What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?

Did you know that the Bible never commands us to say, "in Jesus' name" at the end of our prayers? So, why do we do it? Well, because Jesus commanded and encouraged us to pray in His name (John 14:13-14). But, He wasn't commanding us to say, "in Jesus' name." He was commanding us to pray in His name. So, what does that mean?  Well, it means a whole lot more than simply saying 3 words at the end of our prayers. It is an attitude and recognition.  Here is my attempt to get at what it means:

Praying in Jesus’ name means recognizing that it is only through Jesus that we can ask anything of God.
We must come to the Father acknowledging that, without the atonement of Jesus, He would not even hear us.

Praying in Jesus’ name means praying for what will bring Him most glory.

 “In Jesus’ name” is another way to say, “for Jesus’ glory.

Praying in Jesus’ name means praying in submission to His revealed will.

  “In Jesus’ name” is another way to say, “if it be according to Your will.”

Paul Miller, A Praying Life, p. 134.

“Imagine that your prayer is a poorly dressed beggar reeking of alcohol and body odor, stumbling toward the palace of the great king. You have become your prayer. As you shuffle toward the barred gate, the guards stiffen. Your smell has preceded you. You stammer out a message for the great king: ‘I want to see the king.’

Your words are barely intelligible, but you whisper one final word, ‘Jesus, I come in the name of Jesus.’ At the name of Jesus, all of a sudden, the palace comes alive. The guards snap to attention, bowing low in front of you. Lights come on, and the door flies open. You are ushered into the palace and down a long hallway into the throne room of the great king, who comes running to you and wraps you in his arms.

The name of Jesus gives my prayers royal access. They get through. Jesus isn’t just the Savior of my soul. He’s also the Savior of my prayers. My prayers come before the throne of God as the prayers of Jesus. ‘Asking in Jesus’ name’ isn’t another thing I have to get right so my prayers are perfect. It is one more gift of God because my prayers are so imperfect.”

Why Study Theology?

I started a Sunday evening series on the main doctrines of our faith last week. We are calling it, "Firm Foundations." I want to begin my pastorate at Miller Heights by laying a solid foundation of truth that will serve us for many years and decades to come. I started with an introductory message addressing the question of why we should even study theology at all. Here was my brief outline:

The Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:28-31).

One of the ways we can love God with all our minds is to study God (theology = the study of God).

Why should we study theology?

1.      We want to know God better.

2.      We want to glorify and worship God to the best of our ability.

3.      We want to be a faithful witness of God and His ways.

4.      We want to promote unity and purity in the church.

5.      We want to correct our wrong and erroneous beliefs.

6.      We want to be mature and stable Christians who remain steadfast to the end.

So, with what attitude should we study God?

1.      We should study God sticking closely to the Bible.

2.      We should study God with prayer.

3.      We should study God with humility.

4.      We should study God in community with one another.

5.      We should study God with faith and confidence.

6.      We should study God with worship and praise.

God's Passion for His Glory

10 things God has done (or will do) that He specifically says He did for His own glory:

1.      God created us for His glory.

a.      Isaiah 43:6-7: God says, “bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

b.      Isaiah 43:21: God describes His people as: “the people whom I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.”

2.      God forgives sins for His glory .

a.      Isaiah 43:25:  God says, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

b.      Psalm 25:11:  “For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.”

3.      God hardened Pharaoh’s heart for His glory.

a.      Exodus 14:4, 14:17-18: God says, “And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD…And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

b.      Romans 9:17: “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’”

4.      God will not abandon His people for His glory.

a.      1 Samuel 12:22: “For the LORD will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself.”

5.      God rescued His people from Egypt for His glory.

a.      Psalm 106:7-8: “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power.”

6.      Jesus came for the glory of God.

a.      John 12:27-28: Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

b.      John 17:1, 4-5: “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

c.      Romans 15:8-9: Paul says, “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

7.      God chose us, adopted us, saved us, and sealed us for His glory.

a.      Ephesians 1:3-14: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

8.      Jesus answers prayers for His glory.

a.      John 14:13: Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

9.      God gave the Holy Spirit to us for His glory.

a.      John 16:13-14: Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

10. Jesus is coming again for His glory.

a.      2 Thessalonians 1:9-10: “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

b.      Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

All That is Gold Does Not Glitter

I was reminded today of this post from 5 years ago and was encouraged by it:

I've been pondering this line for a few days now: All That is Gold Does Not Glitter.

It is so true isn't it? The really sweet things in life, ministry, and faithfulness are not glamorous. Often, those things that please the heart of God do not get published in the newspaper or commemorated by a plaque. How many faithful, gospel-loving missionaries are out there right now doing what God has called them to do, without one ounce of "glitter."

