What does it mean to pray “In Jesus’ name”?
I remember when I was younger, I used to finish off prayers with a hasty "Jesus' name, amen". It didn't even register in my mind what those words actually meant. It was just the postscript, the Prayer Finisher. These were the words that let everyone else know you were finished praying. How ignorant I was! Thank God that by His far-reaching mercy, He even hears the prayers of the weak and the foolish.
I think praying in Jesus' name means acknowledging that we have no self-grown merit before God; but we trust in the promises and sacrifice of Jesus, so we have the confidence
to come before the throne of God our Father. This confidence is based solely on what Christ has done
for us, and the righteousness He has attributed to us. To pray in the name of the Saviour means remembering how we are even praying to the glorious, holy God in the first place.
If we pray in Jesus’ name, we must pray for what He would pray for. He will not be our representative in praying for sinful, selfish things. To pray in Jesus' name means to pray for His will to be done, for His Word to be spoken, and for His character to be shown rather than our own. Asking according to His will means praying within the bounds of what He has revealed His will to be. To pray like that means we must be representatives of Jesus' requests. When I pray in Jesus' name, when I say those words, they remind me that my whole life is submitted to the will of my Saviour and Lord. I do not always understand what He is doing in my life, but I know that I can trust Him, and that He will keep me, and that no one can snatch me out of His hand.
To pray the way Jesus would pray means praising God for His holiness. He is perfect, He is light and in Him is no darkness at all. This means that He will never do anything evil or wrong. Because He is good, we can trust that what He orchestrates for our lives is good.
It means praying that God would grow and strengthen His kingdom. It means praying for the souls of men, all the while knowing it is God Who moves hearts and awakens souls.
It means praying God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven - that is, God's will being perfectly experienced, eliciting the praise God deserves for His perfect mercy. We will not experience God's will perfectly until Christ returns, for we are still debilitated by sin. Yet this prayer asks, "amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" This prayer looks forward in hope to the Lord's return, and lives in the light of that promise.
It means praying that God would provide, recognizing that it is God Who provides your daily needs, whether bread, or life and breath and everything.
It means seeking forgiveness from God, and living in the light of the forgiveness found in Christ by expressing forgiveness to those who have wronged you.
It means asking the Lord to keep you from temptation, acknowledging that He has the power to deliver us from evil. It means knowing that God will not let us suffer anything beyond our endurance (1 Corinthians 10:13).
It means declaring God to be the Sovereign Lord, the Owner and Ruler of the kingdom, the Possessor of omnipotent power...and all glory belongs to Him exclusively. The Lord in Whose name we pray is able to hear and to answer our prayers. The Lord in Whose name we pray intercedes for us Himself before the Father. We can trust Him. We can seek Him. We can ask Him.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:14-15)
You know, I have thought the same thing sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIt's the way I've always ended my prayers, but need to think about the deeper meaning.
Sometimes after I have prayed, knowing full well it was done out of selfishness, I have not ended the prayer by invoking Christ's name - rather using a simple "Amen" - as a means of avoiding embarrassment (ever been embarrassed of yourself, to yourself? I have...)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, true prayer is rare. Most prayers are too long-winded.
Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Only by Jesus' name are we even heard by our Holy Perfect God. If it weren't for Jesus, my feeble prayers would not be noticed, nor acknowledged. Praise The Lord that Christ reconciled His people back to God!
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