What's in a Name?Намуна

Praying in Jesus’ name

Jesus tells his disciples to pray in his name. But what does this phrase mean? Praying “in Jesus’ name” is not a magic formula which guarantees that we get whatever we want, even though we might ask for sinful or harmful things. Rather, we should seek to understand God’s will as it has been revealed to us in the Bible, and pray accordingly. For example, we know that Jesus had come to announce and bring about God’s Kingdom. So, we can pray according to his will: “Our Father in heaven, we pray that your name will always be kept holy. We pray that your kingdom will come”. We know that Jesus intercedes for us in heaven, and we want to tune in with his prayers. Then we can trust that God will answer our prayers, in his infinite wisdom and love. If we pray in Jesus’ name, we pray according to his will.

The second meaning of praying “in Jesus’ name” is that we come into God’s presence with his authority and ask God the Father to answer our prayers because we come in the name of his Son, Jesus. Our standing before the Father is based on the finished work of Christ alone.

Do you pray regularly?