Eastertide: Pray in the Name of the risen Jesus

How do you pray in the Name of Jesus?
In several passages from the Gospel according to John, Jesus instructs us to pray in his Name. For example:
“I will do whatever you ask in my Name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my Name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14; see also 15:16; 16:23-24, 26)
This command has led many Christians to end their prayers with words such as “in Jesus name” or “through Jesus Christ our Lord”, before they say “Amen.”

We can only approach God in the Name of Jesus, because we are under the authority of the living Lord. We come into God’s presence, not in our merit, but because the risen Jesus is our Head and King. We are welcome in God’s presence not as a result of who we are, but simply because we belong to Christ.

If we are to pray in the Name of King Jesus, our prayers should be about the agenda of King Jesus. This means that our minds and hearts must be formed and directed by Scripture. It also means that we have to set aside quiet times to listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit who speaks the will of Jesus. When we pray in the Name of Jesus, we do not only approach God under the authority of Jesus, but we come to the Father with the desires of Jesus.

Praying in the Name of Jesus has very little to do with the words we use to end our prayers. Yes, it is a good practice to end our prayers saying, “in the Name of Jesus” or “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. But if we believe that to say this is some sort of magic formula that ensures that God will do what we ask, we should stop saying these words until we are in tune with the Lord and his desires. Self-centred prayers cannot be fixed by a formula of words at the end. There is no example or command in the Bible of how to end our prayers. And the Lord’s Prayer does not say “in Jesus Name” at the end.

But the Lord’s Prayer says – Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And this is what it means to pray in the Name of Jesus. To come by his authority, with his will, before his Father. To pray in his Name means to desire the heavenly rule of the Son of God to break visibly into this world, on this planet, in my life and where I am called to make a difference.

If saying “in the Name of Jesus” at the end of our prayers helps us to remember that we seek the will of Christ in prayer, we have the freedom to do so. But it is not mentioning the Name of Jesus at the end that makes it a Christian prayer, but by surrendering to his will throughout my prayer that it becomes an approach of the Father in his Name.
It is not so much the words I say at the end of the prayer that makes the difference, but it is my relationship with the risen Lord and my obedience to him throughout my prayer, that makes it a prayer in his Name.