Praying in Jesus’ name

by Charles Bertelsmeier

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Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (John 16:23b,24b).

Read John 16:16–24

Jesus had been trying to get his disciples ready for his impending death and eventual departure from this earth. He had already given them the promise of Holy Spirit coming to them to replace himself. Now he was explaining to them that the grief that they would feel following his death would be replaced with everlasting joy, even after he leaves them.

With Jesus no longer physically present with the disciples, they are to have a new relationship with God. They now have direct access to their Heavenly Father and the guiding and powerful presence of Holy Spirit living in them.

We often end our prayers with a phrase such as, ‘We ask all these things in Jesus’ name.’ In today’s Bible verses, Jesus promises that whatever we ask our Heavenly Father for in his name, we will receive it. It almost sounds like a bit of magic. We just have to add this phrase to the end of our prayers, and God will give us what we ask for.

So let us have a deeper look at what it means to ask or pray in Jesus’ name. Firstly, we can only call God our Heavenly Father because of what Jesus did through his perfect life, sacrificial death and resurrection, which opened the way for us to be adopted into the Heavenly Family as God’s children. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we acknowledge that it is only through what Jesus has done for us that we can come to God.

We also pray, asking for those things that Jesus would ask his Father for. Sometimes, when we are overwhelmed by the importance of someone, we may ask an intermediary to take our requests to them. Of course, the intermediary would only take up our request if it aligned with their own ethos. This is similar to our prayers. We don’t have to pray to Jesus to ask our Heavenly Father on our behalf, but can go directly to our Heavenly Father, asking for those things that Jesus would be happy to ask his Father for on our behalf.

And it is also an acknowledgement that we have surrendered our wills and our lives to the Heavenly Family so that God can achieve his will and purpose in us. We don’t go to God with our Santa Claus list but seek his help and guidance in how he wants to use us to bring his gifts to the people he places in our path each day.

Of course, as a loving Father, God cares about all the things that affect our daily lives and wants us to talk to him about them. But he also wants us to hand them over to him to manage as we get on with doing the things he has planned for us.

Notice how Jesus ended our verse for today: ‘and your joy will be complete.’ He promises us his joy as we let him guide us in living according to his will for us.

Heavenly Father, thank you for all that Jesus achieved for us to become your children and live as members of your family. I surrender my life into your hands for you to live your purpose in me. Amen.

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