Praying In The Name Of Jesus Part 2

Jesus is here in spirit, so when you use His name He acts and does it. You allow Jesus to live and act through you when you use His name. You have to believe that when you use the name of Jesus you will see results. Jesus needed a body to operate here on earth, to do what needed to be done to overcome the world and represent the Father. He came to undo the works of the enemy, and set people free by giving them eternal life. At His time, He could only be at one place at one time, since He had one body. Today, He still continues His work here on earth through His body, the church. This He does when we use His name. From the start to the end, we live in Jesus’ name.

The name of Jesus is what we got saved by, and is what we live by. We got salvation through the name of Jesus; everything else we get from the Father will also be in His name, throughout our walk with Him.

Acts 4:12

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The word “saved” as used in the above verse is derived from the Greek word sozo,  which means healed, preserved, saved, made well, delivered, made whole. In other words, there is no other name under heaven by which we must be healed, preserved, saved, made well, delivered, and made whole. Whatever you need in this earth that God has provided for you is available through the name of Jesus.

Hebrews 7:25

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

The above verse does not mean that Jesus prays to the Father continuously on our behalf. Jesus in John 16:26-27 says that when we pray in His name He does not pray to the Father for us, as we have direct access to the Father. Making intercession for us means that He acts in seeing to it that we get that which He paid for, when we ask or come through Him. Again, the word “save” in this verse is not limited to salvation when we accepted Him, but whenever we need His rescue, healing, preservation, deliverance etc. Whatever we need from the Father, Jesus paid for, and we get it by approaching the Father through Jesus Christ. Approaching the Father through Jesus calls for getting to know Jesus and having faith in Him, as you cannot come through or represent someone you do not know or believe in, fully. You have to believe that going through Jesus bears results, as it means associating with Him and His person.

As we said earlier on, praying in the name of Jesus is associating with Him. When we got born again we got joined with Christ, and became one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 7:17), through His death and resurrection. This means that what was ours became His, and what was His became ours. Since we are not interested in what became His from our side (sin, poverty, diseases, bondage, addictions, weakness, curses, fear etc), we should now focus solely on what was His and is now ours. Jesus, as the Son of God and the firstborn among all creation, was and is entitled to privileges from the Father. It is for us to know what Jesus was entitled to as a Son, and that with Him being our Savior and Redeemer we get to be co-heirs or joint-heirs of the same, through faith in Him.

Romans 8:16-17

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…

Through faith in Jesus and in His name, we can acquire all that Christ is entitled to, but we have to have faith in His name. Using Jesus’ name entitles you to what Jesus is entitled to, and asking in His name will give you results just as it would give Jesus Himself if He were asking from the Father.

Three weeks ago we talked about the importance of praying according to the will of God. The following week we talked about the importance of praying with confidence. It is the will of the Father for us to pray in the name of His Son, and when you do so with confidence you will get a definite answer. Our assignment is to know what the will of the Father is for us, that is what He wants for us and what Jesus made available for us by His death and resurrection; once we know this and ask in Jesus’ name with confidence, then we are assured to get answers. God loves us dearly, which is why He is willing to give us all things that are in His will, and that Jesus paid for.

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

You see, God is willing to give us all things, and HAS already done so. Look at the verse carefully. It asks, “how shall He not WITH HIM also give us all things?” This tells me that when I accepted Christ, I received all things that come with Him. If I give you a house and you accept it, you receive everything that is included in that package. I do not have to mention each and every item that is in the house, it is for you to accept the house and when you do you get what is in the house. If you reject the house, you reject everything that is in the house. The key to getting anything that is in the house is accepting the house.

This is the same case with salvation. By accepting Christ, you accepted everything that God has to offer through Christ, that Christ paid for through His death, and that is entitled to Him by virtue of Him being the firstborn Son of God, in terms of inheritance and heritage. The way to get these things is first to accept Christ, then lay a hold of them through asking in His name, from the Father. God gave us these things through promises, which are written in the scriptures. They are ours and have been given to us, but we have to lay hold of them through asking, faith and patience:

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 6:11-12

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

It is through faith in Jesus, who is actually the living word of God, and the promises of God, and through patience that we get to inherit the promises, get what God has given us through Christ. It is through faith in the name of Jesus that we get them, through asking, holding on to faith and being patient. The promises are a guarantee, as long as we have faith in Christ:

2 Corinthians 1:20

For all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

When we ask by faith in His name, hold on to faith patiently and receive, then God is glorified. As long as we are in Christ, we have a guarantee of the promises. This guarantee is called the Holy Spirit:

2 Corinthians 1:20-22

For all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 5:5

Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

That’s how much God loves us. Not only did He save us, but He also made us heirs of His Son’s inheritance together with Him, gave us promises through which we lay hold of this inheritance, gave us the name of Jesus to ask in, showed us how to ask, and guaranteed the promises and inheritance through the Spirit. The inheritance is not to enjoy just here on earth, but also in heaven.

Ephesians 1:13-14

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

You may ask, “why ask if these things you are saying have already been given to me, and why are they ‘promises” if we already have them?” Jesus answered this question in our main text:

John 16:24

Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

It is a law that only through asking do we get to receive (Matthew 7:7). Asking gives us an opportunity for our joy to be full, and also presents us with an opportunity to glorify God through Jesus when we receive, besides helping us to develop the relationship between us and the Father and experience His love. God would have allowed us to access everything He has given us without asking, but then we would have missed out on knowing Him, His love, His Son, the power in the name of Jesus, and joy. It is the same as a newborn child who is born into a family. Everything the father of the child has is the child’s, imagine how it would be if the child would get everything without asking. There would be no joy in asking and receiving, the child would end up taking everything for granted, and the child would develop no relationship with the father that would lead in the child knowing what the father likes or dislikes and how to ask, et cetera. This is the same case with us; God loves us and it is a privilege that not only has He given us all things for our enjoyment through Christ, but has also given us an assurance that if we ask for these things we will receive; BUT we have to ask in the name of Jesus, for it is through Him that all these things are given.

Jesus Himself demonstrated this principle of asking and receiving and even waiting, while He was on earth. Look at this text:

John 14:16

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…”

John 15:26

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me…”

Acts 1:4

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from me.”

Acts 2:33

“Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”

From the above texts, we see that it was the Father’s will for the Holy Spirit to be poured out to the people, which is why He (the Holy Spirit) is called the Promise. Jesus knew that it was the Father’s will for the disciples and us to receive the Holy Spirit, but He did not assume that this will be done without asking, despite Him being the Son of God! He knew that He still had to ask, receive, and wait for the opportune time. After being exalted to the right hand of the Father, we are told that He received the promise from the Father, of the Holy Spirit. Yet, it took 10 days for the Spirit to be poured out on the disciples, on the day of Pentecost. This tells us several things:

• Jesus knew the Father’s will, before asking. He knew that it was the Father’s will for the Holy Spirit to be poured out. He knew that God had promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh, according to Joel 2:28-32.
• Jesus asked, to receive.
• When Jesus asked, He was confident that He will receive, to the extent that in John 15:26 He doesn’t say, “if the Helper comes,” but “when” the Helper comes. He had faith that when He asked according to the will of God He will definitely receive.
• After asking and receiving, there had to be a waiting time for the manifestation to occur. God granted Jesus His request immediately when He was exalted to His right hand, but it took 10 days for the manifestation to occur physically, for the Spirit to be poured out on the day of Pentecost. The disciples did not panic and start wondering if Jesus’ prayer was answered; they had faith and waited on Him, and the manifestation occurred on the day of Pentecost.
• We have to know the Father’s will, before asking. God’s will is in His word. We have to ask, in Jesus’ name, in faith, being confident that the Father will answer us. We have to wait in faith, knowing that though the Father answered, the manifestation may take a while.

Picture a beloved son whose father dies and leaves several possessions in his will for the child, in the care of an advocate. Now picture if the beloved son transfers the will to his other brothers, through the power of attorney. The only way these brothers will get any of the possessions is to ask in the name of the first son, which is legally through the power of attorney, and whatever belonged to the first son will belong to them. If the first son did not know what was left for him, the brothers would not know either. If the brothers did not know what was left for the first son, they would not even care to ask, to receive. If the brothers knew what was left for the first son and never asked, they still would have never received anything. More so, if the brothers did not have faith in the son as a legal heir, they would not ask, and therefore not receive.

