Praying in Jesus’ Name (what it actually means)

Of late I have been invited to a few churches and when I can, I generally say yes and go along. Now some things can always feel a little strange when visiting another church because they each have their own unique little quirks and ways of doing things. One thing that seems to be almost universal though is to hear people signing off their prayers with the words “in Jesus name, amen” or the slightly more formal, “this we pray in the name of Jesus, amen”. This is probably normal for you too but I always notice it because it is a habit our own little assembly fell out of a few years ago and so I don’t hear it as much anymore.

I think that when most people pray this way, it’s simply an unconscious habit that has been formed over the years and I am not against having some sort of ‘sign off’ when praying publicly either. We have all sat through those moments during corporate prayer with our eyes closed wondering, are we done yet? Discreetly opened our eyes to see 4 people still deep in prayer, one scratching his nose and 2 others staring at their phones. Once when one of my kids were still small they ended a prayer by saying, “the end”. I found it quite amusing but that didn’t quite sound right either so a hearty “amen” is both good and helpful in moments like those and if you still prefer the “in Jesus’ name, amen” then by all means continue as you were (but know that it means more as we will get too).

Beyond sign offs and habit though, I suspect that many people use the, “in Jesus’ name” mantra almost like it’s a magic formula used to make our prayers extra powerful and force God to sit up, take notice and honor our requests. The proof text for this would be John 16:23 where Jesus said, “If you ask the Father for anything He will give it to you in my name”. To share a little bit of my background, I attended mostly charismatic churches growing up where “in Jesus’ name” was a phrase that was probably repeated after every second or third sentence that was prayed, mixed in with some ‘binding the devils’ and ‘pleading the bloods’ for good measure. This kind of prayer taught me to ‘pray hard’ and try to stir up enough faith within myself that my words would break through to God and come to fruition.

Another Perspective

I’d like to suggest that one can pray in Jesus name without actually muttering the words at all. Rather than repeating a phrase, I believe that to pray in Jesus’ name means to pray a prayer that Jesus Himself would have prayed. Think for a moment about how people used to send messages to one another, maybe a king had a decree to share with his people or with another kingdom. To do so he would send out a man under his authority who would speak on his behalf. Ambassadors do the same thing today when, they do not speak for themselves but on behalf of the countries or organizations that they represent. Another example might be one who has been granted power of attorney to handle another person’s estate. In all of these examples the person represents someone else or something else speaking and acting on their behalf. The goal is never to use the authority given to them for selfish gain but to accurately represent another’s interests. If someone handling another’s affairs makes a decision, it is as if the person they represent themselves had made the decision and the outcome should honor and reflect that persons wishes. If a person speaks on behalf of a king, it is received as if the king himself had uttered the words in line with his will.

In other words, to pray in Jesus’ name means to pray a prayer that you could imagine Jesus Himself praying to the Father. It is more than just willy-nilly supplications made in prayer or a prayer you might have repeated before every meal for the past thirty years. It is to approach prayer thoughtfully, considering Jesus’ heart first. Does my prayer line up with how Jesus lived? Does it reflect His kingdom focused agenda? Does it bless others and exalt God? To pray fruitfully is similar to been a good ambassador or a good power of attorney. One needs to know the mind and heart of the one that they represent in order to do a good job of it. This is why John said in 1 John 5:14:

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

This then is the key to developing a meaningful prayer life. Let it be more than a one way line of communication. Spend time with God, think about what matters to Jesus, let the things that move His heart move yours and provoke you to actions beyond words, try this and your prayer life will be transformed.

What is Hell?

It has been rather quiet over here on my blog but that does not mean that I have not been busy, I have been hard at work on a new book and am making good progress. Hopefully I will have some news on that project for everyone around about the end of the year. But for now, I wanted to tell everyone about Jeremy Myers' latest book that I was fortunate enough to write the afterword for (Brad Jersak wrote the foreword). For anyone who is interested in the subject of hell, it really is unique in much of its content. He does a great job of documenting how the traditional notion of hell developed over time and shows how warped much of our thinking has become in contrast to what the Bible actually has to say about hell.

While the book does touch on the three main views of hell, it primarily argues that the bulk (not all) of the verses that people generally use in discussing hell have nothing to do with the afterlife at all but rather, in their context, are specifically concerned with how to avoid 'hell on earth' in this life. Some of the arguments are quite insightful and persuasive making this a challenging and thought provoking read. Without sharing too much though, I thought that I would just share what I wrote at the end of the book with everyone instead. Here it is:

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven – Jesus of Nazareth

Have you ever heard the old Johnny Cash song entitled No earthly good? It is a song about people who become so focused on heaven as an afterlife destination that they essentially neglect the present hellish realities that are all around us. One becomes so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. The lesson that we can take from it is that we can be very spiritual, invest our time in prayer, in church meetings, in studying the Bible and more but end up leaving the world behind with little evidence that we were ever here or made a difference while we were on it.

This is not the kind of Christianity that we see lived out in the pages of Scripture though. Jesus and those who followed Him early on had a bit of a reputation for been troublemakers. Not because they got up to mischievous acts but because they tended not to toe the line very well. They saw brokenness in the world, in the systems around them and in the people who were victims of it all and they chose to stand up and fight against it.

When Christ taught His disciples to pray as quoted above, He did not encourage them with the future hope of heaven but rather challenged them to bring a little bit of heaven down to earth. “Your kingdom come” has nothing to do with church real estate; rather it is a declaration of war against the kingdom of darkness, it is heaven invading earth with the knowledge that the gates of hell will not be able to stand up against the churches attacking army. Yet this is no ordinary army, most armies bring with them calamity upon the lands and peoples affected by them resulting in hunger, poverty and destruction. The soldiers of Christ though lay down their own lives sacrificially for others, instead of capturing they release, rather than oppress they set free. And instead of bringing death they bring life. Jesus, reading from Isaiah, once said the following:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. (Luke 4:18-19).

The more one thinks about it the more you realize that this was not just His mission on earth but the calling for all of those who belong to Him as well. It is our privilege to continue the work that Jesus started here on earth of serving the poor, participating in the healing process where we find brokenness, setting the captives free and proclaiming our LORD to those who are surrounded and entrapped by darkness.

Yes, the implications of trusting in Jesus for eternal life or refusing that gift extend far beyond the few short years that we are given before our bodies will one day be laid to rest. But the good news is that eternal life starts now in the present. The kingdom of God which began like a small mustard seed is growing day by day here on earth, light is overcoming the darkness and as it spreads the kingdom of hell is forced to relinquish ground and retreat. This is a battle that we are winning.

My hope for this book is that it will help to shed light on many of the myths that people have been led to believe surrounding hell and ultimately around God Himself. By properly contextualizing some key verses and understanding various words oftentimes associated with hell and punishment, we can learn to trust that God is indeed good. And it is because of His love for us that He warns us about the dangers of a life lived apart from His ways and guidance. When we fall off the rails, we don’t need to hide from God in the bushes like Adam and Eve tried to do, we know that the safest place in the world will be to run directly into His waiting arms where we will find love, mercy and help. This is what I take from Jeremy’s book and what I hope that you will find in its pages as well.

You can grab a copy of What is Hell? On Amazon by clicking over here.