why pray in jesus name?

Have you ever wondered why every prayer we pray ends in "Jesus Name" Amen!! ? What does that really mean? 

We must “KNOW” the power and authority in the name of Jesus. If we DON’T KNOW this, then ending all our prayers in Jesus name actually has no faith attached to it.  It becomes a memorized jargon.

Luke 10:19 – Behold, I give you authority/power to trample on serpents and scorpions and over ALL THE POWER of the enemy. Nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Here the “power of the enemy” means “ability of the enemy”. So it can be read as “I give you power over all the ability of the enemy”. 

Authority is always greater than ability. Satan has the ability to mess with you, but Jesus has given us authority over him. Just like a traffic policeman. An 18 wheeler truck speeding has the ability clearly to run over a mere human being/policeman. The truck is massive and huge. The policeman’s strength is no match for a speeding truck. However, because of the authority the policeman carries with his uniform, he is able to simply hold up his hand and command the truck driver to stop. Even when the lights are green, if the policeman asks you to stop, you stop. Right!!! Likewise, even though Satan with all his demons are powerful and have much more ability than you and me, yet Jesus says He has given us “authority” over Satan’s ability. Jesus said I GIVE YOU, not lending it you, but I GIVE YOU. It’s yours to keep.

Jesus said “Nothing by any means shall hurt you”. Praise God! Isn't that wonderful? 

We can have the authority in the name of Jesus, and never exercise it and the enemy will keep messing us up. And that’s unfortunately how many Christians live. By and large the Christians in today’s world use Jesus’ name so loosely without understanding the authority behind that name. 

John 14:12-14 - "Most assuredly, 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 My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do [it].

These verses are not really about prayer. In verse 13, Jesus clarifies this by saying, whatever you ask in His name, He will DO, not He will give. Verse 12 is talking about doing the works that Jesus did. Hence verse 13 says, whatever you ask in Jesus name, He will do.. Verse 14 again, If you ask anything in Jesus name, He will DO it. Wow! How amazing is that!! 

John 14:10 - "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own [authority]; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

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Interestingly in verse 10, Jesus says the “WORDS” he speaks are not His, but His Father who dwells in Him, DOES the WORKS. Likewise, if we ask anything in Jesus name, that He will DO, not give. And then He says in verse 13…."that the Father might be glorified in the son".

So whatever it is that we are asking is not about making us look good, but that the Father might be glorified. So when I pray for you to be healed or when I cast out demons in His name, it is not so that I can look cool or impress people, but so that the Father might be glorified. That takes absolute humility. It takes dying to self and doing the works of God out of love and compassion. It’s not my asking as a Christian that makes it work, but asking in "Jesus Name" that makes it work. But I must be able to exercise faith in my “asking in Jesus name” and that is only possible when I understand the authority I have over the spiritual realm in using His name. It is also only possible if my inner life is holy, pure and broken of all pride and self. 

Matt 28:18 – All authority has been given to me in heaven AND on earth. ​

​Jesus said ALL POWER or AUTHORITY, not some of it, not most of it. ALL POWER has been given…(past tense). He HAS it already. Then, He says Go therefore and teach all nations….Why? He has the authority, not us. But He says“Because He has ALL authority in heaven AND on earth, go ye therefore…” Nobody has any power, but Jesus. And Jesus LOVES to exercise that authority and power through us (His body) who truly "believe" in Him. No reverend, no evangelist, no so called holy man of God has any power except that which he/she exercises in Jesus name. All power has been given to Jesus. 

What is authority for? To use it…..isn't it? Now what good is it for someone to have authority over some place and he’s not there? What good for you to have authority over the moon, but you are here on earth? What good that Jesus have authority over all the earth and He is not here? So, it is obvious that He delegated His authority to us the church which is His body, so that we the church may use the authority Jesus has and do the things Jesus did whilst He was here on earth. When you understand this, it gives you a boldness that is indescribable. You begin to walk in the newness of life. For example,  youKNOW that you need to RESIST something that you are experiencing because you KNOW that it is NOT of God and now that you know YOU HAVE the authority to overcome it, you can. And you begin to resist it, fight it with a sense of authority not because you are super strong in your own strength, but because you know the authority in Jesus name. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, but with Him, all things are possible.

Paul says "It is no longer I that lives, but Christ who lives in me". How profound and how true!! A truly born again believer should be able to say the same, not because he/she likens to apostle Paul in faith, but simply because that is the very nature of being born again. Our life now is in Christ. Just because we received Christ and became Christians doesn't make us super human beings. We on our own are just as dead as we were before we got saved. It's Christ IN us that gives us the New Life. It's Christ IN us that gives us strength to do the things we do. It's Christ IN us that gives us the hope we now have. 

People sing songs about Jesus….Halleluiah Jesus….there is something about that name…and so on. Those songs will make you feel good, but that will not help you live out your Christian life. However if you KNOW and UNDERSTAND the reality of the power in Jesus name, then it’ll have a huge impact on your prayer life and your faith. 

