If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:14)
Good morning beloved. Do you sometimes wonder why your prayers seem to go unanswered? Are you discouraged from the lack of results or evidence that God hears you? Perhaps you’re at your wit’s end and know not what to do anymore.
If that’s the case, I have good news for you! For when we come to the end of ourselves, we start to rely completely on God.
In John 14:14, Jesus said that if you ask Him anything in His name, He’ll do it. But what does it mean to ask something in Jesus’ name?
Is it just vain repetitions of the phrase “In Jesus’ Name I pray”?
Of course not! There’s no ‘magic’ in the mindless repetition of the phrase.
In fact, many of the apostles’ prayers do not even include the phrase.
Neither do the answered prayers in the Old Testament.
So what does “asking in Jesus’ Name” really mean then?
To answer that, we’ll first have to take a look who Jesus is, what His Name means, and what He has done for us.
Since we’ve already briefly discussed who Jesus is in a previous post, let’s take the time in this post to take a deeper look at what His Name means.
First off, we need to understand that every name in the Bible has a specific meaning. And Jesus’ Name literally means “God saves” or “God rescues”.
This means, that when you pray in Jesus’ Name, you’re in effect saying that you believe in a God who actively saves and rescues His children.
Notice also the tense of the verb. It says “God saves“. Not “God saved”, or “God will save”.
This is important as Lord is a God of present tense (“I AM”), not one of past tense or future tense.
Many a time, when we pray, we become engrossed in the past or future. We have regret for what we’ve done, and worry for what is about to come.
We sometimes think that maybe God may have performed miracles in the past but He may not do it now. Or that He may do miracles again when Jesus returns, but not now.
Yet, God’s Word says, “I AM THAT I AM”. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love for you and His willingness to save you from whatever trouble you’re facing never changes!
God is here, now. He’s ready to save you, right here, right now.
That is also why Jesus tells us to “ask Him anything in His name”, and not to “ask Him for anything in His Name”.
It’s a subtle but very significant difference.
Asking for something implies that we do not already have it.
On the other hand, when we ask something in Jesus’ Name (even though the phrase may not seem grammatically correct in English), we’re appropriating the blessings that God has already given to us. i.e. We already have it.
As this is a topic that we feel is very important to our walk of faith, we’d like to spend more time in the next post to go deeper into understanding the true power of praying in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
In the meantime, remember that our God is a God of here and now. Whatever you ask in Jesus’ Name, you already have. God has already answered you!
Be Greatly Blessed!
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Action Steps:
When you pray today, remember what Jesus’ Name means.
Instead of just repeating the phrase “In Jesus’ Name I pray”, give some thought to what it really means.
You’re praying as a beloved child of God.
You’re praying with all the authority of Christ.
You’re praying in a position of righteousness.
Remember also that you’re praying to a God of here and now.
So pray believing that you already have what you ask in Jesus’ Name.
Ready?
Let’s pray…
Prayer:
Good morning Father! I so love speaking with you to start off my day.
Nothing refreshes my soul like your loving Presence.
Your very presence lets me know that you’re a God of here and now.
Your Word says that whatever I ask in Jesus’ Name, it is given me.
What a wonderful promise that is.
Open the eyes of my heart Lord, that I may see things as they truly are.
For the truth is that whatever I ask in Jesus’ Name, I already have.
So teach me to walk in that faith. To see things as you see them. To see myself as you see me.
Saved. Blessed. And Loved.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
AMEN!