In The Name of Jesus

Unfortunately, there are many people who only pray to God when they are in desperate times or they need something. They use God as some type of wish granter and rather than seeing God as a real person who is there for us at all times, they only pull out the God card when things are bad. Sadly, I have been guilty of this but have learned that God is a necessity in life regardless of how things are going. He’s just as important when things are good as He is when things are bad.

The great thing about talking to God is He does not expect us to pray big, fancy prayers. We can but we are not required to. A pure, sincere heart is more important than long, fancy words. When we do pray, though, the words “In Jesus name” or something along that line should be included. Many may not know this but praying in the name of Christ is taught in John 14:13-14, “And whatsoever ye shall ask yin 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.”

And whatsoever ye shall ask yin 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

Yes, Christ will bless us and will always provide for us. He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same tomorrow that He is today so we have the assurance that God is always there and working. However, many people misinterpret or misapply many scriptures particularly the ones about praying and asking God for something. The above scripture from John 14:13-14 lets us know that what we ask from God in His name will be given to us as long as it glorifies the son. There are different parts to this scripture but many people forget a few parts here including that what we ask should glorify God and that our requests must line up with God’s will.

There are certain verses that if you just read them word for word, you would think that just by asking God for something and attaching a few words on to the end then you will receive whatever it is you ask for. For example, John 15:16 reads “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.” At first glance, this appears that whatever we ask in the name of Christ, we will be given it and the same is true for Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].”
–Mark 11:24

When we pray, what are we doing? More so, when we pray in the name Christ, what are we doing? Simple: we are giving Christ the authority of our prayers and our lives. We are praying that God’s will be done. If we add these words at the end and our hearts are not pure and our intentions are not sincere, the words are meaningless as God knows our hearts and He knows our thoughts and why we do everything. These words should not be thought of as a magic formula to get whatever you want as God is not a genie and He does not work in magic. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are praying for things that will honor God and glorify Christ and this is what’s important. Not our words necessarily but why we are praying.

This is why scripture must be read in context and why we must understand what God is saying. God still answers prayers and He is lining up things for you that you cannot yet see so be grateful for all that God does and is doing for you. However, do not treat God as a genie and do not put God on the back burner. Stay in faith, believe in all things that God has done and what He can still do. Pray sincere and honest prayers that honor God and glorify Christ but most of all understand the context of scripture. It is there to serve us as God’s word is alive and active and we should never add to it or take away from it and with prayer, we should want to glorify and honor our savior and we know this from 1 John 5:14: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”