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Part
4 TEACH
US TO PRAY (continued)
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. And if ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it” (Jn.
How often a passage of scripture seems to be a sealed treasure. You
read it time after time but it never yields its riches to you. No light
breaks from its words as you search its depths. But one day, all
unexpectedly, it suddenly leaps like flames of fire from the page and
shouts its beauties, even as a jewel box might unclose under the touch of
a secret spring and lay bare in an instance all the radiance and
loveliness of the priceless gem that lies within. In just the same way, as
you let the spirit of Truth lift out from the heart of this passage, the
deep blessedness contained within the phrase “in my name,” note the
precious jewel of truth that is laid bare thereby.
R. A. Torrey has written: “This is one of the most familiar, most
wonderful, and at the same time most commonly misunderstood promises in
the Bible regarding God’s willingness to answer prayer. Here our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself tells us that if a certain class of people pray in a
certain way, He will give them the very thing that they ask. Look at the
promise again. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, that will I do.” These words are plain, simple, positive, very
precious and cheering. They tell us there are certain people who can get
from God anything that they ask for, if only they will ask for it in a
certain way. According to Jesus, prayer in the name of Jesus Christ
prevails with God. No other prayer does. But just what does it mean to
pray in the name of Jesus? I have heard many explanations of this. Some of
them were so profound or mystical, or so mixed, or so obscure, that when I
finished reading them or listening to them I knew less about it than when
I started.”
What does the word name imply in the meaning of scripture? What
does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”? Prayer in the name of Jesus
is a multi-faceted privilege. To pray in the name of Jesus is the deepest
mystery in prayer. The name of Jesus is the greatest mystery in heaven and
on earth. In heaven this mystery is known; on earth it is unknown to most
people. The word name, as it was used in the time of Christ, implied three
principal things. First, the name is the person. To praise the name of
Jesus is to praise Jesus Himself. To love the name of Jesus is to love
Jesus Himself. To exalt the name of Jesus is to exalt Jesus Himself. To
deny the name of Jesus is to dishonor Jesus Himself. THE NAME-THE NATURE
Second, the name represents all we know of the person-his nature,
character and personality. When Moses hungered to draw closer to Yahweh,
to know Him as He really is, he asked to see His glory. God replied that
no mere mortal could survive such a divine encounter, for “there shall
no man see Me, and live” (Ex. 33:20) and truly no man can see God face
to face and live, that is, he cannot live as he lived before, for the
glory of the Lord will bring death to all that is carnal, earthly, soulish,
natural and corrupt. No man can see God and remain the same. He will live,
but he will live on a higher plane, for what was once life to him will be
consumed in the blazing glory of our God who is a consuming fire. God
promised to reveal Himself partially to Moses. That is what the Law, the
Old Covenant, is-a partial revelation of God. Yahweh said, “I will make
all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before thee” (Ex. 33:19). Then Yahweh ordered Moses to stand in the
cleft of a rock, and covered him there with His hand. When the glory of
the Lord passed by in front of Moses, He removed His hand for a second
only so Moses could see the glory that lingered after God had passed by.
The record states: “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with
Moses there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord” (Ex. 34:5). When
Yahweh proclaimed His name, it was a revealing two-sentence name: “And
the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the guilty...” (Ex. 34:6-7). To know God
was to know all that His name represented-all He IS. To understand the
name was to see God.
The name of Jesus represents all that Jesus is revealed to be. It
includes His love, His mercy, His goodness, His transforming power, His
quickening life, His wisdom, His knowledge, His righteousness, His
holiness, His redemption and salvation. In our day, in ordinary life,
names bear no great significance. They are a mere legal and social
convenience. In our modern society we are obligated to bear a mark of
identification of some kind. In a large prison, where only numbers
distinguish one prisoner from another, the unhappy man finds the
humiliation of being reduced from a name to a number. There is some warmth
and color in our names, and they add a flavor to our personalities. There
is even much history in them, as when a child is named Martin Luther,
George Washington, Abraham, Sarah, Mary, or even named after some beloved
grandfather or grandmother, uncle or aunt. Many of our names are revered
with the life of the centuries, and rich with quaint or hallowed memories.
But all the same, they have no real power in our lives.
