Sermon Audio

We have before us this morning a text on prayer. Right at the beginning, Jesus tells His disciples, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you." Talking to the Father—asking Him for something—is what prayer is. So, let us begin by dissecting what Jesus says.

"Most assuredly, I say to you..." Jesus begins this sentence with, "Amen, Amen." Now, I've mentioned before in Bible Studies and other discussions that when you see a word repeated in Scripture, it's akin to our use of bold or italics. Some translations will keep true to the original words and simply translate this as "Truly, truly..." Others will make an attempt at emphasis with a phrase such as "Most assuredly..." In either case, what we can learn from Jesus' use of these two words is that you can take what He's about to say to the bank: "Ask for anything of the Father in My name, and He'll give it to you. Count on it. You have My Word on it. It is my promise to you."

"Whatever you ask the Father..." While this doesn't sound strange to us, it was strange for Jesus' disciples to hear. First of all, recall that after witnessing John's disciples praying, Jesus' disciples approach Him with a request: "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." They wanted to learn how to pray to the Father, how to ask the Father. So, they ask Jesus to teach them. And that brings us to the second point—up to now, if they ever needed anything, they had the source with them all the time; they needed only to ask Jesus. Jesus was on His way to crucifixion; He spoke these words to them on the night when He instituted the Lord's Supper—therefore, He was close to being no longer in their physical presence such that they could go to Him with a request.

"In my name..." Here's the key to prayer. And let me get this out of the way right away. This isn't some sort of password or incantation that somehow makes a petition worthy to be heard and granted. It's not that you can make your requests known before God, whatever they are, then add "In Jesus' name" and in so doing turn on God's magic wand to grant your requests. On the contrary, praying "in Jesus' name" frames the prayer as being a request for the sake of Jesus and His merits. Praying "in Jesus' name" acknowledges that we have no merit of our own that God should grant, or even hear, our prayer, but we pray on the merits of Christ's work on our behalf. It's an acknowledgment of our sin and the forgiveness won by Christ on the cross. It's almost as if we say, "Lord, we are not worthy that you should grant our prayer, but merely say the word and it shall be granted." Praying "in Jesus' name" requires faith and a right understanding of what God wants for us.

"He will give you..." Ask anything of the Father in Jesus' name, and He will give it to you. It sounds so simple, and it is, but you can't get to God giving you anything you ask for without first going through everything else Jesus says. Every phrase we have covered thus far has bearing on every other phrase. You must have the "Truly, Truly" before you can have "in My name," for if you most assuredly pray in faith, acknowledging your sin and God's grace, understanding what God wants for you, and then ask for it, God will most assuredly give it to you. While we have dissected what Jesus has said, it must be taken as a whole and understood as a whole: "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you."

Yet if we fail to understand even one part, the whole thing falls apart. I contend that, for the most part, we have no problem with "Most assuredly, I say to you..." or "Whatever you ask the Father..." or "He will give you." Where we most often have problems is with "in My name."

For one thing, as I have previously mentioned, it is so easy to view those words as a phrase that somehow makes the prayer worthy. The simplest understanding of what Jesus says is this: ask for anything, stick a "in Jesus' name" on the end of it, and it's yours. Ask for a million dollars, a shiny new Ferrari, and a 10-bedroom mansion; do it all "in Jesus' name," and it's yours! It couldn't be more simple, and it couldn't be more wrong! The phrase "in Jesus' name" does not make God's ears perk up to our prayer or make him "come to life" to grant our request. As I previously mentioned, praying "in Jesus' name" is an acknowledgment that we have no merit in and of ourselves to even approach God the Father in prayer, but we do so for the sake of Jesus that He may grant to us what Jesus has won for us and what He has promised us. It requires faith and trust, and these ask of the Father what He has already promised to give us.

That also brings up another misunderstanding. Praying "in Jesus' name" does not become more "powerful" or "effective" based on our merit. Asking for something because we somehow managed to have a better day and committed fewer sins than the previous day does not grant that petition any more merit than if it were prayed on a worse day. Whether it was 1000 sins or 100 sins, they are still sins so that the fewer amount is no better than the greater. We do not somehow draw closer to God by being good, or better than the last day, or better than the next guy, so that praying "in Jesus' name" is more effective. On the contrary, we pray "in Jesus' name" because we cannot merit having our prayer heard or answered on our own. All we are left with in order to approach God the Father is the merit of Jesus Christ; therefore, we pray "in Jesus' name."

Related to these two misunderstandings is that one's faith effects the prayer. That is to say that the strength of one's faith lends merit to praying "in Jesus' name:" the less one struggles with doubt or not understanding the Word of God, the more likely it is that God will grant one's petition when prayed "in Jesus' name." This error completely invalidates the God-given prayer, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." This error also turns faith into a work, and we wind up believing that we can approach God and expect Him to hear our prayers based on our merits.

It can also be mentioned that it is a false idea to believe that God is more likely to hear and answer prayers when more people are praying. It's as if the volume of the petition produced by a greater number is more likely to get God the Father's attention. That's not to say that it is wrong that a large number of people pray for the same thing. God commands us to pray; it is good for us to pray for each other. Therefore, if you have a request, let others know for it is good for you to be prayed for and good for others to pray for you. However, the effectiveness of the prayer does not depend on the number of people praying it. Prayer is not a popularity contest; God does not decided which petition to grant based on the number of people praying; prayer is not some sort of Heavenly Idol contest. Prayer is effective prayed in faith and trust in the merits of Jesus..."in Jesus' name."

No matter how many times it has been said, it hasn't been said enough. Praying "in Jesus' name" is to pray trusting in the merits of Christ, who died and rose again forgiving our sins and giving us confident access to the Father, trusting that God will give us what is best for us. Praying "in Jesus' name" is praying "Thy will be done," trusting that God's will is good and gracious for you. Therefore, you can "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." God hears your prayers, of this you can be certain. Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you," because you are forgiven for all of your sins.