Why do we pray in the name of Jesus? Why do most,
if not all our prayers end with the phrase 'in Jesus’ name'? Is it just because
Jesus Christ is the Originator and Champion of the Christian Faith, or there is
more???
So, I believe we all know Jesus Christ is the Son of God Who came to this
Earth over 2000 years ago to die so as to save us from our sins and to restore
humanity back to God our Creator; that is for as many who believe and accept
Him as their Saviour and LORD…
Also, I believe we do know that one of the profound statements Jesus
made was that His followers should pray in His name and God would hear their
prayers and grant their requests…
Jesus speaking in John 14:13-14 (NKJV) said "And whatever you
ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
We also find the phrase 'in the name of Jesus' mentioned several times
in the New Testament Scriptures… Though my focus here is not on whether all
such prayers receive answers from God and if not, why not?... But rather my
aim is just to strengthen our understanding of what we actually mean when we
pray in the name of Jesus…
So, to begin with, probably we should ask, why did Jesus (as God
incarnate) have to be the One to come and die as a sacrifice for the sins of
the whole world? Why couldn’t any other human being suffice for the job?...
And I believe we probably know the answer: It is basically because the
blood sacrifice that would be acceptable and potent enough before God to pay
for the sins of the whole of humanity, has to be that of a 100% perfect and
sinless human being; and unfortunately no ordinary human being can meet that criteria,
so God had to incarnate Himself in the Man Jesus (in a mysterious way
that our natural minds cannot fully comprehend), so as to get the job done, and
indeed Jesus did not only finish the task but He finished it perfectly, once
and for all…
This also gives us a clue to the reason why we pray to God in the name
of Jesus…
It is needful to remind us here that the name 'Jesus' has a different
pronunciation and spelling in different languages, and in fact, the Man Jesus Christ
was a Jew, so He was not actually called ‘Jesus’ during His days on Earth, He
was called “Yeshua” (the actual Hebrew name)… So it is not just about
calling the name ‘Jesus’ in prayers, but in understanding the spiritual
implication of invoking that name, irrespective of the language it is
pronounced in...
It is also important to remind us that every action in the Christian
Faith is faith-driven, and so we are not meant to be able to understand or
explain everything logically or using common sense reasoning, and that includes
when we pray in the name of Jesus…
So, the primary reason we pray in the name of Jesus is because we are
standing upon His righteousness as we make our requests or petitions to God by
Faith; such that through Jesus Christ (Who met God’s demand of 100% holiness) we
can approach God without any sense of guilt, shame, or inadequacies due to our
imperfections and failures as humans… Such that God can listen and attend to
our prayers without lashing out on us in His Holy anger because we are too
unholy and too unqualified to come before His presence…
Surely, this brings a ray of hope, and much more it afforded us the
invaluable privilege to be called sons and daughters of God, adopted into His
family because of our faith in His Son Jesus; and God now looks upon us as His beloved
Children, and deals with us more as a loving Father than as the Just Judge He
also is…
So, when we pray in Jesus’ name, in other words, we are actually
saying: “Because of Jesus…”… This keeps us reminded that we cannot
come before God in prayers priding in any good works or righteousness of our
own; because whatever we think we have done well to deserve God’s
blessings or to qualify us to stand justified before God, are all inferior to
what Jesus has already accomplished for us by shedding His blood on the cross for
our salvation…
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP) says “…For our sake He
made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him
we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the
righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right
relationship with Him, by His goodness].”
This however does not imply that we do not need to do good works
or that we are now free to live our lives as we please after all the holiness
of Jesus covers us (which would rather be viewed as an abuse of God’s
grace); but rather the understanding of our inherited righteousness causes
us to love God the more and make it our life-long passion to please Him in all
ramifications by the help of His Holy Spirit… Also, our prayers would
become more effective and efficient as we pray with a better understanding of
the efficacy of that name…
So, when next you say ‘in Jesus’ name’, remember you do not necessarily still
need to list out to God all the good things you think you have done; He already
knows, and Yes, you may have done quite well, but then God is much more
satisfied because of what Jesus did, no amount of good works can compare to
that, and God is only pleased with us today first and foremost because of what
Jesus has done for us and our faith in the same…
And in closing, I share the below Scripture verses from the Letters of
Paul the Apostle…
Romans 5:1-2 (NLT) says “Therefore, since we have
been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what
Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought
us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently
and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.”
Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV) says “…Therefore God also
has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and of those on
Earth, and of those under the Earth, and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”
Thank you for taking the time to read! Please feel free to share with others, and God
bless you as you do!
#JesusChristIsLORD #GODisStillinCharge
