In Jesus' Name

"... and speak to the God who would die there, the Father who would raise Him ..."

WHAT DOES it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? This is spoken of much in the church because of Jesus’ words in the gospels. In particular, we read 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.”

First, Jesus came to turn the Jews’ eyes to the Father. He was sent to reveal the Father. We read this in John 1:18. He also came to provide salvation for the Gentiles, these whom He called sheep of another pasture (John 10:16). Salvation is, John 3:16, for WHOSOEVER, Jew or Gentile. But it came through the Father’s SO LOVE for men, for people.

Jesus came to fulfill the Old Covenant Laws, and He did fulfill them. His death and Resurrection walks men out of darkness, out of rule-keeping which was mean only to show sin (Romans 8:3-4), and into the light of God’s love and free grace. There is no work of man that will bring us salvation. It can only be accepted because God has provided it.

These things also apply to prayer. We pray to the Father, for He is greater than all. These are Jesus’ words (John 10:29). We pray in Jesus’ name because His death was the sacrifice needed to close the Old Covenant and open the New Covenant, which is a new and better covenant (Hebrews 8:6). But it is not a law which, when broken, necessarily means you have sinned and so brings condemnation.

Also, Jesus has many names. He is Jehovah and all its descriptive names (Jireh, M’Kaddesh, Nissi, Rophe, Shalom, Tsidkenu, Shammah, Tsebaoth, Makkeh, Gmolah, Elohay, Elohenu, Rohi). He is the Amen (Revelation 3:14). He is Lord of Hosts, as is the Holy Spirit and the Father. He is the Lamb of God, the Redeemer, and the Creator. He is the Word of God. He is all the names of Isaiah 9:6, “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

He is the Father. Do you get that?

We see this also in the parable of the Seed and the Sower. Jesus is the Seed, the Word of God, which is planted, and the Sower who plants it. He is the Vine, and we are the branches, it says in John 15:5. In technical talk, He is the Father who died and the Son who inherited. This must be understood because the Father cannot die, and the Spirit cannot die, so Jesus became a man who could. A man sinned (Adam), so a man died for our redemption (Jesus). It had to be this way.

What Jesus meant when He said not to pray to Him was not to pray to Him, the man, but to Him, as God, as Father. What were His words to Phillip in John 14:9? I particularly like the Knox Translation. Phillip asked, “Lord, let us see the Father; that is all we ask,” and Jesus replied, “What, Phillip, here am I, who have been all this while in your company; hast thou not learned to recognize me yet?” That was the Father’s reply, Jesus speaking for Him. We see this in prophecies all the time; a man speaks the words of the Spirit, the Savior, and the Father, and they do not always sound alike.

Jesus didn’t want us to get all caught up in legalism, or rule-following. Prayer is conversation with God. It is sharing our every day, our everything with Him. Instead, Jesus wanted men to stop worshiping the altar and speak to the God who would die there, the Father who would raise Him and the King He would become. We talk to God, Three-in-One. THEY are ONE. There is no speaking to the Father and not to the Son or to the Spirit. The name of God is Jesus as well as “I am” and Jehovah.

The Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6 shows us this. It begins, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” “Hallowed” means to be holy. His holy name is JESUS. Even there, when we pray, it is to Him as the Father, asking for our daily bread which is physical provision as well as those of the heart and the mind that the bread represents, and as the Father and with the Father, anointed with the Spirit (John 1:1) He will answer.

We know He is trustworthy, and so we believe.

WATCH "He is (The Names of God)" by Eric Ludy

Jehovah: The Unchangeable, Intimate, Eternal God
Jireh: The Lord My Provider
M’Kaddesh: The Lord My Sanctifier
Nissi: The Lord My Banner of Victory
Rophe: The Lord My Health
Shalom: The Lord My Peace and Wholeness
Tsidkenu: The Lord My Righteousness
Shammah: God is There
Tsebaoth: The Lord of Hosts
Makkeh: The Lord Who Molds Me
Gmolah: The Lord Who Rewards
Elohay: The Lord Thy God
Eloheenu: The Lord Our God
Rohi: The Lord My Shepherd

He is also:
El-Eloh-Israel: The Personal God of Israel
El Elyon: God Most High
Elohim: The Sovereign, Mighty Creator
El Shaddai: The All-Sufficient One
Adonai: Lord & Master

Image by Παῦλος from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com