Names do not, in most cases, describe the person whom they
indicate. They tell us nothing of his character, or power. They do not
represent or embody the attributes of his nature and being. A man may be
called Hunter though he has never seen an animal wilder than those at the
petting zoo nor looked at a gun except on someone’s wall or in a glass
case at the store. He may be called Baker though he knows nothing of bread
except that he eats it. Mary, notwithstanding the meaning of her Hebrew
name, is not always bitter, and John is sometimes quite different from a
visible embodiment of the grace of God. Not so with the Biblical treatment
of names. A name stood, in the Old Testament life, for the sum total of
the characteristics and attributes of the person who bore it. In the Bible
many names were given because of something that had happened, or because
of what was prophesied to happen. A good illustration is that of Jacob,
born with his brother Esau as a twin. He was holding on to Esau’s heel
during the birth process. They called him Jacob, which means “heel
grabber,” “supplanter.” For ninety years he bore that name and, from
his history, seemed to do his best to live up to it. Taking advantage of
his brother’s great hunger, Jacob obtained Esau’s birthright. Later
on, with the aid of his mother, he robbed his brother of his blessing.
Some years went by, and there came a great time of crisis in his life. In
that crisis he spent a night wresting with God; and when the morning
broke, he obtained his blessing and God gave him a new heart, a new
nature, and a new name,
Why is so much promised through the name of Jesus Christ? A name is
the value of the person it represents. When I mention or hear a name it
calls up before me the whole man or woman, what I know of him or her, and
the impression the person has made on me. For example, if someone says,
“Althea,” I do not react, or if they call out the name “Fiona”
still there is nothing. I have no close friends or acquaintances with
those names. But when they say, “Lorain,” immediately there is a
response-for there is the image, the love, and all the personality of my
wife. That is the name of the one I love. The name “Lorain” is not any
prettier or any more meaningful than Angelica or Nicole, but what the name
implies to me is different. When someone says, “Billy, the Kid,” I see
an image of a wild and murderous youth who once rode the old West, but
when someone says, “Billy Sunday,” I think of a great evangelist of
yesteryear.
Names create an immediate image in the mind, and regardless of the
actual meaning of the name, it stands for the character of the person to
whom it is given. For instance, would you name your daughter
“Jezebel”? Would you name your son “Judas Iscariot”? Of course
not. But Jezebel is just as good a name as Jane or Jessica, and actually
means “chaste,” and Judas is just as good a name as Jude or James, but
its meaning to us is not as acceptable because of the actions of an
ancient person who bore that name.
Let me give you another example. Were I to go to State National
Bank in El Paso and hand the teller a check for one million dollars
bearing the signature of J. Preston Eby, she would look at the check and
laugh and push it back through the window. You see, my name is not worth a
million dollars there or anywhere else, for I am not worth a million
dollars. But let me present a check for one million dollars bearing the
signature of Ross Perot and immediately I will be a rich man. The money
will be credited to my account because the check does not stand on my
merit, my worth, my name, but I present it upon the basis of the merit of
one who is worth a million dollars many times over. A name stands for the
total character and resources of an individual. My name is all that I am
and all that I have, your name is all that you are and all that you have.
Whatever you are and whatever you possess, that is what your name means to
others, it is the value of your name. The name of a king includes his
honor, his power, his wealth, his kingdom. His name is the symbol of his
power. So each name of God embodies and represents some part of the glory
of the Unseen One. And the name of Christ is the expression of all He has
done and all He is and all He lives to do as the firstborn among many
brethren and the Captain of our salvation. The work of Jesus Christ during
those thirty-three and a half years of His earthly life was to unveil to
us the total authority and resources of the Father, to manifest His name,
so that we might discover what a tremendous, unending resource we have in
God. We can never get to the bottom of the barrel. The supply is infinite
for the supply is HIMSELF.
What if I want a million dollars not for myself, but for Ross
Perot. Supposing that he is my friend, and I want to give him a very
impressive gift. It is for his sake, not mine, that I request a loan from
the bank. I say to the loan officer, “For Mr. Perot’s sake I request
one million dollars.” I will not get the money. Why? Because it cannot
be “for his sake”-it must be “in his name.” Now, for some who read
these lines the meaning is the same, but the meaning is not the same. We
are nowhere told to pray “for Jesus’ sake” or “for Christ’s
sake.” There is not one word in the Bible about that. We are not
promised to receive anything from the Lord by asking “for Jesus’
sake.” It must be in Jesus’ name. There is a significant difference
between asking something for Jesus’ sake and asking it in Jesus’ name.
