Prayer
Asking in the Name of Jesus
Philippians 2:10-11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
NIV
Asking in the name of Jesus is more than just using His name. In the ancient world a name stood for the character of a person. The name identified them and explained their character. How this could be so is one of the great wonders of God's providence, for as we look at the name meanings of ancient Bible characters, we discover how true this has been throughout history. For example,
- Jacob means "supplanter" or "underminer." His new name Israel means "who prevails with God."
- Abram means "high father", but his new name Abraham means "father of a great multitude."
- Ezekiel means "strength of God."
- Daniel means "judgment of God."
- Jesus means "Savior."
So, when we pray in the name
of Jesus, we are stating that we know and understand Who Jesus is. We
accept the Words and descriptions of Scripture to understand that Jesus
is God in human flesh.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came
from the Father, full of grace and truth. NIV
We understand that Jesus is
the only choice possible to move into a new relationship with God.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains
on him. NIV
We are relying upon this knowledge in formulating our requests and in expecting our responses. Praying in the name of Jesus is to pray in the will of God.
The final test of any prayer might be stated as "Lord, grant this request for YOUR sake and in YOUR name because it is in YOUR will."
Praying in the name of Jesus is to pray in the name of God. We are back to our "circle."
