Jesus told the disciples, "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son." If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. He gave them access to the full treasure house of heaven and He said all you have to do is ask. There was one qualifier, "In My name." Jesus said, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you." This was a new dimension in prayer because the qualifier was to ask, "In the name of Jesus Christ." That introduces us to the whole realm of prayer. It's one thing to say, "Pray," and, "Pray in My name." It's something else to understand what that means. Some people think it means that if you pray and then tack "in Jesus' name" on the end of that prayer, just before the word amen, that guarantees you're going to get what you ask for. You can corner God with the formula "in Jesus' name," and God has to deliver whether He wants to or not.
What does it really mean to pray in Jesus' name? When you pray in Jesus' name, you are essentially acknowledging that anything you pray must be filtered through the person and purpose of Christ. For the name of Jesus implies all that He is, and all that He wills and all that He purposes. It is not simply a formula but rather it is a channel. "In Your name." That is consistent with who You are, consistent with Your purposes, consistent with Your will. That is what the Lord's prayer: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done." Praying in Jesus' name is praying God's will be done. Prayer primarily is an act of worship. Prayer is a submissive thing. It is not a demanding, commanding thing. It is an aligning with the purposes of God as reflected in the person and work of Jesus Christ. In your prayers, recognize that He is infinitely exalted and infinitely blessed and perfectly holy one. Any wrong understanding of God is taking His name in vain. John Wesley once said to a false teacher, "Your God is my devil." You better understand who God really is. We recognize that He is a loving, compassionate, sympathetic, tenderhearted, generous Father who has all the treasury of heaven at His disposal to grant to us to meet our ever need. But at the same time, we recognize that His holy purposes transcend
everything, that He is the divine judge of all the earth, and it is His name that must be exalted. His name must be praised.
In Christ,
Pastor Peter Suhn
