Don’t say, "In the name of Jesus."

June 1, 2010
Leadership Clip to Evernote
33

Don’t freak out on me so fast, let me explain. Don’t you realize and see that the "Christian" community has used this phrase as a spiritual metaphor and a standard "close" for all prayers simply out of tradition and habit. Not fully understanding what we are saying. God has really been rocking my world with this lately.

Don’t say, "In the name of Jesus"…Unless…

You know it to be of God because… it is definitively  stated in scripture or you have heard from God, and He said that is what you are to ask for or to say! Anything else is BLASPHEMOUS! I know this may be making some uncomfortable, but you really need to understand this principle. When we say "in the name of Jesus" it means that Jesus has said that, and you are then evoking His authority over what you are speaking. It’s like a child that goes to their teacher and says, "my dad said I am suppose to get out of school early." The teacher calls the dad, the dad is furious, because he didn’t say that! The fathers son was basically calling his dad a liar. Saying he said something when he did not.

Read John 14, Jesus says, He never said or did anything of His own authority, only what the Father told Him to say or do. So, He said if you see me, you have seen the Father! People are supposed to see Jesus in us! The same way! That will only happen as we train ourselves to only do and say what we know God has communicated for us to do, nothing more or less! So when God says to pray for this… that gives us permission to say, "in the name of Jesus." We heard from God, we say & do what He said, then and only then will we receive the promise… "ask anything in my name and I will do it." You see that? The only way that works is that Jesus said to do it in the beginning, we are just agreeing with Him. So if He said He would do it, and we speak and ask in conjunction with Him… BAM! "In the name of Jesus" means Jesus is "not a man that He should lie", He will do what He said He would do.

"In the name of Jesus" is a powerful phrase, unfortunately many use it not knowing what they are saying. So, if you don’t hear it…

Don’t say, "In the name of Jesus."

About artie: I'm the lead Pastor at Cornerstone, a Multi-Ethnic church in the heart of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Also the founder of the Comb Network.com, a movement to plant Multi-Ethnic, culturally relevant churches in smaller cities. I direct a gathering of small city leader called "The Sticks."

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  • http://dannyjbixby.blogspot.com dannyjbixby

    Word.

    Good post :)

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      Thanks Danny. Appreciate you stopping by and dropping a note!

  • Stephanie

    Jesus made it clear that unless you come to his Father through his name your prayers won't be heard. We are not clean (perfect) and therefore have no right to approach God directly. We pray in Jesus name because he is the mediation between us and God.

    John 14:6, 14: "Jesus said to him: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you ask anything in my name I will do it.'"

    We pray in Jesus name because we recognize that as a sinful human we need his intercession on our behalf; not because it's a tradition. It is a requirement for Christians who want to be pleasing to God. Like you said, Jesus never did or said anything of his own authority, but what his Father wanted him to do and say. Hence we can conclude that if Jesus said we must go through him in order to approach the Father, then it is God's will that we do so–and not a tradition of man.

  • Stephanie

    Jesus made it clear that unless you come to his Father through his name your prayers won't be heard. We are not clean (perfect) and therefore have no right to approach God directly. We pray in Jesus name because he is the mediation between us and God.

    John 14:6, 14: "Jesus said to him: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you ask anything in my name I will do it.'"

    We pray in Jesus name because we recognize that as a sinful human we need his intercession on our behalf; not because it's a tradition. It is a requirement for Christians who want to be pleasing to God. Like you said, Jesus never did or said anything of his own authority, but what his Father wanted him to do and say. Hence we can conclude that if Jesus said we must go through him in order to approach the Father, then it is God's will that we do so–and not a tradition of man.

    • http://conthis.blogspot.com Joe Sewell

      The problem is, Stephanie, we're to come in Jesus' name, i.e. in His authority, sent by Him, as though He sent us. We have turned the phrase "in Jesus' name" into little more than a mystic incantation. We think that God will hear our prayer better if we add that special phrase.

      That doesn't wash.

      Artie's got is right in his message. If we truly come in the name of Jesus, the criteria Artie mentions will be fulfilled. We won't need the "magic words," because we'll have divine authority that comes with His seal, His message, His name.

  • http://www.compassioninactionsc.org Joe

    Absolutely, irrevocably and emphatically AMEN!! When God called Jodi and I to Orangeburg, He laid on my heart a message backed by Hosea 4:6. In fact, I recieved strongly "they don't know that they don't believe Me." There is so much tradiition and repitition and Christianese, that most people don't even know what they ARE saying. Words are said which indicate holliness and lifestyle, but they aren't reall BELIEVED. If you ask someone, "you do believe God don't you? (Jim Newton)", then they would always answer "absolutely" without knowing what they are believing. I've done this many times and most times, it's ticked people off. I know ask for clarification of what they are saying and typically they can't explain without the use of "Christianese".

    Excellent post.

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      Thanks for a great context example Joe! Appreciate your comments.

  • Lance Wright

    Yes indeed! What a word for right now! Game, set, and match. Only say it if he said it. God bless you Artie Davis!

  • Vikki

    Whoa. I had no idea.

  • http://rlcblog.com Dusty Rayburn

    I had never given this much thought before reading your post. Thank you for taking the time to share this insight.

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      I hadn't either Dusty. That's why I said God had been "messing me up" with this! It has made me much more careful and hungry for God at the same time.

  • jason1scott

    I've always been captivated by the fact that Jesus spoke what He heard the Father speak and did what He saw the Father do. I've felt the same way about much of this, but hadn't put it into words. Thanks.

  • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

    Jason I appreciate the visit and kind word.

  • Connie

    I found your comments to be very thought provoking. This is not a context I had considered before & I find it interesting. I do believe the "in the name of Jesus" is often overused but I don't know that I am in the place to judge the heart of man. I also agree (in part) with some of stephanie's comments about coming to God thru Christ alone but think it is somewhat out of context. "No one comes to the Father but thru Me" has to do with salvation. Once I am saved, I am a joint heir with Jesus, a child of the Most High God. In His Grace, He invites me to come BOLDLY before the His throne. I am granted that boldness not because of what I have done, but through humility & understanding of who I am in Jesus. All of my actions & words should be reflective of that position & therefore bear witness to The Truth, (God) Thank you for this interesting perspective. It is well worth considering further.

  • connie

    I found your comments to be very thought provoking. This is not a context I had considered before & I find it interesting. I do believe the "in the name of Jesus" is often overused but I don’t know that I am in the place to judge the heart of man. I also agree (in part) with some of stephanie’s comments about coming to God thru Christ alone but think it is somewhat out of context. "No one comes to the Father but thru Me" has to do with salvation. Once I am saved, I am a joint heir with Jesus, a child of the Most High God. In His Grace, He invites me to come BOLDLY before the His throne. I am granted that boldness not because of what I have done, but through humility & understanding of who I am in Jesus. All of my actions & words should be reflective of that position & therefore bear withness to The Truth, (God) Thank you for this intersting perspective. It is well worth considering further.

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      Thanks Connie. You are humble and teachable. God loves that!

  • http://blog.knightsquest.org bknight81

    Great post! I had not thought of the "ambassadorial" aspect of praying in His name.

    It could, and should IMHO, cause us to think more about what we are to pray about BEFORE we pray.

    It would therefore drive a closer walk with Him.

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      Hey Buddy. Thanks for note. I love it when we encounter God, and he "messes" us up! I love living like that!

  • Bud Ezekiel

    hi

    i ame over from Jason's blog. it's a funny thing because i've pretty much prayed that way for my entire life. …thought Jesus said somewhere that whatsoever you ask in My Name….

    today was the first time i prayed and left it off. then i find myself here reading this.

    i don't feel any better for it…but since this is going to drive me to find out the truth in His Word, i guess it's a good thing.

    • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/artiedavis61 artiedavis61

      Hey Bud. Funny I actually preached on this today! You can find that @ http://ow.ly/1UMoZ

  • http://sbcjr.com Steven Corbett

    Fascinating post, and something that I believe is crucial. I only use the authority of Jesus’ name when I’m utterly confident that I am praying in accordance with His will. If He wouldn’t ask it of His Father, then I have absolutely no right to tag His name on and expect it to be granted.

    We’ve begun teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, and it’s destroying our effectiveness as believers. Thank you for addressing head on something that is commonly misunderstood and grossly abused.

    • http://artiedavis.com artie

      Thanks Steven. It’s like the story of the wife who always cut the end off the ham before cooking. When asked why, she said her mom did it that way, they asked the mother, she said her mother did that way, they asked they grandmother she said she did it that way because her pot was to small!
      Sometimes we imitate with out understanding!

