07 Jun “In Jesus’ Name We Pray:” But What If We’re Doing It Wrong?

Now salagadoola means menchicka boolaroo

But the thingamabob that does the job is

Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

(The fairy godmother in the 1950 Disney Film “Cinderella”)

Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo was the incantation Cinderella’s fairy godmother used to make magic happen. When we pepper our prayers with “in Jesus’ name,” we can be guilty (albeit unintentionally) of reducing His name to little more than an incantation. A pastor I used to know used it so often in prayer that it came to sound like a period at the end of each request. How did this practice come about? Well, Jesus did tell us we would ask in His name:

Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:23-24 (NIV)

That does seem straightforward enough, doesn’t it? When we pray, we should invoke Jesus’ name. This is a classic example of why you need to consider the context of Jesus’ words. We can do that here by simply reading two more verses just down the page:

26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. (John 16:26-27)

Oswald Chambers explained it this way:

“You will ask in my name.” By “name,” Jesus means “nature.” He isn’t saying, “You will use my name as a magic word to get what you want from the Father.” He’s saying, “You will be so intimate with me that you will be one with me.”

“In that day . . .” The day Jesus is speaking of isn’t a day in the future; it’s here and now. It’s a day of undisturbed relationship between God and his child. Just as Jesus stood blameless in the presence of his Father, so by the baptism of the Spirit are we lifted into relationship with him: “. . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” (Oswald Chambers, May 29 Devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”)

Of course, there is nothing wrong with invoking Jesus’ name. As Chambers pointed out, it’s critical that the posture of your heart match those words:

“My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name”(16:23). Jesus is saying that God will recognize our prayers. What a challenge! By the power of the resurrection and the ascension, by the sent-down Holy Spirit, we can be lifted into such a relationship with the Father that we are at one with his sovereign will, just as Jesus was.

When your heart is aligned with God’s heart by the indwelt Holy Spirit, it is by the blood of Jesus that you can ask anything that aligns with God’s will, and your prayer will be answered. No words in the world can match the comfort and confidence that comes with that knowledge!

Pastor Jerry Bader