Community answers are sorted based on votes. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is.
S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Prayer in Jesus' name is taught in John 14:13-14, "And 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...
Login or Sign Up to view the rest of this answer.
Michael Tinsley
Because of Jesus's great sacrificial act, His crucifixion, the curtain (barrier) in the Holy Temple was torn from top (God), to bottom (humanity) so that we now can approach God, Eph 3:12, 'In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence', without fear. In John 14:6 Jesus says,'I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me'. That means to me that we are to pray to God in Jesus's name because He is the _only way to the Father. As Michael said above, using Jesus's name isn't a magic formula to ask for things we want but to ask for what will honor God and for what is within His will. I seldom ask for something for me but ask instead for the well being of my children and grandchildren, for my friends and family, for my Christian brothers and sisters, and for those yet to come to Jesus. I ask these things in Jesus's name knowing God loves me as a son and with faith that He will honor my prayers.
Thomas K M
We read in Philippians 2:9, 10, “Wherefore 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 things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth.” “In the name of the Lord” used referring specifically to the second person of the trinity. This is in James 5:14, where the elders are told to anoint the sick with oil “in the name of the Lord.” The general significance of “in my name” can be comprehended partially from common usage. When an individual does something in the name of another, it indicates union which may be of different kinds. This signifies that one is fully in trust on Him. Praying in the name of Jesus also means that one is solely depended on Him. It is like employer /employee relationship where employee does everything on behalf of the employer. Believing the `finished work on the cross’ is quite significant when we pray in the name of Jesus. The basis of our prayer life, is our union with Christ. It is in the name of Jesus that we pray. This first of all has its relation to our position before God. We are joined in “legal union” with Jesus. We are His partners, His servants. We are working in His name. This is our position in virtue of our redemption and new birth. We are carrying out His task in His name. We are joined in “Life union” just as the father is with the son. Our position is not that of one outside the family of God, but one of God’s kin; we are sons of God.
Andy Mangus
"What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?" To me, in my usual attempt at a short and on point answer is this 'student of God's Word, child of God and saved by His grace and mercy' submitted input for an excellent question! I look at this 'in total awe' and with a 'total submission' mental attitude and state of mind! It is from a deep understanding that God firstly didn't 'have' to create me, form me, make me and mold me in my mother's womb these 56 years plus ago! He didn't have to put me as the 4th child of parents that were truly raised separately in very strong Christian homes. And, he didn't have to bless me with being born in the best country that has freedom of worship, for which is an extreme blessing. I was blessed to be raised in church, taught to read the Bible, sit up straight and listen to the preacher, etc. I make all these points to submit my emphasis background for my answer: As God's created beings in which He "breathed into the breathe of life" and made a way for us to one day have our souls be in the presence of our Lord Jesus, forever worshiping Him in Heaven, He has granted the ultimate privilege to each of us while here on planet Earth! His blessing is to be able to simply speak to Him, to call on His blessed name,to ask Him for His favor if it be His will for our lives, to address Him as my Lord, my King,...and, best of all "my Savior!" Bluntly, for me....I cannot express in words my adoration, respect, awe, wonderment, or undeserved honor it is to me for Jesus to have "loved a wretched soul as I" and having "lived and then to have died on that cruel wicked cross" for my sake, for His purpose of saving me from eternal damnation in Hell, is almost incomprehensible to me! My love for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to me, without measure, for I feel and know in my heart that I could never, ever, NEVER repay Him! "All to Jesus, all to Him I owe, blessed savior...all to Him I owe!" (from an old gospel hymn). Praying to Jesus daily, in His name, sometimes numerous times a day, is the very least of what I could, should or would be doing to honor our savior! For, it is "by and IN the blessed name of God's one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that we have a home in Heaven! "Jesus Paid It all, all to Him I owe...my blessed savior, all to Him I owe." "Praise God we have a savior! And, His name is Jesus Christ." ~~Andy~~
Ed Besselman
When I was saved in 1975, I was taught to "pray in Jesus' name." So I added that phrase to the end of my prayer (not as a ritual) but as in obedience to God's Word. Then one day (not even studying the subject) a thought came to mind. I remembered watching TV as a child and the show The Untouchables came to mind. In a certain scene, there would be 2 GI's outside a door (with the bad guy inside) and one GI would say, "Open up in the name of the Law." Now, neither of those two had the last name "Law". What he was saying is... we represent the government (whose law you broke) and we are going to see that you are tried (and if found guilty) that you will be punished accordingly. They represent the government and are acting on that basis. So, when we pray in Jesus' name, we don't come to GOD on the basis of who we are (Hell-deserving sinners) but we come on the basis of Who Jesus is. (our Savior, our Lord). We don't approach God demanding anything but we ask... if it be Thy will.