R. A. Torrey related the following incident. During the Civil War
there was a father and mother in
Dear Father and Mother: I have been shot and have only a short time
to live, and I am writing you this last farewell note. As I write there is
kneeling beside me my most intimate friend in the company, and when the
war is over he will bring you this note, and when he does be kind to him
for Charlie’s sake. Your son Charles.
There was nothing in that house that was too good for that poor
tramp. “For Charlie’s sake,” and there is nothing in heaven or earth
too good, or too great, for you and me “for Jesus’ sake.” You
say-”So we can ask for Jesus’ sake!” Not at all. Notice-it was not
the friend who asked “for Charlie’s sake”-it was Charles himself
that asked his father for his sake. We do not ask “for Jesus’ sake,”
but THE LORD JESUS HIMSELF HAS PETITIONED THE FATHER FOR US “FOR HIS
SAKE,” and that is why we can now ask “in Jesus’ name”! God has
delivered all things to us for His Son’s sake, for His Son’s glory,
for the increase of His life and power and wisdom in His body-therefore we
are able to ask whatsoever we will in Jesus’ name.
Christ’s name is the revelation of Christ’s character and to do
a thing in the name of another person is to do it as his representative,
as realizing that in some deep and real sense we are one with Him. And it
is when we know ourselves to be united to Christ and one with Him,
representative in a true fashion of Himself in the earth, and we draw
near, that our action and our prayer have power. When we so pray we get an
answer. The reason such multitudes of prayers never travel higher than the
ceiling, and bring no blessings to him who prays, is because they are not
prayers in Christ’s name. “In Jesus’ name” is not a magic formula
of faith. “Name” means nature. “He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake,” means, “He leads me in right
ways because that is His nature.” “His name shall be in their
foreheads,” means, “His nature shall be expressed through their
minds.” When we ask in Jesus’ name, we ask in His nature, in His
identity, and out of His mind and will and purpose. “Whatsoever ye shall
ask in My name”-that is, in my nature; for things with God are called
according to their nature. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, not when at
the end of some request we attach the phrase, “This I ask in Jesus’
name,” but when we pray according to His nature, which is love, which
seeketh not its own, but only the will of the Father and His purpose of
blessing for all creation. Such asking is the cry of His own Spirit within
our hearts.
Here, I am convinced, we are often “forgers,” putting
Christ’s name to a prayer He would not pray, using His name to secure
things He would not endorse! The Lord Jesus did not promise to answer any
prayer we say is in His name, but rather any prayer that is prayed in His
nature-because that is what He wants, and what He would ask for. All of us
are familiar with the phrase, “in the name of the law.” Policemen do
their business in the name of the law. Now, let’s suppose a policeman is
sent into an inner-city ghetto about
Now, let’s shift the scene to the dark hours of early morning,
about two o’clock. That same policeman is traveling through a
residential area, only now he’s off duty and has spent most of the night
drinking in a bar. In a drunken stupor he staggers up the steps of a
house, knocks on the door, and shouts, “Open up in the name of the
law!” The inhabitants of the house hear the commotion and it is plain
that there is a drunk at the door, so they refuse to open up. In a
belligerent rage the policeman breaks down the door, and when he does, the
police are called, and this time it is the policeman who is arrested and
carried off to jail. What’s the difference? It is the same action, the
very same words, and exactly the same man. Ah, the action at IN
Acting, praying, or doing anything “in Jesus’ name” means
doing it in union with Him. Many prayers go unanswered because they are
not prayed in union with Christ. People have prayed for fair weather, and
it has rained in torrents. People have prayed for healing, and the
sickness has become chronic. People have prayed for protection, and danger
has brought hurt or disaster. People have prayed to live, and they have
died. Recall Huckleberry Finn’s account:
Miss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed, but nothing come
of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get
it. But it warn’t so. I tried it. Once I got a fish line, but no hooks.
