Pray in Jesus' Name
Names of Christ • Sermon • Submitted
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John 14:8–14 (LSB) Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all so long and have you not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. 13 “Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
For almost 2 years I have been asking us to seek God according to the names and nature of Jesus that are revealed in the Bible.
I’ve been doing that because all too often we pray contrary to what God desires in our life.
We don’t get the answers we want and then we get mad at God.
The Fire Bible Commentary on verse 13 (an AG/Pentecostal commentary) tells us:
I recommend the Fire Bible because: AG theologians, goes to AG churches around the world to train pastors and teachers.
This is a NLT Fire Bible - in one volume is a wealth of information.
For instance, the commentary on verse 13 says:
Asking for something in Jesus’ name means being completely aware of who he is, what he is capable of doing and what his purposes are.
My take on this is:
To effectively pray in Jesus’ Name, like Jesus told us to do in verse 13 of our text, means KNOWING Jesus.
NOT a superficial knowledge, but a deep, Holy Spirit-inspired, Biblical knowledge of the Son of God.
I truly wonder how many followers of Jesus, how many who are “of the Way,” truly have more than a cursory knowledge of Jesus.
I would guess not many.
How many times do we pray contrary to His nature, ignorant of His capabilities and opposed to His purposes.
No wonder we get no where in with our prayers.
The Fire Bible Commentary goes on to say:
[Praying in Jesus’ Name] … means acting as his representative, with his power and authority.
Think about that!
It involves giving him honor and following his purposes in all we do.
For this reason, our prayer in Jesus’ name must:
(1) reflect Jesus’ character and be consistent with his desires and purposes;
(2) demonstrate faith in him and his authority;
(3) reveal a sincere desire to honor both the Father and the Son (Ac 3:16).
Prayers offered with this attitude and awareness will build faith and provide peace that God is in control and will do what is best for us.
Jesus will answer any prayer that he would have prayed himself—that is perfectly in line with his purposes.
There is no limit to the power of prayer when it is addressed to Jesus or the Father with sincere faith and according to his desire
So as we pray tonight, let’s pray in the Name of Jesus.
Before we pray: Testimonies
Needs: