Conditions for Prayer 6

Jesus gave us this promise in John 14:13, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father."

Another condition for an effective prayer life is to pray in Jesus' name. This means more than just tacking "in Jesus' name, amen" at the end of our prayers.

Pastor Ron Dunn gave a great illustration of what it means to pray in Jesus' name. One year he took his three children to the fair. He bought a roll of tickets to the rides, and every time his children wanted to ride something, they would hold out their hands and he would place a ticket in each hand. This process was repeated several times. They came to another ride, and this time four hands were held out for tickets. After Ron gave each of his children a ticket, he looked into the face of a child he didn't know, the owner of the fourth outstretched hand. Ron drew back his tickets, having no intention of giving one to a strange child. But one of Ron's sons said, "Dad, this is my friend. I told him you would give him a ticket." That made all the difference. Ron's son had promised this boy that his dad would give him a ticket. Ron said, "Of course I gave him a ticket. My son told him I would."

Praying in Jesus' name means realizing that we have absolutely no right in our own merit to come into the presence of the Father. We come only through the shed blood of His son, Jesus Christ. God hears and answers our prayers because His Son gave His life so we could have access to the heavenly throne. Remember after Jesus died on the cross, the veil which separated the Holy Place in the temple from the Holy of Holies was rent in two from top to bottom, from heaven itself. Only the High Priest had access before that time to the Holy of Holies, which represented the presence of God, and he only had access on the Day of Atonement, which came once a year. Now we each one have that wonderful open invitation in Heb. 4:16, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." We can come at any time from any place with any need. Heb. 7:25 assures us, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

Lord Jesus, thank You that Your shed blood on the cross provided not only forgiveness for sin but also continual access to our Heavenly Father. Amen.