Praying in Jesus' Name

Praying in Jesus’ Name
John 14: 10 – 14.

Introduction


Read John 14: 10 – 14.

This Scripture comes in the context of Jesus’ last extended teaching to his disciples. They had just shared the Last Supper together, and Jesus took this opportunity to prepare the disciples for what would come next. Jesus told them that he would be betrayed by one of the twelve disciples; Jesus would be handed over to the Jewish religious leaders to be tried for blasphemy; Jesus would be handed over to the Romans to be crucified. As if this were not bad enough, Jesus also told them that in his hour of greatest need, all twelve disciples would abandon him.

Peter spoke up and insisted, “Lord, even if all others run away, I will never abandon you.” Jesus predicted that Peter would in fact deny knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crows the next morning.

This was a very heavy moment for the disciples. One of them would betray Jesus. All of them would abandon Jesus. And, Jesus was about to die at the hands of the Romans. This was nothing short of a major life crisis for the disciples. After all, these twelve disciples had given up everything they had ever known to follow Jesus. They walked away from their families and friends. They gave up their jobs and careers. They had even changed their understanding of their traditional religious beliefs. And, now Jesus was going away from them.

This explains why Jesus began his final extended teaching with words of comfort and encouragement…

John 14: 1 – 9, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?


There are a couple of important themes in Jesus’ words to his disciples.

First, Jesus assures them not to worry, because he is preparing a place for them in his Father’s house. It seems apparent that this is a reference to Heaven. Jesus is preparing a permanent home for all who trust in him. This permanent home will be with Jesus and with the Father, in fact, it is in the Father’s house.

Second, Jesus offers hope to his disciples that even thought Jesus must go to his Father’s house; they will not be left alone. Jesus describes both his going and his coming again. He is going away. But, he is coming again. On one hand, I think it is possible for us to interpret this as a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus—there is a coming day in the future in which Jesus will return to take all his living disciples to live with the Father in Heaven. On the other hand, I think we ought to think of Jesus’ coming as something more immediate. This is a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciples will not be alone, because Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to be with them. You and I will never be alone, because Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as well.

Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ disciples, the work Jesus did in his earthly life will continue. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 12, “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.”

It is important for us to note that while Jesus did perform miraculous signs, not everything Jesus did was a miracle. Yes, Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead. But, Jesus also fed the hungry, spent time with people who were physically and spiritually unclean, and Jesus preached the Gospel. We ought to keep this in mind as we try to interpret what Jesus meant by saying his followers would do “even greater things.”

Actually, we can see what Jesus meant by looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. On occasion, Jesus’ disciples performed miracles among the sick. But, for the most part, the work of the Holy Spirit was apparent in the way people responded to the Gospel message the disciples preached. Jesus did not get this kind of response when he preached the Gospel! But, when the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to inspire, to convict and to convince…The Christian faith literally exploded! Just look at the response to Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost…3,000 people believed the Gospel and were baptized into the church

Third, Jesus places a priority on prayer. When Jesus ascended to his Father’s house in Heave, he left the Holy Spirit to be with us. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples changed. He was not present with them in a physical sense. However, he was present with them spiritually. In the same way, Jesus is not physically present with us today. Yet, we have a spiritual relationship with him through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since this is a spiritual relationship, we grow in this relationship through spiritual practices—spiritual disciplines. Specifically, Jesus places on us an expectation that we will pray.

The expectation of prayer comes with a promise. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 13 – 14, “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.”

Do not let anyone tell you Jesus never claimed to be God. In this short passage, Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and the Father is in him; he tells us that the words Jesus has spoken are words that came directly from God; he tells us that to see Jesus is to see the Father; AND Jesus tells us that he is the one who answers our prayers. Any one of these four statements would be enough to prove that Jesus claimed to be God. But, taken together, they provide us with an emphatic statement about Jesus’ character. He claimed to be God before the crucifixion. He proved himself to be God after the resurrection.

Jesus expects his followers to pray. Jesus promised to answer the prayers of his followers. However, Jesus placed some limits on what his followers ought to pray. Verse 14 says, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus did not promise to give us ANYTHING we ask. Jesus promised to give us anything we ask IN HIS NAME.


What’s In a Name?

What do you think Jesus meant when he encouraged us to “pray in his name?” Do you think that means we are supposed to close our prayers with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen?” Or do you think there is something mystical or even magical about the five letter word J-E-S-U-S?

We ought to interpret Jesus’ teaching about his name in the context of how the concept of a person’s name was used in the ancient world. For example, ancient people thought of names differently than we think of names today. In the ancient world, names actually meant something. Names were more than a designation to distinguish one person from another. Names were actually descriptive. In the ancient world, a name described the person and revealed something about that person’s character.

