and accepting that he came to forgive our own personal sins.

Jesus also spoke of this relationship in John 10. To the Jewish leaders he said, “You do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:26-30 NIV).

So praying in Jesus name is not about following the patterns of a religion. No, it is about being able to draw on a personal relationship with one’s own Savior. Consider also the relational words of Jesus found just a little later in John 14:12-14.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

In these words he reminds us that answers to prayer happen because of his relationship to his Father and our relationship to him. The only ones who can do those greater works are those who have faith, namely believers.

So we really cannot say, “in Jesus name” at the end of our prayers and expect to be effective in any way unless it reflects a genuine relationship between us and Jesus Christ; unless we are believers in him; sheep under the staff of the good shepherd; followers of the risen Christ!

“That is one of the many good things about believing in Jesus Christ, it puts us on praying ground, it puts us in the place where we may go to God in every time of need and get from him the very thing that we need and ask for” (The Power of Prayer by R. A. Torrey page 99).

According to his character.

To pray in the name of Christ, is to pray as one who is at one with Christ, whose mind is the mind of Christ, whose desires are the desires of Christ, and whose purpose is one with that of Christ (Samuel Chadwick, The Path of Prayer, page 52- quoted in Prayer Power Unlimited page 61)

This quote highlights the second aspect of praying in the name of Jesus. To pray in the name of Jesus in the highest sense, is to pray in accord with his character, congruent with his intentions in our world.

This concept is consistent with the fact that the Bible tells us that even as Christians, we do not really know how to pray as we ought. So we are given the Holy Spirit’s help to help us understand what God’s will is and how we should pray for different concerns. Ro 8:26-27 “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” NIV

Let’s illustrate it this way. Suppose you are second in charge at your company. The boss who is also the owner is away and you’re given a great deal of responsibility to operate the company in his absence. But the reason he gives you this responsibility is that he knows that you know how he will operate the company. He knows that you know what his purpose is and how he wants his organization to run. He knows that you will do things that he would do if he were there. So he gives you a great deal of authority. You are, in short, allowed to run the company in his name, because he is confident that you have the same kind of mindset about his company that he does.

That is exactly what it means for us to pray in the name of Jesus. The prayer offered in the name of Jesus, should be exactly the kind of prayer that Jesus would pray in that situation. In fact, it should be the prayer that Jesus is indeed praying in heaven for that person or that situation right now. (Ro 8:34 “Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.NIV) We are given the privilege of participating in that prayer and praying in his name here through the Holy Spirit’s help. We are participating in the work of God in Jesus name.

Made possible by his provision

The last thing we need to understand about praying in the name of Jesus is that when we pray, we can only pray because of the means that Jesus has created through which we can pray. The writer of Hebrews explains the possibility of prayer like this; Heb 10:19-23

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” NIV

The last part– those who have their hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience and their bodies washed with pure water– refers to relationship– our relationship to Jesus Christ. To have hearts sprinkled is an image from the Old Testament where in various liturgies either water or blood from sacrifices was sprinkled on the worshipers as a symbol of forgiveness and spiritual cleansing. They also were required to wash before worship. So here in Hebrews the Old Testament symbols are mentioned, but the reference is to forgiveness through Jesus Christ who shed his blood for us as our perfect sacrifice and in whose name we are baptized as a sign of the washing of our sins.

The first part of the quote from Hebrews, refers to the work that Jesus has accomplished in order to make it possible for us to pray. The picture that is used is the picture of the Old Testament Temple or we can think of the tabernacle in the desert. In both edifices, the center was the Holy of Holies. In this cubic room was the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred box in which was kept the 10 Commandments and over which the sacrifice of atonement was sprinkled once per year. This cubic room was only entered on the Day of Atonement by the high priest and that only happened once per year. This was also where God had chosen to display his presence.

Two things strike us about this picture. One is how limited the access to God was. All ordinary people were excluded from ever getting close to the presence of God. There was no way the ordinary worshiper could experience the inner sanctum of the Jewish Temple. The second thing that strikes us, is that a way had been made for there to be some access into the very presence of the holy God. If God is completely holy and we are not, then it is a blessing that there was access at all.

The book of Hebrews asks us to extend the OT picture and gives us a mental picture of a heavenly sanctuary, a heavenly Holy of Holies where God dwells, and then seeks to answer the obvious question. How do we obtain access to that heavenly sanctuary? Is there access to the heavenly sanctuary? Is it limited like in the Old Testament so that only a very special person like a high priest can even think about seeing the inside of this sanctuary in heaven? Hebrews answers that these questions by very effective use of the Old Testament picture. The book of Hebrews pictures Jesus as our High Priest. He is pictured as entering into the heavenly presence of God on our behalf. He takes with him a perfect sacrifice, not the blood of animals that must be repeatedly offered as in the Old Testament, but his own blood offered once for all for you and me. The picture here in Hebrews is that God has accepted that sacrifice and that it has opened the door so that the way into the holy of holies in heaven is open. Access for us is available and we can pray to God ourselves.

This possibility of entrance into the very presence of God was pictured on this earth when Jesus died on the cross. Think about the Jewish temple that existed at that time. It had a Holy of Holies too, though the presence of God was not dwelling there in the same way He had in the Old Testament. But the symbol was still there. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that when Jesus died the curtain (sometimes called the veil) that separated the area in front of the Holy of Holy in that Temple, the place where the priests were, from the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom. This indicated to us that from that time on access to God’s presence was no longer limited as it had been before. Peter completes the picture when he says that all of us have been made to be a kingdom of priests so we all now share the access that was opened on that day.

To pray in the name of Jesus, is to use the provision that Jesus has provided through his death on the cross. To pray in the name of Jesus is to be fully aware that we cannot come in our own merits; the access that we have to our heavenly Father has been bought and paid for by Jesus’ sacrifice. It is never because of our own merits that we can come.

Think again of the man who was second in command at his company. Suppose that during the time that the boss is away he needs to write a large check on behalf of the company. When he does so, does he do so on the basis of the funds in his own bank account? Of course not. He draws on the resources of the owner of the company. The bank has interest in his signature only as he represents the resources of the company. So it is with us. God desires to hear from his children. But when we pray in the name of Jesus it is not our resources upon which we can depend, is upon the provisions that Christ has made.

Sometimes we mistakenly pray like this “O Lord, I have done this for you and I have served you in this way and I have been righteous in this way and that way…” and then we list our petition. When we do this, we have to be very careful. Are we not trying to pray in our own name, banking on our own goodness, rather than on the goodness of Christ? We must all continue to remember that our righteousness is as filthy rags. It is the mercy and grace of Christ that answers prayer. It is in his name that we pray.