In Jesus' name, amen.

"What does that mean?" my son asked me the other night after praying with my kids before they went to bed. "Good question!" I said. I got to thinking later that it may be good to share this here. Many Christians don't understand what it means to pray in Jesus' name.  Sometimes we treat the name of Jesus as some sort of magic word. I remember singing a song growing up that said "In the name of Jesus, we have the victory. In the name of Jesus, demons will have to flee." Tell that to the seven sons of Sceva! (Acts 19:13-16) Or we think if we do not say "in Jesus' name" at the end of our prayer that its like mailing a letter without a stamp: it ain't gonna make it!

Jesus said: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13) The desire of the Christian is identical to the desire of Christ which is to glorify the Father. When Jesus prayed in the garden just before his betrayal, we see that what he wanted more than anything was to glorify the Father. Even when his prayer was for his benefit - it had as its end goal the glory of the Father (John 17:1). Praying in Jesus' name is not merely how we end our prayers but how we pray entirely. Praying in Jesus' name is a confession of submission to the will and purpose of God, that he is sovereign, and that his will is perfect and good. However, doesn't this immediately expose the problem with so many of our prayers? Aren't many prayers merely about bringing glory to self rather than to the Lord? This does not mean we should not ask for things we need - or for God to change our circumstances - we should and he does answer these prayers. But we must ask: what is the chief focus in this prayer? Am I asking God to give me this or that, or to change my circumstances so that I might live to bring glory to him?  Praying in Jesus name is something that we say for our benefit, not for God's. When we pray in Jesus' name we are saying: "Father, we are asking you to grant our requests which we have asked with motives, goals and desires Jesus would approve of. " It's scary to me that we may often be guilty of bearing false witness when we pray. We might also be using the name of Jesus in vain at the same time! But the good news is that Jesus' righteousness covers our imperfections. Without the righteousness of Christ, our prayers would be terribly offensive to God since they are always riddled with sin.  

This leads me to another aspect of what it means to pray in Jesus' name. We know our prayers would not be heard apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross. This is where the stamp and letter metaphor is seen to have the most merit. If someone who does not believe that Jesus Christ is Lord attempts to pray - his prayer will not get there. "The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." (Proverbs 15:29) To elaborate: Jesus is our Great High Priest who intercedes for us by speaking to the Father on our behalf. Praying in Jesus' name is to pray through our High Priest  who has the ear of God the Father. But we should not take this to mean the Father is grumpy and Jesus has to calm him down before he will listen to us. Jesus said: In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." (John 16:26-27). If we believe in Christ; if our faith is in him then we have the Father's ear! He loves us and so praying in Jesus name is also one way we acknowledge the Father's love for us. If he loves us and is good then we know that he desires to give us good things. We should not see the will of God as something coldly predetermined. Rather we need to understand that God's will utilizes secondary means such as our prayers! Sometimes he turns up the heat so that we will seek him for relief! Prayer requests for healing, safety, strength, wisdom, heart transformation and faith are answered with an emphatic YES by God all the time! God is glorified by answering our prayers offered in the name of his beloved Son!