Christian Prayer – What Does it Mean to Pray in the Name of Jesus?

READ LATER - GET THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Is there really power in Christian prayer?

Because I go to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask me anything in my name, that I will do (John 14:13-14).

Jesus makes a powerful promise. Whatever we ask in His name, He will do.

OK . . . In the name of Jesus, I ask for a million dollars!

Nope … Still poor. How about you?

Some people will say, “Well, you didn’t really ask in faith.” True. I didn’t really expect God to give me a million dollars.

Some people will say, “Well, that’s not really what Jesus meant.” Even better answer. But what did Jesus mean?

What does it really mean to make a prayer in the name of Jesus?

First of all, let me give my usual warning. Don’t pray as the pagans did in the Old Testament and treat God as a cosmic Santa Clause! This isn’t the purpose of true Christian prayer. Yes, we are called to ask God for our needs, and to pray for the needs of others. But our attitude should be one of a trusting child appealing to a loving father to give us what we need. Our attitude should never be one of entitlement.

And that’s exactly the way some people approach Jesus’ promise. They turn it into a magical formula. As long as they say “in the name of Jesus” their prayer should be answered.

If that’s not what Jesus means, what does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Well, to do something in the name of a king means to do it with his authority, but also within his will. A prince, steward or emissary would never do something in the name of the king that they knew was not the king’s will – not if they wanted to keep their head. So to pray in the name of Jesus means to pray according to Jesus’ will.

That means we must first become familiar with His will. Then we have to be sensitive to His promptings within the particular situations we find ourselves in.

Prayer in the name of Jesus does hold authority and power. Miracles do happen. But they’re not going to happen according to our will. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are the ambassador, not the king. We simply seek for His will to be done.

Discover the True Meaning of Christian Prayer

The true power of prayer lies in our relationship with God. The efficacy of prayer is not measured by what we get when our prayers are “answered.” Even prayers of petition and intercession are really about participating in God’s goodness and love. It has been said that God always answers prayer – but sometimes His answer is “no.” I would say that God always answers prayer and His answer is always an invitation to deepen trust, to deepen intimacy, and to deepen our love for Him.

Are you interested in learning more about true Christian prayer that deepens your relationship with the Holy Trinity through Jesus? I’d like to invite you to consider the opportunity below to get more involved with From the Abbey. You can learn your faith by taking online courses that invite you deeper into the Mysteries of the Faith without getting all academic. You can live your faith by taking online spirituality programs that help you develop the spiritual virtues that lead to a more active relationship with God within your daily life. Join us today, and let’s grow together in our love for the Lord!

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.

[ATTRIBUTE: Photo: Prayer: Mother and Daughter By: bigbirdz URL: Used under Creative Commons License found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]