Many of us who say we are Christians, when we pray in Jesus’ name, we somehow expect that God will suddenly do miracles on our behalf and life will be good. We get disappointed when we pray and God does not answer our prayers the way we desire, and sometimes our trust in Him starts to diminish. Without a doubt, there is power in the name of Jesus and at His name every knee should bow, in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. (See Philippians 2:10). Then why is it all our prayers are not answered when we add “In Jesus’ name we pray” at the end? Isn’t that the formula to be used to ensure that our prayers are answered? Afterall, Jesus Himself said that whatever we ask in His name He would do it.
And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:13-15
Well, if we look at the context of this passage, we will see that God is speaking to His disciples and He expects them to love Him and obey Him. Obedience to God shows our love for Him. If we are not obeying Him and we are doing things our way, then we cannot expect Him to answer our prayers the way we would like. Actually, if we are living lives that are pleasing to God then our prayer requests will be pleasing to Him, and they will glorify Him and not be for our glory.
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15
Are we confident that we are truly praying in God’s will? It seems like a lot of times people are praying their will and asking God to bless it without ever consulting God about what He would want for their lives. The truth is what we would want for ourselves, may not be what God would want for us. And how God leads us may not be what the world would think is a good thing. We also might not think it is a good thing, even though it is God’s way. In one of my Bible Studies, we have been going through the Book of Acts and took a long time discussing how the Holy Spirit had told Paul to go to Jerusalem where chains and affliction awaited him. This is found in Acts chapter 20, which is after Paul had a vision to go to Macedonia where he and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. And even though when they sang praises to God and there was an earthquake which opened the prison doors and loosen their chains, they did not leave. Why? Simply because it was not God’s will for them to leave. They had to fulfill Paul’s vision in which a man from Macedonia wanted them to go there and help him. So, although the doors were open and their chains were loose, they stayed and had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the jailer and his family who all got converted.
How many of us are willing to face affliction so that God will get the glory? Would we have stayed when the prison doors flung open to fulfill God’s purposes? Or would we have run for our dear lives while others faced eternal death? If we examine our hearts, we may get the answer to why our prayers are not answered.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures. James 4:3
Our prayers should not be about our pleasures, but our requests should be aligned with God’s purposes. When we pray with our focus on ourselves and then add “in Jesus’ name” at the end it is almost like we are taking His name in vain, which is a sin. We are supposed to be Christ’s ambassador’s walking in His authority as His representatives here on earth. When we are using His name, we should be in His likeness, which means we should have His characteristics. Are we bearing the fruit of the Spirit and obeying God? If not, then why should we expect Him to answer our prayers if we add “in Jesus’ name”, when we are not living lives acceptable to God the Father?
Comments