“Amen, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” John 16:23
What does it mean to ask, to pray in Jesus’ Name?
Oh, anything at all I ask for will be given to me if I just put the tagline “in Jesus’ Name”. That new, high paying job, that Corvette, healing of my daughter’s illness – I can have anything if I ask the Father “in Jesus’ Name.”
‘Hey, Abba, do this for me, you have to because I’m asking in Jesus’ Name.’
No, you all know that isn’t what it means nor what occurs. We don’t get the lottery numbers because we ask ‘in Jesus’ Name.’ Many times, even the things that look right and just, like healing my daughter, aren’t given us just because I’ve asked ‘in Jesus’ Name.’
Asking the Father to produce good fruit through us in the name of Jesus His Son does not mean that we get to choose what we ask of the Father. Rather, asking “in Jesus’ name” must be understood to mean that we ask the Father only what the Son has asked. We choose to share in the one eternal prayer of the Son that the will of the Father be fulfilled. And in praying this way, we commit ourselves to unity with His holy will.
To ask anything in the Name of Jesus means to unite ourselves fully in the Father’s Divine Will. It means that when standing even in the garden or facing our cross, we face it in the Father’s Will and with total trust. Just like Jesus did in the garden – ““Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”” Luke 22:42
Praying ‘in Jesus’ Name’ begs us to trust in the Father to give us what is best, what we most need (not what we think we need.)
When I begged for all those months for God to heal Kristina, I knew in total knowledge that He could ‘with just the touch of His tassel’ heal her. But, no matter how many “in Jesus’ Name”, “in the Name of Your Son”, or “in Jesus’s mighty Name” I prayed, it didn’t happen. I became despondent. Until months later I realized that this exclamation to prayer is an exclamation saying, “I trust You.”
God could have healed her. Easily. But, His plans were bigger for me by millions of times in not healing, at that moment. Because of this, I leaned to trust when the answer is no or silence or just doesn’t make sense to me.
Do you trust in Jesus, trust the Father enough to truly pray ‘in Jesus’ Name’?