Heresies in the Church 6 - Praying in Jesus' Name

Many young Christians have been taught to end a prayer "..in Jesus' Name, Amen".  We've all done it.
Do we understand what it means?

To the average person, or more accurately, to most Christians, it is something that legitimises the prayer. The prayer is incomplete, or will not be answered if we don't add in these magic words "In Jesus' name".

We have made this into a mantra, a superstitious phase that will do magic for your prayers. This practice of calling upon the name of a higher power is practised in pagan circles.  The church has adopted yet another pagan superstition.

Didn't Jesus say  “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14; see also 15:16; 16:23-24, 26)


The flaw is to equate what Jesus said to this practice of ending a prayer with "In Jesus' Name".  They are not the same thing.
What Jesus was saying is that when we act as his representatives on earth and pray for the things that He would pray for, He will do it.  Put it in another way,  our prayers would reflect what Jesus would pray for if He were here  praying.  Our mind, motives, and goals are 100% aligned with Jesus. Our will is aligned to God's will (and not the other way around).   In this way, we are asking under the authority of Jesus, as led by the Holy Spirit.  We are praying what Jesus would  have prayed. 


For example, if we ask God to let us win the lottery, that would not be praying in Jesus' Name.  However, if we pray that God would be glorified in our particular situation, that would be a prayer in Jesus' Name.  

There is no value in praying "In Jesus' Name" if we are not doing God's will. It will not add any more legitimacy to your prayers if those prayers are driven by selfish motives or are self centred. However if we are praying according to the will of God, we are already praying 'In Jesus' name' whether we use those words or not at the end of the prayer.

When the Lord taught the disciples to pray "Our Father who art in heaven...", Jesus did not teach them to end that prayer in His name.  It is assumed that the prayer is in His Name when He said "Thy will be done.."

If you feel the need to end your prayers this way, do it to give God the glory, but just remember what it means and that it is not a magic formula that twists God's arm to answer your prayers.