“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13,14)

The basic condition of answered prayer is to ask in the name of Jesus. That surely does not mean merely adding the phrase, “in Jesus’ name” to the end of our prayers. He is not encouraging the use of a magic phrase to unlock the gates of heaven. What then does that mean? Listen again:

“If you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon…. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.” (John 15:7,16)

If a man is truly at home with Christ, abiding in Christ, comfortable with Christ, then his prayers will certainly be in the name of Christ, in accordance with all that Christ stands for. And if he is really abiding in Christ, he will have surrendered his life to Christ, he will have decided to follow him, to accept his direction in his life, therefore he will be attempting to live in obedience to the words of Christ. When the believer abides in Christ and Christ’s words abide in him then he lives as close to Christ as well may be. Then his prayers will be prayers that are in accord with God’s will and they will be fully answered.

This must be important for Jesus repeats this basic condition again:

“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!” (John 16:23,24)

To ask in Jesus’ name and to ask according to his will, is the same. It is to ask for whatever is in keeping with his teaching.

“The extraordinary and intimate union between Jesus and the Father means that those who belong to Jesus, the branches who belong in the vine, are granted the same immediate access to the Father that Jesus himself has. What is more, when they pray in Jesus’ name – which means, when they pray conscious of the fact that they belong to him, and that what they are doing is for his glory – then the Father welcomes them instantly and gives them whatever they ask for.” (Tom Wright)

St. John must have learned that lesson well because he includes it in his letter:

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14,15)

Effective prayer is prayer that is in accordance with God’s will. The more we come to know God’s will, the more we come to know the implications of Jesus’ name – his character, his plans and purpose, - the more dynamic our prayer life will be. Unfruitful, ineffective prayer, often has its root in our failure to know God’s will and purpose. The prayer that will be heard by God is prayer that is in accordance with his will. Therefore we should ask – what is God’s will in this situation. We find out from Scripture the nature of God’s will, and we learn what is needed from the circumstances of the situation or person for whom we are praying. We should continually ask: What is God’s will in this situation?

God’s general will for all people is to be found in Scripture. His specific will for individuals must be discerned by the Spirit. Situations in which we do not know God’s will require patient resting in the Lord, and positive trusting that God’s answer will come. “If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. The Spirit does our praying in and for us, making prayers out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves.” (Romans 8:26,27)

Sometimes all that is required is to lift up before God the names of those for whom we pray knowing that God will do for them “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

What about praying for a sick friend, when you don’t know what God’s will is for them? The key is to discern what God’s will is in this particular situation. Even when we cannot offer a prayer for healing with the full assurance of God’s response, we can voice other requests, knowing that they are in accordance with God’s will. We can pray that their faith will not fail, that their hope is strong, that their love will increase, that they will possess courage, and be comforted by God’s presence and peace that passes all understanding.

We can pray for wisdom for ourselves and those around the sick person.. We can ask God to bring some positive good out of the infirmity. We can ask that God grant spiritual illumination to all persons involved.

We can pray that the Spirit would plant in our hearts a willingness to accept God’s will when it is finally revealed. Our prayer becomes not only a desire to discern God’s will but also to become willing to obey it and accept it when we discern it.

The key to praying in faith rests in coming to know more and more about God’s will and Christ’s nature. We can ask in faith when we come to understand the will of God, for prayer is laying hold of God’s willingness to act in accordance with Christ’s mission.

Praying in Jesus’ name, means that, as we get to know who Jesus is, so we find ourselves drawn into his life, and love, and sense of purpose. We will then begin to see what needs doing, what we should be aiming at within our sphere of possibilities, and what resources we need to do it. We ask the question: What would Jesus desire?

The test of any prayer is: Can I make it in the name of Jesus? This will eliminate prayers of personal revenge, or prayers of personal ambition, or prayers for some unworthy object. We ask: Can we honestly make this prayer in the name of Jesus? The prayer based on selfish gain cannot expect to be granted.

Dr. Luke tells the story of a Roman centurion whose valued servant was terminally ill. He had heard of Jesus and sent for him to come and heal his servant. Jesus responded to his request. But when he got near the house the centurion sent other messengers to tell him that he need not trouble to come into his house. He was aware of the Jewish laws of not associating with Gentiles, and did not expect Jesus to come inside.
He admitted his personal unworthiness, and witnessed to his faith in Jesus by asking him to heal his servant from a distance.

The reason he gave was a recognition of his own position in the military as a man under authority, who commanded troops under his authority, who would obey his orders. If he was able to do that, then surely Jesus was able to command the sickness to leave and be replaced by wholeness.

His estimate of the name of Jesus was very high. His humility in acknowledging obedience to a higher authority, in this case the authority of Jesus, was exemplary. His trust in the ability of Jesus to accomplish his will was profound. So much so, that Jesus said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, even in Israel.” (Luke 7:9)

Faith is to be found in humility – the humility of recognizing one’s own limits, the humility of not always knowing God’s will, the humility of accepting God’s will when it is not our own desire, the humility of being willing to obey Christ, when it is hard to do, the humility that it takes to bring our request before Jesus and to entrust them to him.

Jesus said, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” (John 15:7)

“To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with him – to be always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring out our hearts to him, and using him as our fountain of life and strength, as our chief companion and best friend. – To have his words abiding in us, is to keep his sayings and precepts continually before our memories and minds, and to make them the guide of our actions and the rule of our daily conduct and behavior. Christians of this stamp, we are told, shall not pray in vain. Whatever they ask they shall obtain, so long as they ask things according to God’s mind. No work shall be found too hard, and no difficulty insurmountable. Asking they shall receive, and seeking they shall find.” (J.C.Ryle)

An audio version of this sermon may be found at www.ameliachapel.com.

Amelia Plantation Chapel
Amelia Island, Florida