It wasn’t any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or
four times, but somehow I couldn’t make it work. By and by, one day, I
asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. She never told
me why, and I couldn’t make it out no way. I set down one time back in
the woods, and had a long think about it. I says to myself, if a person
can get anything they pray for, why don’t Deacon Winn get back the money
he lost on pork? Why can’t the widow get back her silver snuffbox that
was stole? Why can’t Miss Watson fat up? No, says I to myself, there
ain’t nothing in it.
Praying “in Jesus’ name” does not mean praying by a formula.
It means praying in union with Him. Huckleberry Finn, obviously, was not
praying in union with Jesus! When a woman marries a man she gets a change
of name. Whereas before she was Mary Brown, now she is Mary Jones. But why
does she change her name? Is it because she didn’t like the name Brown,
or because the name Jones sounds more exotic? Not at all. She takes the
name Jones because she and Mr. Jones have become ONE. She has come into
union with him. That’s what using the name of Jesus means. Hear now the
poignant words of God spoken through Jeremiah to the nation of
Eventually there was born into our world and history a man named
Jesus, who was so utterly surrendered to the Father that there was no
obstacle, no barrier at all between him and God. A power such as the world
had never seen before sprang into existence because of this perfect
relationship between the Son and the Father. This power is what we call
the Holy Spirit. It is an incredible torrent of living energy let loose
into the world. It is a shaft of light that has penetrated all darkness
and depth and bondage. When called upon in spirit and in truth it can
overcome anything-disease, fear, despair, ugliness, pain, sorrow, death,
all the black, cold chains that have kept us from the glory of the Father.
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in union with Me, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in
union with Me, I will do it” (Jn.
There were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, who thought they could cast out devils by using the name of
Jesus. They said, “We adjure you by the name of Jesus whom Paul
preacheth.” But the devil replied, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but
who are ye? We don’t need to recognize you-that name doesn’t mean a
thing to you-you are not in union with Him. His authority does not back up
your words.” “And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them,
and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded” (Acts
So we begin our prayer by saying, “In the name of Jesus I
pray,” or most often we conclude our prayer by saying, “Father, I ask
this in Jesus’ name.” In view of this let us quickly run through the
only prayer the Lord Jesus taught us to pray. How does it end? “For
Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, in
Jesus’ name-Amen!” Does it end like that? No! Of course, I have
suspected that it isn’t a true prayer. I knew all along that God
wouldn’t answer it because it doesn’t have the right words at the end!
Do you think perhaps God will answer it anyway, even if it doesn’t say,
“In Jesus’ name”? Let me ask you a question. If Jesus was the only
One who had a right to call God “Father,” how could you or I possibly
call Him “Father”? Is it not by virtue of our union with Jesus
Christ-THE SON? “In Jesus’ name” simply means being in union with
Him. So-you don’t have to say “in Jesus’ name” at the end of your
prayer. All you have to do is say at the beginning, “Our Father,” and
you know that the reason God receives you is because of your oneness with,
and your identification in, Jesus the Son. This is what sonship is all
about-Jesus is the Head and we are the members of the body of the Christ.
There is but one Christ, one Son, and there are many members.
“In Jesus’ name” is not a prescription. It is not a sort of
magical Alladin’s lamp that we can rub and ask for anything in the
world. Nor is it a talisman or an “open sesame,” turning on the spigot
of heaven. It is not writing a letter to Santa Claus. There are many
sincere believers that think it is necessary to end every prayer with the
stereotype, “In Jesus Name.” This is a perfect example of how we deny
the spirit of Christ’s teaching on prayer by adherence to the letter.
That Jesus Christ meant every prayer of the younger members of His body to
end in the same way is an absurdity, for this is but to use “vain
repetitions.” If the phrase is used as a necessary cliché it is
absolutely indefensible, and is closer to the Tibetan prayer wheel than it
is to the spirit of Jesus. It is nowhere said that we are to put such a
phrase in our prayers. Saying it does not make it so. The early Christians
did all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, but I do not recall a single
Bible prayer in which people told God they were asking “in Jesus’
name.” God would know without our saying. The Father knows all who are
in Christ. We do not need to tell God that it is in Jesus’ name. He
knows. The great apostle Paul has several prayers recorded in the New
Testament and he did not put “in Jesus’ name” either before or after
a single one of them.
I know this will shake some people up, because they are
theologically oriented to repeating the phrase, “in Jesus’ name.”