  • http://www.herranch.org Debi Knowles

    Hi:) I guess I’m here coz God is teaching me and showing me how much I need him and spend more time listening than talking with Him. This just messed me up, Artie I got a Follow from you don’t even know if I Followed back yet? This hit me in the face! I have this all mixed up, "in Jesus Name" has been at the end of every prayer I can remember hearing-thus I too did it believing it was Jesus authority at our disposal to conquer what we were praying for. Ohmygoodness-back to the word, after reading this I realized I don’t wait for Gods instruction-afterall I prayed in Jesus name, now I know I’ve missed it coz I’ve been cryin’ all they way thru this, almost did not go here, God must be setting us all straight. Thx for this post! Bless you!

    • http://artiedavis.com artie

      You had the same experience I had, when God slapped me across the face with real truth. I am so excited for you! Thank you for your kind words!

  • http://twitter.com/DanaAAllen Dana Allen

    It annoys me when people use "in the name of Jesus" like it is a magical incantation of getting what you want. If you are in Christ and He is in you, and you truly are full of His Spirit, and seek His will, then you can speak with authority and it will be done. You are approaching the throne out of a right relationship. God knows you are in Christ. He doesn’t need to be reminded or strong armed.

    • http://veryconvenienttruth.blogspot.com Drew Snider

      No, but sometimes we need to be reminded. Approaching the Lord "in the Name of Jesus", speaking those words out of our mouths, should be a check in the Spirit that we are able to approach the Almighty not because of anything we’ve done, but because of what Jesus did. And sometimes we need to be reminded, as you say, that it’s not an incantation or a string of magic words.

      • http://artiedavis.com artie

        It’s not magic, it’s in faith agreeing with God has said. Yielding ourselves to be used as His vessel..

    • http://artiedavis.com artie

      Dana you are so right! It so easy to forget there are somethings God simply doesn’t have to reminded of!

  • http://veryconvenienttruth.blogspot.com Drew Snider

    Absolutely! It’s not as if we don’t have the right to ask things "in Jesus’ Name" … but we have the responsibility to know what He would sign His Name to. It’s not as if that’s a mystery: we have 66 books that tell us what He would sign His Name to. I’m living through a case in point: my dad had a heart attack 5 weeks ago. Natural inclination: to pray for him. But for what? He’s 87 and has had a great turn at bat; there’s no question healing is God’s will, but what does that look like at that age? For him to stay out of a nursing home so he’s not a "burden" on others? What if it’s God’s will for dad to learn humility (or for me to stop expecting dad to be Superman)? All that’s left to pray for is, "not my will, but Yours" and leave it to Him. I still start my prayers "in Jesus’ Name", because that (as Stephanie pointed out) is the only way to the Father: and in that conversation with God, I expect He’ll make it crystal clear what He will sign His Name to.

    • http://artiedavis.com artie

      Great personal story! Sorry to hear about your Grandfather.

  • Nana Mandi

    I saw this on a fb friend’s post and thought, what the heck? Then I read it and wow…so right on!
    Jesus is the only way to get to the Father, but once He’s saved us from our sins so we can be with God, it’s a done deal! Then as Connie said, we can enter the throne boldly, knowing we are signed, sealed and delivered adopted sons and daughters of the most high God! Jesus is the only way to the Father…but once you have accepted His free gift of Grace, He is not like a bridge to be used to go back and forth to Heaven to talk to God… We can go directly to Him. I grew up Catholic, so I grew up learning that we had to pray to Mary and the Saints to get to God… Now I know I can go right to Him because I have been forgiven. Artie, did I get this right? Am I on the right track?
    I started wondering about things along the lines of this a while back and stopped using the phrase after every prayer consistently. Now, I only use it on those rare occasions where I really feel it’s right to say. Your post has led me to think that I need to listen more as I pray and Pray More Often!
    Drew, I couldn’t agree with you more about your dad…at 84 and having lived a good life, the only thing needed is Christ! So if he has Jesus, he’s set! I wish my 89 year old Nana would open her heart before she goes…she’s so hostile…

  • Nana Mandi

    I tried to sign on to get emails of your blogs, but the link isn’t working. FYI!

    • http://artiedavis.com artie

      Hey Nana, thanks for the heads up about the email subscription. Got it fixed. Try it now!