Mike Dumais
Praying in Jesus' name indicates not only our belief in God, as all Jews and many others believed, but also affirms belief in Jesus, in His resurrection and completed work of the Cross.
James Kraft
Jesus said, if a man asked for bread, will He give them a stone? No, God will give us whatever is in His will to give us. We can ask for anything if it is in His will to give us what we ask for. When Jesus was in the garden He prayed that if there was any other way than what He was about to go through to save sinners, then let this cup pass from me. But according to thy will be done. There was no other way to save sinners than what Jesus did. God loves us but only gives us with what is within His will for us at the time we ask. He may give us something that we ask for much later, but not now. God knows the future, and we do not. Hebrews 13:5 And be content with such things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never leave you or forsake you. We can go ahead of God and find a way to get what we want apart from His will many times, but it will only be to our own hurt. We are to wait upon the Lord. Do not ask me how I know. God always has His children's best in mind. Just as our earthly fathers would not give us everything we want when we want it, neither does our heavenly Father give us everything we want when we want it. But sometimes if we pray enough God will even grant us what we want just to show us we should have waited on Him. We realize later God had something better in mind than what we got. If we had only waited on Him, we would have received His best for us.
Janet Austin
There is power in the name of Jesus! Let's review some verses that reveal the power in God’s/Jesus’ name: They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" (Acts 4:7) I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name You gave me, so that they may be one as We are one. (John 17:11) No one is like You, LORD; You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. (Jeremiah 10:6) The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." (Luke 10:17) We are also told, in Romans 8:34, that Christ Jesus died for us, was raised to life, and intercedes for us at the right hand of God. Many Christians end their prayers with “in Jesus’ name.” This is likely in response to Jesus’ words in John 14:13 “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” The expression, however, has much deeper meaning. It means praying with Jesus’ authority as one who declares Him Lord and Savior. It means we have humbled ourselves as sinners, and now, with our sins covered by the blood of Jesus (Matthew 26:28), we may confidently approach the throne of God. In other words, when you sincerely want God’s desires to become yours, when you want His kingdom to grow, and when you pray for that which will honor and glorify God, you are praying in Jesus’ name. Now, stand and pray aloud that God empowers you to do His will. Ask Him to help you become the person He wants you to be. A good start could be, “Jesus, please intercede for me to Your Father so that I will become all I am meant to be. Help me to be…” Blessings!
gord chevy
What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? It is simply and only an acknowledgement that only reborn believers can approach the throne of God. In other words, nonbelievers are not granted access to the throne of God (according to scripture which you can study on your own). So then someone might ask "If non believers cannot communicate with God, how can they ask that God save them from the condemnation resulting from their sin?" The answer is, God knows everything (omniscient) and God will make the communication possible if a person truly wants the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that Abraham, David, Solomon and others communicated with God prior to our Lord's earthly ministry, however, unlike believers of today, they did not have unlimited access to God's throne as we enjoy as reborn believers (Christ's personal intervention and blood atonement was needed).
Add your Answer
All answers are REVIEWED and MODERATED.
Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines.
A good answer provides new insight and perspective. Here are guidelines to help facilitate a meaningful learning experience for everyone.
- Adhere to the eBible Statement of Faith.
- Your answer should be complete and stand-alone.
- Include supporting arguments, and scripture references if possible. Seek to answer the "why".
- Adhere to a proper tone and spirit of love and understanding.
- For more info see The Complete Guide to eBible