My brother and my sister, our assignment is to know what has been freely given to us by our Father, and confidently ask in His name. God wants us to have all these things, which is why He sent His Son to tell us about asking and receiving, and also sent His Spirit to reveal these things to us, through relationship with Him:

1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 12

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him,” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

If you do not know what has been freely given to you, you will miss out a great deal; the same goes for if you do not know the power, privilege and authority you have in the name of Jesus, or if you do not have faith in His name as the Son of God and legal heir, and you being the joint heir of the inheritance. The work of the Spirit is to reveal to you the things that are entitled to you by virtue of being in Christ; your work is to ask for them from the Father in Jesus’ name; the Father’s work is to grant you your requests; Jesus’ work is to ensure you receive them; your work again is to receive in faith. You have to cooperate with the Spirit, Son and Father and do your part faithfully in order for you to receive what is yours, and glorify the Father.

As we learnt three weeks ago, God’s will is in His word, and if you ask anything according to His will then you are guaranteed that He heard you (1 John 5:14-15). Go to His word and find out what is yours by virtue of being in Christ, and go ahead and ask in faith. If you do this and ask in faith in Jesus’ name, hold on to the faith and patiently wait, then you will definitely receive. Why wait patiently? So that your faith is tested to produce patience, and so that you are made perfect, lacking nothing:

James 1:2-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

Waiting is a trial, that is aimed at testing your faith, and the testing of your faith produces patience. Patience is what makes you perfect and complete, lacking nothing. God would again give us everything immediately when we ask, but then we would not have patience, our faith would waver, and we would be lacking in many things at the long run. You have patience as a fruit of the Spirit, but it needs to be produced/ worked/ developed, and this is done through testing.

1 Peter 1:5-7

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…

Faith is so important, for it is through faith that the power of God sustains us, while we wait for Christ:

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to an ⁴ inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Without faith, we would all fall away and come short of enjoying the full inheritance with Christ, in heaven. Patience is what is produced when our faith is tried or stretched, and without this our faith would waiver and fail. This is why Jesus asked if He will find faith when He comes on the last day:

Luke 18:8b

“…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Be sure that when you ask in Jesus’ name and according to His will, you will receive. Be determined to be patient and hold on in faith, until the manifestation comes, for this is good for your faith, for you to develop patience.

Let me finish by reminding us that praying in Jesus’ name is not a magical formula we use to get God to answer our prayer, when we say “in Jesus name” at the end of our prayers. Praying in Jesus’ name means that are acknowledging the fact that He is our Savior and Redeemer. It means that we are associating and relating with Him as our Mediator with the Father, our Sanctification, Righteousness and Justification. It means that we are aligning our wills, desires, hopes and dreams to Him knowing that He is before all things, and all things consist and find meaning in Him, and so this life is not about us, but about Him. Praying in Jesus name calls for aligning ourselves to the will, desire, purpose and work of Jesus name here on earth, which is why it is of paramount importance that we know this will, from the word of God. Praying in the name of Jesus means representing His authority and power, and allowing ourselves to be channels through which He is glorified, when we receive; this means we have to know Him, believe in Him and be interested in His glory, realizing it’s ALL ABOUT HIM.

Live for Jesus, praying in His name, and you will ALWAYS see results. Make your life about Him. Praying in the name of Jesus is making our prayer all about Jesus. Life is bigger than us; life is Jesus Himself (John 14:6). Surrender to Jesus today, and let your life be all about Him. Then, when you ask in His name, you will receive WHATEVER you desire, as His will and desires have become yours.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

John 15:7, 16

⁷ “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

¹⁶ “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

It’s all about Jesus, make a determined choice to make your life and requests all about Him.

Blessings.

-- Sam Gitonga. 



(20/10/13 Sunday Service Sermon, Africa Transformation Mission. Pramukh Plaza, 6th Floor.)



Brother Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.