Powerful Principles of Prayer #4
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Praying In Jesus Name John 14:12-14
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on
me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he
do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Greater Works
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father. - John 14:12
The greater works were not greater miracles but greater
works of all aspects of God’s work and especially of showing the love of God to
others.
It would be greater because Jesus would no longer be
restricted to His kenosis (emptying) on earth but would return to full
omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence in heaven.
Philippians 2:4-8 (The kenosis of Christ)
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of
others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God: But made himself of no reputation (kenao, to empty), and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
It would be greater because the Holy Spirit would be given
to every believer and the work of the Gospel would increase in quantity
throughout the earth but not in quality of miracles done by Christ, which none
could ever exceed.
Praying in Jesus Name as part of the Greater Works
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it. – John 14:13-14
The Scope of Prayer- Whatsoever Ye
The Condition of Prayer – Shall Ask
The Ground of Prayer – In my name.
The Certainty of Prayer – I will do it.
The Purpose of Prayer – that the Father may be glorified in
the Son .– Wycliffe Bible Commentary
The Summation of Prayer. If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it.
Grasping the Power of Asking In Jesus Name
Six times in the Upper Room Discourse Jesus tells the
apostles “ask in my name.”
John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will
I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you.
John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will
give it you.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask,
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say
not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
From John 16:24 we know that this is a new teaching, a new
principle for the apostles and their prayer life.
What does the phrase “in my name” not mean?
It cannot refer to power in the phrase or its repetition as
a means of power. Jesus warned about praying as the pagans.
Matthew 6:7-8 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as
the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
It is not a magic talisman, or magic word. The phrase in
itself has no power at all. The power is in what the phrase actually means to a
praying saint or disciple of Christ.
What does the phrase “in my name” mean to the people of
Jesus day?
In the Old Testament “name” often meant reputation or
renown, and when God acted “on account of his name” it was to defend his honor.
“In the name of God” could mean as his representative acting
on his behalf, according to his command, by his help or using his name in a
miraculous act
In the Old Testament
and later Judaism “Name” could also simply be a polite and roundabout way of
saying “God” without uttering his name.
In this context “name” means something like: those who seek
his glory and speak accurately for him, who are genuinely his authorized
representatives. - Bible Background Commentary - The IVP Bible Background
Commentary
In my name. This is equivalent to saying on my account, or
for my sake. If a man who has money in a bank authorizes us to draw it, we are
said to do it in his name. If a son authorizes us to apply to his father for
aid because we are his friends, we do it in the name of the son, and the favour
will be bestowed on us from the regard which the parent has to his son, and
through him to all his friends. So, we are permitted to apply to God in the
name of his Son Jesus Christ, because God is in him well pleased and because we
are the friends of his Son he answers our requests. Though we are undeserving,
yet he loves us on account of his Son, and because he sees in us his image. No
privilege is greater than that of approaching God in the name of his Son; no
blessings of salvation can be conferred on any who do not come in his
name. - Barnes' Notes on the New
Testament.
To pray in Jesus name is to pray in Jesus place, to pray as
Jesus would pray if He were still upon the earth. It is like a power of attorney,
used by someone we trust to act in our best interest, to act in the same way we
would act if we could be there. This is why we were not told to pray in Jesus
name until He returned to heaven. We are now His representative acting
according to His will for the purpose and doing the works He would do if He
were still upon the earth. – Kris Minefee
Conclusion
When we realize how central prayer is to everything that
Jesus left us to do until He returns, we begin to realize how much we need to
truly pray. It is past time to rid ourselves of rote prayers, routine prayers,
comfortable prayers and committless prayers. We must begin to pray as the voice
of Jesus himself calling out to the Father for the souls of mankind, the work
of the Church and the glory and honor of God through Jesus Christ.
It is pray or faint, pray or fail, pray or forsake. Start
today to pray in the full understanding of Jesus name and our prayers will
truly take the last step to becoming powerful.
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