This is what we read in Proverbs 22: 1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” It does not mean we should feel sorry for people who have bad names like Zipporah, Nimrod or Ichabod. It means we should all strive to have a good character or a good reputation.

Have you ever wondered why God changed the name of so many biblical characters? Ultimately, it is a symbolic way to describe the way God changes a person’s character or nature. In the Bible, when God changed a person’s character or nature, God also changed their name.

In Genesis 17, God changed a man’s name from Abram to Abraham. The name Abram comes from the Hebrew word for “father.” This was a very ironic name, since Abram lived for 85 years without ever having any children of his own. Yet, in Genesis 17, God reaffirmed his covenant with Abram and assured him that he would become a father of nations. Thus, when God changed Abram’s nature, God also changed his name. Abram means “father.” Abraham means “father of nations.”

Abraham’s son Isaac had twin sons, named Esau and Jacob. The name Esau means “hairy.” He probably received this name, because even at the time of his birth, his body was covered in hair. The name Jacob means “one who grasps at the heel.” Again, when the twins were born, Esau was born first—covered in hair—and Jacob was born next, grasping at the heel of his brother. Jacob fulfilled the literal meaning of his name at birth by grasping at his brother’s heel. However, he also fulfilled the figurative meaning of his name by “tripping, deceiving and tricking” other people throughout his life. Yet, God used this deceiver to become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. In Genesis 32, God changed Jacob’s character and changed his name. Jacob was on his way to reconcile his relationship with his brother. The night before they met, Jacob stayed awake all night long wrestling with God. At the end of the night, Jacob asked his assailant for his name. God refused to give his name, but God changed Jacob’s name. He was no longer to be known as the deceiver. Instead, he would be known as Israel, “one who wrestles with God,” or “God prevails.” When God changed his nature, God changed his name.

In the New Testament, we meet a disciple named Peter. That was not his real name. That was the name Jesus gave him. Peter was born with the name Simon, which means “flat nose.” I wonder if Simon was born with a flat nose, or if he got that name later in life when he spoke too much and someone gave him a flat nose. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples who people thought Jesus was. They answered that people thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the prophets. Jesus made his question personal by asking the disciples, “But what about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll think that I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God.” With these words, Simon was the first person in all of the New Testament to profess Jesus as the promised Messiah. That is when Jesus changed his name from Simon (flat nose) to Peter (rock), because Peter’s confession of faith would be the rock on which the entire church would be built. When God changed his future, God changed his name.


Praying in Jesus’ Name

I suppose it would be possible for us to think Jesus is giving us a formula for our prayers. It might even be possible to think Jesus is telling us to use the five letter name J-E-S-U-S as a kind of magic word. If we use the name J-E-S-U-S in our prayers, then Jesus will be obligated to give us whatever we ask for in our prayers. However, this does not take into account the many times we pray without receiving the answer we had hoped for. It also does not take into account the biblical concept of name and character. Therefore, I believe to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in Jesus’ character or nature.

Our prayers ought to be consistent with the Person of Jesus. We should pray for the things Jesus would pray for. Praying in Jesus’ name means that our prayers should reflect the desires of Jesus.

Think of a modern day example of a man and woman who get married. Traditionally, when a man and woman get married, the woman takes her new husband’s name. The new wife does not lose her identity. She does not give up her unique personality. However, she has entered into a union in which “two become one.” The man and woman share the same possessions, the same dreams, the same hopes, the same desires, the same will, the same purpose…

In the same way, our spiritual relationship with Jesus reflects a similar kind of union. We share in Jesus’ possessions and inheritance. We share in Jesus’ dreams, hopes, desires and will. We even share in Jesus’ purpose—to continue his work in the world.


Conclusion

Bruce McIver tells his story of the Baylor Youth Revivals on the 1940’s in the book Riding the Wind of God (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2002). Through these revivals, literally thousands of young men and women professed faith in Jesus. Some well known Texas Baptist pastors became Christians through these revivals: Buckner Fanning, Milton Cunningham and Bailey Stone for example. But the revivals began when a group of 6 Baylor students prayed for a revival. They started praying in September 1944. They held their first revival in April 1945.

To pray in Jesus’ name is not the same thing as being hopeful. This is not the same thing as wishful thinking or even good luck. This is confident assurance in the promises of God. God promised us, and God can be trusted. When we desire what Jesus desires, Jesus will do it. When we dream as Jesus dreams, Jesus will accomplish it. When we pray as Jesus would pray, Jesus will answer.