John 16:23b - Praying In Jesus Name.

John 16:23b - Praying In Jesus Name.

John 16:23 (NIV) My Father will give you whatever you ask in my 
name.  

Jesus clarified a new relationship between the believer and God. 
Previously, people approached God through priests. After Jesus' 
resurrection, any believer could approach God directly in Jesus' name. A new 
day has dawned; now all believers are priests, talking with God 
personally and directly (Heb 10:19-23). We approach God, not because of our 
own merit, but because Jesus, our great High Priest, has made us 
acceptable to God. (Life Application Commentary) 

  Prayer is an amazing mystery. How can we connect with a God 
who is above and beyond anything we can imagine? The Bible tells us 
over and over again that our great God and Creator wants us to praise 
him, call on him, talk to him, and ask for help--that's prayer. Here, 
Jesus tells his followers that they can ask anything in his name. 
Through Christ, we are able to commune directly with God.  
  The apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5 that Jesus is the 
"Mediator" between God and humanity. By using Christ's name in prayer, we 
acknowledge that Jesus is our go-between, our Mediator, and that we accept 
his death on the cross for our sins. It reminds us of the cost he 
paid to make a relationship with God possible.  
  This passage does not advocate that you demand things from God 
as though he were some cosmic butler prepared to answer your every 
beck and call. God wants to bless you because you are his child. You 
can bring-any need or request to him. Because of Jesus, you can come 
into God's presence with confidence and assurance that he hears and 
will answer. [The One Year Bible for New Believers re John 16:23, 
24] 

Some folks think that "asking in Jesus' name" is like asking for 
Jesus to endorse our request. It isn't. Asking in Jesus' name means we 
identify with Christ's values and goals so that what we ask reflects His 
will. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

To ask in Jesus' name means to connect your request with the 
will, plans, and purpose of Jesus Christ.  It is not a magic add-on to 
hedge your bets, but it weds your request to the sovereignty of Jesus. 
[Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley re John 16:24] 

This verse was not a guarantee that the disciples could get 
anything they wanted simply by asking Jesus and believing. God does not 
grant requests that will hurt people or that will violate his own 
nature or will. Jesus' statement was not a blank check to be filled in 
by believers, not a "name it and claim it" theology. To be 
fulfilled, requests made to God in prayer must be in harmony with the 
principles of God's kingdom. They must be made in Jesus' name (John 
14:13-14). The stronger our faith, the more likely our prayers will be in 
union with Christ and in line with God's will; then God will be happy 
to grant them. God can do anything, even what seems humanly 
impossible. (Life Application Commentary) 

Bible prayer is to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit... 
Jude 20 commands us to "pray in the Holy Ghost." Too much praying 
today is in the flesh, asking for things that are not in the will of 
God (James 4:1-10). It is wonderful to allow the Holy Spirit to 
burden us with prayer requests (Rom. 9:1-3). The Spirit knows the mind 
of the Father and can lead us to pray for those things God wants to 
give us. It has well been said that prayer is not overcoming God's 
reluctance; it is laying hold of His willingness. [Wiersbe Expository 
Outlines] 

Where we get wrong in prayer is that we are so self-willed.  We 
set ourselves to pray for things; we vow to sit up all night to 
bring God round to our way of thinking; we use strong cryings, tears, 
and protestations...  And then we are surprised if the fig-tree does 
not wither, or the mountain remove.  Where are we wrong?...  There 
is too much of self and the energy of the flesh in all this.  We 
can only believe for a thing when we are in such union with God that 
his thought and purpose can freely flow into us, suggesting what we 
should pray for, and leading us to that point in which there is a 
perfect sympathy and understanding between us and the divine mind....  
Then the Spirit will lead you to ask what is in the will of God to 
give, and you will know instantly that the Spirit intercedes within 
you according to the will of God.  [F. B. Meyer; Our Daily Homily; 
Spirit Filled Life Daily Devotional Bible] 

  Every promise in the word of God furnishes us with subject 
matter for prayer, presenting the pledged word of Jehovah as our 
assurance. Whatever spiritual blessing we need, it is our privilege to 
claim through Jesus. We may tell the Lord, with the simplicity of a 
child, exactly what we need. We may state to Him our temporal matters, 
asking Him for bread and raiment as well as for the bread of life and 
the robe of Christ's righteousness. Your heavenly Father knows that 
you have need of all these things, and you are invited to ask Him 
concerning them. It is through the name of Jesus that every favor is 
received. God will honor that name, and will supply your necessities from 
the riches of His liberality.  
  But do not forget that in coming to God as a father you 
acknowledge your relation to Him as a child. You not only trust His 
goodness, but in all things yield to His will, knowing that His love is 
changeless. You give yourself to do His work. It was to those whom He had 
bidden to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness that 
Jesus gave the promise, "Ask, and ye shall receive." John 16:24.  
  The gifts of Him who has all power in heaven and earth are in 
store for the children of God. Gifts so precious that they come to us 
through the costly sacrifice of the Redeemer's blood; gifts that will 
satisfy the deepest craving of the heart, gifts lasting as eternity, 
will be received and enjoyed by all who will come to God as little 
children. Take God's promises as your own, plead them before Him as His 
own words, and you will receive fullness of joy. MB133-4 

Jesus makes it plain that our asking must be according to God's 
will; we must ask for the things that He has promised, and whatever we 
receive must be used in doing His will. The conditions met, the promise 
is unequivocal.  For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit, for a 
Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift He 
has promised, we may ask; then we are to believe that we receive, 
and return thanks to God that we have received.  We need look for no 
outward evidence of the blessing. The gift is in the promise, and we may 
go about our work assured that what God has promised He is able to 
perform, and that the gift, which we already possess, will be realized 
when we need it most. ED257-258 

Every godly prayer is answered before the prayer itself is 
finished - "Before he had finished praying...... "This is because Christ 
has pledged in His Word, "My Father will give you whatever you ask 
in my name" (John 16:23). When you ask in faith and in Christ's 
name - that is, in oneness with Him and His will - "it will be given 
you" (John 15:7).  Since God's Word cannot fail, whenever we meet 
these simple conditions, the answer to our prayer has already been 
granted and is complete in heaven as we pray, even though it may not be 
revealed on earth until much later. Therefore it is wise to close every 
prayer with praise to God for the answer He has already given. [Streams 
In The Desert By Cowman] 

Praying in the name of Jesus is praying with the mind of Christ. 
 [Pastor Doug Batchelor]