But remember, precious friend of mine, the Lord Jesus Himself also warns
us that “many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many” (Mat. 24:5). Some popular evangelist comes to town and
draws a crowd with the spectacular, but it doesn’t bear witness in your
spirit. Something is not right. Yet it all seems so right because all he
does he does using the name of Jesus. That doesn’t prove a thing. He may
use the name of Jesus with his mouth, but his whole life and ministry may
be out of union with Jesus. Out of union with Jesus he is a fraud-using
the name of Jesus to promote his own kingdom, to build a name, and for
financial gain. It is not the formula of His name, but doing it in union
with Him.
“Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in
heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER
KNEW YOU: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat. 7:21-23). There
is another most significant passage in Mark 16:17-18. You know how it
reads...”These signs shall follow them that believe; in My name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” It should read, “These
signs shall follow them that believe in My name; they shall cast out
devils, etc.” You see, there is no punctuation in the original, and the
way we have all learned this passage is the way the translators punctuated
it in the King James Version of the Bible. “These signs shall follow
them that believe.” Then you add, “In My name they shall cast out
devils.” That’s how we have understood it. But that’s not what it
really says. It’s not, “These signs shall follow them that believe.”
It is, “These signs shall follow them that believe in My name.”
It is just as the Holy Spirit records in John 1:12, “But as many
as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on His name.” It is not believing that saves you. The
Philippian jailer cried out, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul
didn’t answer, “Only believe.” He said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved.” It is not FAITH that saves-it is faith
in the Son of God.
George Muller left a lifelong record of his prayers and their
answers-more than twenty-five thousand of them. On one occasion, when
asked by a friend to explain his secret, Bro. Muller replied, “Have
faith in God.” If I interpret George Muller correctly, he was not
placing the emphasis on the word faith, but rather on the word God. George
Muller knew God, so his faith was not in his own boldness or daring or
positive thinking, but in the living God. It is the object of our prayers
that makes the difference. “He that spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all
things?” (Rom.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts
If you have a problem with this, let us do it your way first and
see if you won’t prefer it mine. “These signs shall follow them that
believe. In My name they shall cast out devils”-so if there is a devil
there, how do you get him out? You say, “In the name of Jesus, come
out!” That’s we way we feel it should be. But now you are in trouble.
What else are we supposed to do in Jesus’ name? “They shall speak with
new tongues.” You see, each of these actions is something done “in
Jesus’ name.” Have you spoken in tongues? Have you spoken in tongues
today? This week? Within the past month? I do not hesitate to tell you
that it wasn’t real-if the popular interpretation of Mark 16:17-18 is
true! How can I say this? Because when you spoke in tongues you did not
say, “In the name of Jesus-ra ha she ka lame tie!” If it is necessary
to say to a devil, “In Jesus’ name, come out,” in order to cast out
devils in His name; if it is necessary to say, “In Jesus’ name, be
healed,” in order to heal the sick in Jesus’ name; is it not also
necessary to say, “In Jesus’ name I speak with new tongues,” and
then break out in tongues? If you spoke in tongues today and did not say,
“In Jesus’ name,” before you spoke in tongues it was false-if
repeating the phrase “in Jesus’ name” is what it means to do
something in His name!
You see, what we do is use the name as a formula or magical
incantation. What is your magic word? “Abracadabra” It’s not that at
all. It’s not believing in a formula or employing a magical phrase, but
believing in HIM-coming into union with Him, standing in His nature, will,
purpose and identity as sons of the living God. If His life is in me I
speak with tongues by the indwelling of His Spirit and I don’t have to
use the formula, the fact that it is the Spirit of the Son within me, the
spirit of sonship, makes it in His name, His nature, His identity. If His
life is in me I will heal the sick by His indwelling power and I don’t
have to use the formula, for the compassion and power of Christ within
make it in His name, His nature, His identity. If His life is in me I cast
out devils by His indwelling authority, and I don’t have to use the
formula, for the authority is the authority of the Christ within and it is
thus in His name, by His authority, in union with Him, in His nature,
character, and identity.
Jesus said, “The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear
witness of Me” (Jn.
If one is at all acquainted with Latin American people or Spanish
speaking people, you will know that thousands of the men are named Jesus.
