The Name of Jesus (Episode 125)

In this episode, Frank King addresses the authority of the name of Jesus when we pray to the Father, and we believe in the authority of Jesus’ name.  According to Philippians 2:9, God has highly exalted the name of Jesus and given Him a name above every other name.

The names of some people in this world carry great authority. For instance, the CEO of a large, powerful company; or the President of the United States, etc. When these individuals sign a document, their name commands respect. But no matter how great a person's name may be in this world, it pales in comparison to the name of Jesus. Every other name is subject to His.

Near the end of Jesus’ time on earth, He instructed His disciples on how to pray going forward. He said, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you” (John 16:23, KJV).

This was a major paradigm shift for the disciples. They were used to coming to Him for everything they needed. Why not? He was God in the flesh. He was right there with them. Whatever they needed, He had access to it in heaven.

But He was telling them that was not how it was going to work going forward. He says you will ask me nothing. But whatsoever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you. That means going forward, you are to pray to the Father in my name. That is also how we should pray today.

Are You Really Praying in His Name?

Frank King stresses the point that just because you say “in the name of Jesus” at the end of your prayer does not necessarily mean you are praying in the name of Jesus. You are only praying in His name when you pray consistently with the teachings and principles that He taught and modeled while on earth.

For instance, suppose on the job your boss was giving you a difficult time for no apparent reason other than the fact that you are a Christian. No matter what you do and how nice you try to be, he gives you nothing but a hard way to go.

After a while, you are at your wits end. You pray to God and ask Him to bring the fire of judgment upon your wicked boss. Then you end your prayer by saying “in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.”

The truth is that even though you prayed that prayer in the name of Jesus, you have not prayed in His name. Why not? Because that’s not how Jesus taught that we should pray for our enemies. He says, for instance, we should bless those who despitefully use us and persecute us.

Please know that there is prayer and there is effective prayer. The question is do you just want to pray, or do you want to pray effectively?

The point is that if you are not truly praying to God in the name of Jesus through faith in His name, you are not praying effectively. If this were not an important point, Jesus would not have made it so to His disciples.