Ask In My Name

"John 16:5-17:5

Power in the name of Jesus

Do you know how much power there is in the name of Jesus? As Jesus leaves his disciples, he says to them: ‘I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete … In that day you will ask in my name’ (John 16:23b–26a).

When we go to God in prayer we do not ask in our own names, but in the name of Jesus. On our own we have no right to ask anything. But Jesus, through the cross and resurrection, has made it possible for us to have access to God in his name.

Praying in Jesus’ name is not just about what we get though, it is also about aligning ourselves with Jesus. As we do this, our prayers harmonise with God’s broad desires for our life and we can pray that his will be done. That is also something we cannot do on our own, and for which we rely on the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells the disciples that it is to their advantage that he is going away because, ‘Unless I go away the Counsellor [the ‘Friend’, MSG] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you’ (v.7). Jesus could only be in one place at a time. Now, by his Spirit, he can be with each of us as our friend and helper all the time, everywhere we go.

The Holy Spirit will convince the world about guilt (supremely because ‘people do not believe in’ Jesus, v.9), and ‘he will guide [us] into all truth’ (v.13a). Every time we go off track or in the wrong direction, the Holy Spirit convicts us. We sense in our spirit that what we are doing is not right.

Conviction is different from condemnation. The Holy Spirit never condemns us (Romans 8:1). He convicts us to repent and then to go in the right direction.

He guides us into all truth and truth is revealed by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13a). Among other things, he helps us to face the truth about ourselves. The truth sets us free.

Jesus promises you three things:

Joy – in the midst of mourning and grief

‘I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy’ (v.20). When Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples’ joy was so great that it completely overshadowed their grief – like a mother who has given birth to a baby and forgets the anguish of the birth (vv.21–22).

Love – in the midst of hate

Even when ‘the world hates you’ (15:18), Jesus says to you that ‘the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God’ (16:27).

Peace – in the midst of trouble

Jesus never promised you a trouble free life. Indeed, he says that in the world you will experience ‘tribulation and trials and distress and frustration’ (v.33, AMP). But he promises you ‘perfect peace and confidence in the midst of these trials’ because he has ‘overcome the world (I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you)’ (v.33, AMP).

The joy, love and peace that Jesus promises are the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (see Galatians 5:22). As you call on Jesus’ name, his Spirit is in you, growing this fruit in your life.
The most amazing thing that you receive from the Holy Spirit is the chance to be in a relationship with God. In this prayer Jesus highlights this as the true heart and definition of ‘eternal life’ – ‘this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (17:3).

This amazing description of eternal life is surrounded by Jesus’ prayer that God’s name would be glorified. Everything Jesus did while he was here on earth, and our relationship with the Father through Jesus, are all ultimately to the glory of God.

Lord, I can never thank you enough for the immense privilege of being able to pray in the name of Jesus. Today I pray … in your name."

1. Thank You for You, Jesus. Thank You for the Holy Spirit that does not condemn but convicts us to repent and head to the right direction.

2. Thank You for the tasty duck meal today.

3. Thank You for a good 5 km walk-jog exercise.