Consider This- In Jesus Name I Pray...
Posted
by
LeeMartini on
7/31/2011 6:53:01 AM
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This
In Jesus’ name…
John 14:12-14
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in My name, I will do it.
Does Scripture teach there is a right and wrong way to ask in the name of Jesus? Yes and No! Therefore, I present an illustration to help us understand that God is not just a puppet for us to use when we want something, nor does He listen to all prayers as if to act upon them… So that you will understand more about this,I will explain it using the illustration that I shall call, “Working for the Jones Gadget Factory.”
Joe gets a job and is told that his responsibility is to create gadgets that can be made and sold. All the supplies he needs will be provided from the great supply room. All he has to do is request the items he wants in Mr. Jones name and they will be delivered. So he begins to think and gets an idea for a gadget. He thinks it’s a great idea, so he draws it up, refines it, and then perfects it. He makes an order list, then goes to the supply room where he sees a slot. He says in a loud voice, “I need these items please, I want to order them in Mr. Jones name.” He then slips his order into the slot and returns to his office. He works on a few more ideas as the days pass and no supplies. He goes back and says, “Hey, I need those supplies.” Then he says the magic words again, “I am ordering them in Mr. Jones name!” and goes back to his office. First, a week goes by, then two and no still no supplies. So he goes to the superintendent and explains how he followed directions explicitly but never got his requests. The superintendent kindly explains, “Joe, asking in Mr. Jones name doesn’t mean literally saying the words, “In Mr. Jones name. It means with Mr. Jones approval.” You submit your plans to him, if he feels the idea will benefit his company and accomplish his goals, he approves them and answers your request the way he wants. He may turn down your request exactly as you ask, because only what furthers his plan will be approved and materials supplied.
Christians must sound a little strange to God when they submit their requests, whatever they are, and think they will automatically get their request by saying over and over, “In Jesus name, for Jesus sake I ask, or In your name I pray.” Praying and then adding on, “In Jesus name” is no different than Joe was correct in requesting supplies “In Mr. Jones name” by hollering down the slot. He found out that “In Mr. Jones name” meant doing what Mr. Jones would do if he were Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones needed to place his stamp of approval on Joe’s project before Joe would receive supplies.
If God doesn’t provide our supplies as we ask, perhaps it’s because our plan does not meet with His approval for one reason or another. We can pray for good things but out prayers must be in accordance with God’s purpose for them to be answered as we ask. We can say, “In Jesus name” as a reminder to us that His approval is necessary for the prayer to be answered. With this in mind, such words are meaningless to cause God to answer as we ask. We need to more carefully look into what we are asking God. The New Testament gives us suggestions about what prayer should be used for, it also gives us this instruction at the beginning of Paul’s letters. We should pray the Bible way if we expect our prayers to be answered… This is neither complete nor absolute, but might provide some insight as to what one is doing right or wrong… Lee