Hospital visits do not glitter.
An hour on your knees in private does not glitter.
Sharing the gospel over a cup of coffee does not glitter.
Memorizing a chapter of Scripture does not glitter.
Building a church for a poor village does not glitter.
Holding a sick orphan does not glitter.
Ending this blog post to feed my son does not glitter...

$5 off at the new WTS Book website

Use code "wtsbooks" to get $5 off your order. Slick new site.

Bless God for Lack of Worldly Prosperity

Spurgeon: "We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank him for our changes; we extol his name for losses of property; for we feel that had he not chastened us thus, we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial."

Pay Down Debt in order to Support Missions

This is a good and practical post by Kevin DeYoung on paying down debt.

Being Seriously Apprehensive

Meditating on 1 Cor. 2:1-5 (Paul's weakness and fear and trembling), John Calvin said this:

"The servants of the Lord are not so dull as not to see threatening dangers, nor so insensitive as not to be affected by them. No! and in fact they must be seriously apprehensive for two main reasons: 1) that, humbled in their own eyes, they might learn to lean and rest completely on God alone; and 2) that they might be trained in true self-denial. Paul, therefore, was not without a sense of anxiety, but he controlled it, so that he nonetheless continued to be undaunted in the midst of crises."

Risk is Right

John Piper has a new little book out about the importance of taking risks to make much of Christ. Its called, Risk is Right. I love this little book because I feel the pull of the world to take life easy. Piper challenges me to not waste my life. The only way to not waste life is to take risks for the cause of Christ. Its a short book, but power-packed. Get it on sale at WTS books.

Living in the Light

In my sermon Sunday from 1 John 1:5-7, I meditated on what it means to "walk in the light as he is in the light." Here are 7 truths trying to get at what it looks like to live in the light:

Living in the light means living in fellowship with God.
Living in the light means striving for purity.
Living in the light means rejecting the deeds of darkness.
Living in the light means practicing the truth.
Living in the light means loving our brothers.

Living in the light means acknowledging and confessing our sin.

 Living in the light means treasuring Jesus whose blood cleanses from all sin.

50% off 2012 Bestsellers at WTS

WTS Books has a 50% off sale on their bestselling books from last year. Good resources for children and marriage and ministry.

An Encouragement to Love God's Word in 2013

As I try to do each year on the Sunday closest to the New Year, I challenged my church to love God's Word more. This year, I meditated on the power of God's Word to change us. God's Word works. You can listen to the sermon here.

A Prayer for Our Sunday Gatherings

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us 
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Speak, O Lord by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

Brothers, We are Still Not Professionals

John Piper's book, Brothers, We are Not Professionals, has long been one of my favorite books on pastoral ministry. So, I was glad to see that Desiring God has recently put together an ebook as an extension to it: Still Not Professionals. It has contributions from some of my favorite pastors. And, its free!

Here is a quote from the first chapter (by Piper) that has me abiding in Christ as I prepare today for Sunday's sermon:

"Ministry is discovering how to live happily in the all-accomplishing hands of the risen Christ.This is a plea for pastors to put the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the power of Christ-exalting truth, and the purity of holy living, above the pragmatic considerations of organization, and above our concerns with compelling style."

Habakkuk Sermon Series

I really enjoyed preaching through Habakkuk. My Habakkuk sermons can be accessed here.

Give us Dependent Preachers

One of the gifts of God we should pray for is dependent preachers. I would rather sit under the preaching of a man who understands his dependence on the Spirit than 10,000 preachers who just go through the motions. You can tell the difference. God, make me desperate.

"How utterly dependent we are on the Holy Spirit in the work of preaching! All genuine preaching is rooted in a feeling of desperation. You wake up on Sunday morning and you can smell the smoke of hell on one side and feel the crisp breezes of heaven on the other. You go to your study and look down at your pitiful manuscript, and you kneel down and cry, “O God, this is so weak! Who do I think I am? What audacity to think that in three hours my words will be the odor of death to death and the fragrance of life to life (2 Cor. 2:16). My God, who is sufficient for these things?”"

John Piper, The Supremancy of God in Preaching, pp. 41-42.

50 Largest Unreached People Groups

This is sobering. Joshua Project has a list of the 50 largest unreached people groups.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy (Psalm 67:4).

Why You Shouldn't Play the Lottery

People are scrambling today to get lottery tickets. Before you get in line here are some things to ponder by John Piper:

Why is gambling wrong? (Ask Pastor John audio)
Don't Play the Lottery for me.
Why I'm Opposed to a State Lottery
Picture Jesus Playing the Lottery

60% off ESV Bibles - Christmas Gift Idea!

WTS has a great sale on Bibles right now, many of them 60% off. For example, check out this new cover for the ESV Study Bible.

Give the best Christmas gift ever this year!

Rehearsing the Gospel as Black Friday Approaches

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:25-26