Acts 3: 2-7 --- in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Peter said Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I do have…Wow! That means Peter knew he had something…Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I do have…Peter knew he had something and that something had the power to overcome the man’s infirmity. Peter knew he had the delegated authority that Jesus gave. Peter was actually doing John 14. Ask anything in my name and that I will do…Jesus said. Peter did exactly that. Peter ASKED and the Lord did for the glory of the Father. Peter was simply exercising his delegated authority. Peter was not praying a lengthy prayer for healing. No, he just exercised delegated authority. But when you do that,  you need to do so in faith and that is only possible when you really, I mean really, know and understand in your heart, the authority that has been given to you. Again, it is also only possible when the Holy Spirit truly lives in you. The bible says, "Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit". And the Holy Spirit does not live in bodies practicing sinful life styles. I say this in love. Often times, many Christians put up a "lovable" and "christian" front, but have quite a different private life. Their thoughts are impure, they watch movies with swearing and sex scenes for entertainment, some watch pornography, they get angry with their spouse or children and say rude and hurtful words, they gossip, and are very little different to any body else in the world. But, they expect to use Jesus name and heal the sick and cast out demons and speak in tongues. 

My dear brothers and sisters, I speak in love. If an evil spirit makes you evil, shouldn't the Holy Spirit make you holy? Overcome every known sin in your life and then you can truly experience the power of using Jesus name. ​

When we exercise that name of Jesus, that name is understood really well in the spirit realm. It’s not Father God withholding your blessings, withholding your health and healing or anything else good. Its demonic forces that withhold them. And so, when you exercise authority over them in Jesus name, they know it, they hear it and they surrender to the authority that Jesus has been given over heaven and earth. But only when they have nothing to accuse you of.   

John 16:23-24 - "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

John 16:26-27 - "In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God."

Here we see that we are told by Jesus that in that day, we’ll not ask Him anything. Whatsoever we shall ask the Father, not Jesus…asking the Father in Jesus name. He will give it to you. 

When Jesus was walking on the earth, you never see in the gospels where the disciples are praying for something. Why not? Because Jesus the Son of God was right there with them. They had Emmanuel with them. They ran to him for anything that they wanted. They didn’t lack anything whilst Jesus was with them. Even when the storm arose on the sea and it looked like they were drowning, they didn’t pray that God would do something to save them. They ran to Jesus and said “Wake up, Lord, wake up, don’t you care we are drowning? And it was Jesus who calmed the storm saying Peace Be still. 

But now look at the verse we just read, In that day, (which day?) the day after Jesus is glorified (after His death and resurrection and ascension to heaven), you will ask me nothing, but you will ask the Father in Jesus name…And why will God give whatever you ask for? So that your joy may be full….not just to excite you and make you feel a bit happy and comfortable, but that your joy may be FULL.  

But be careful…watch out for motives. God gives us all things so that we can be a blessing and that His covenant might be fulfilled, not so that our selfish desires might be met. 

Matt 28: All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples… 

Jesus said ALL authority was His and He delegated that authority to us, His body, and the church to exercise that authority and do business here until He comes again. 

Phil 2:9-10 : Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… 

God has given Jesus “THE” name and not “A” name…If Jesus name is above every name, then the name of Jesus should be above your favorite preacher's name or Hanuman, Mohammed, Buddha, any other man made Hindu Gods and any other name that you can name on earth. Even sicknesses like Cancer, High Blood Pressure, curses like poverty, anxiety, depression, addiction, (you name it)…is just a name and God says Jesus name is above every name. That’s the authority in the name of Jesus. So when you pray in Jesus name without knowing the authority by which you are praying, then your prayers will be weak and merely words because you don’t know the authority and influence your prayer has in the spiritual realm.

We tend to pray so much with so much effort that we begin to rely on our prayer rather than on Jesus  in whose name we are praying and when we don’t see answers we begin to feel sad, continue to cry out to the Lord or sometimes cover it up with comments like God is trying to build my character, He is trying to build patience in me, my faith is being put to test, etc… Some of those might be true, but above all our Father is loving and gracious and WANTS for us to KNOW His Son Jesus. There is nothing more deeper and higher than getting to KNOW His Son Jesus and the authority He has been given.  

But on the other hand, now that you know the truth; when you pray and know the authority by which you are praying, demons flee,  and you begin to experience the power of God Almighty right here on earth. Only make sure you are pursuing holiness and fighting to overcome sin in your life. 

Mark 16:17-18 - "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Isn't that wonderful? Signs will "follow" those who believe. It doesn't say "believers" will follow signs.

Hebrews 1:1-4 – God who in various ways in times past has spoken to us through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. 

Jesus has a name that is above the name of the angels in heaven….a more excellent name. That name has been given to us to use and exercise authority with.

Here is an example of how the church exercised the authority in the name of Jesus….that became a huge news in the early church days in Jerusalem…

Acts 3:16 - "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which [comes] through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Here's another one of those "I command you in the name of Jesus..."

Acts 16:16-18 - Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.

Please read Acts 19:11 – 16 --- They did not have the authority….They were not Christians…They had not believed in Christ and received salvation or redemption…But contrary to them, you and I have the authority to use that name and you have just the same amount of authority as I do, or evangelist so and so does, or apostle so and so does. And its not because of who you are or who you are not, but because of what Jesus has done for you and me. He redeemed us, saved us and reconciled us to God. God does not show favoritism to any man. God responds to faith in His Son Jesus Christ. If you believe, these signs will follow.  

Mark 16:17 – 18, 20---- in my name, they WILL cast out demons, 

This is Jesus, the head of the church speaking. In His name, we the church will cast out demons, we’ll lay our hands on the sick and they will recover….

Mar 16:20 - And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with [them] and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

In verse 20, we see that the Lord was working WITH them and confirming the WORD (not confirming His power in answer to emotional prayers), but confirming His WORD. Amen!! Praise the Lord!!