One of my lifelong mentors is a widely known and well-regarded Christian leader. During a conversation I had with him several months ago, he urged me to introduce myself to one of the teaching pastors on staff at a large church near my home. He’d met the young man, was impressed by his sincere devotion to Jesus, and thought it would be good for me to become acquainted with him too. So, I messaged that pastor to see if we could arrange to get together for lunch sometime.
But I knew cold-calling that busy leader with no idea who I was would probably not result in a response, at least not a timely one. So, I name-dropped. Name-dropping is when you allude to a famous or respected person you know for the purpose of impressing others or gaining their attention. In the email I sent requesting the meeting, I mentioned my mentor’s name and said I was reaching out at his suggestion. And that did the trick. Although we’ve since developed a friendship that stands on its own, our initial lunch appointment was made based on our mutual respect for my mentor. So, in a way, you could say our relationship was formed in his name.
In a similar way, John 16:23-27 quotes our Savior declaring that his name would become the foundation for his followers having a direct relationship with God, the Father. Using the phrase, "In that day," to describe the fast-approaching time when the barrier of sin would be removed through his cross and resurrection coupled with their love for and faith in him, Jesus said his figurative language would give way to plain speaking, they would no longer bring their requests TO him but THROUGH him to the Father, and they would experience the joy of answered prayer.
But he wasn’t saying this would be the result of simply annunciating the collection of vowels and consonants that make up the word spelled J-E-S-U-S as though it possesses some kind of power in itself that impresses Father God, invokes his loving response, and unlocks his blessing. Even in the story I told a moment ago, it wasn’t my mentor’s moniker that gave me entrée with the young pastor. It was the shared honor we have for the kind of man he is, what he stands for, and what he’s accomplished.
When Jesus told his disciples, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you,” he wasn’t describing some kind of spiritual incantation. He wasn’t saying that when they closed their prayers with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name,” it would guarantee a positive divine response. He wasn’t talking about the PHRASEOLOGY or how their requests were worded. He was talking about the PERONALITY or whose life was at the heart of their requests.
But this is not just about how we pray. It’s about all the ways we live as Jesus-followers. Scripture tells us we’re baptized in his name, receive the Holy Spirit who is sent in his name, gather together in his name, engage in acts of kindness in his name, minister to children in his name, speak and teach in his name, and cast out demons and work miracles in his name.
Doing so means positioning ourselves within the authority and standing made available to us by who Jesus IS and choosing to align ourselves with his will, not our own. It's only then that the potent promises revealed in this passage are realized.
So, my prayer for you today is that your life will be filled with the indescribable experience of direct access to Father God and the joys of answered prayer…in Jesus’ name.