It is a common name. The name they bear has absolutely no power or
authority in heaven or with God. God will not receive them in any special
way just because they bear a name that is made up of the five letters
J-E-S-U-S. But He will willingly and gladly receive them in the name or
nature of HIS SON who is called Jesus. Also in the New Testament we read
of others who were named Jesus, for it was a common name in Bible days,
too, but they had no special place or power in the work of God. And if
today you say, “In the name of Jesus, be blessed!” the question
follows: In the name of which Jesus? For there are millions of people
named Jesus in the earth!
The “name” of the Lord is thus something far beyond and greater
than a series of letters in the alphabet and their pronunciation. The true
name of God is not YAHWEH. The true name of God is the nature signified by
the meaning of the word YAHWEH. Yahweh means “the self-existent-the One
who IS.” “The name of Yahweh is a strong tower: the righteous runneth
into it and is safe” (Prov.
Again we remind ourselves that we have all prayed hundreds of
prayers that have not been answered, yet we sprinkled all of them
thoroughly with the phrase, “in the name of Jesus.” The sick came to
be healed and we prayed a powerful prayer, placed oil upon them, repeated
that phrase, “in the name of Jesus,” perhaps a dozen times, and
nothing happened. Yet Jesus said that if we asked in His name it would be
done for us. Can we not see THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG! There must be
something we have not learned, for Jesus surely spoke the words granting
us whatever we ask. We are to do and say everything in Jesus’ name. God
has given Him THE NAME that is above every other name in heaven and in
earth. Does that mean that if I take my sick neighbor a bowl of soup I
must say, “In Jesus’ name I give you this soup?” Not at all. The
fact that the loving nature of the Christ within compels me to take the
soup makes it in Jesus’ name. The name of Jesus is not the word Jesus.
It is His nature, His character, His authority. Repeating the five-letter
word JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, before and after will not get our prayers
answered. We must stand in a position before God. We must be in the same
position before God that the firstborn Son occupies. We must know that we
are the sons of God and must ask out of the nature of sonship. When the
spirit of sonship within motivates, directs and births all our praying,
there will be one hundred percent results. The only things God grants are
the things prayed in the name of Jesus. The prayers we have had answered
are the only prayers we have prayed that were prayed in the name of Jesus.
All others were prayed outside His name. If they would have been prayed in
His name, we would have received the thing we asked for, for the promise
is true and unfailing: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do
it.” This can be achieved only through union with Him. Only then will we
get ALL of our prayers answered.
“And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it
you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be full” (Jn.
“A brief study of the use of the term ‘in My name’ will help
us understand the divine principle by which all true sons of God are to be
guided in their approach to the work of the Lord. When Jesus taught on the
matter of gatherings, fellowship and ministry, He said, ‘For where two
or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of
them’ (Mat.
“If we would do those greater works, then we will have to come
under the proper authority and discipline by which those greater works
shall be manifest. The time is coming and now is when all the Lord’s
elect will learn to function by a new and greater principle, even the
divine principle of ministering and functioning in the name of the Lord.
We can no longer function in our own name, for we have seen the constant
futility of man’s works. Now the Lord commands repentance and a sincere
turning away from all of man’s past fruitless efforts, for He would lead
us to the divine principle whereby we will witness those greater works.
‘When Jesus made His triumphal entry into
Sometimes my head has trouble with my body. I woke up this morning
and my head said to my feet, “Get out and walk.” My feet said,
“We’re tired of doing all the walking, let the hands do it.” Is that
how it is? No-the body is in perfect union with the head. Jesus is the
Vine, we are the branches. As long as the branch abides in the Vine it
brings forth fruit. And it guarantees the answer to our prayer! “If ye
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go forth and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: and that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My
name, He may give it you” (Jn. 15:7,16). In union with Christ there is
an expression of the Christ life. This is not a formula. No words can add
anything to it. It is life and reality. All that the branch bears it bears
in the name (nature) of the Vine, and in union with the Vine. You believe
in His name-therefore you cast out devils, heal the sick, speak with new
tongues, or fulfill whatever expression of Christ you are-as He moves
within you to so do.
Someone still asks, “Brother Eby, don’t you use the name of
Jesus when you pray?” Sometimes I do. But you don’t have to-if you are
praying in union with Him. After we have prayed a very selfish prayer,
“Oh Lord, I would like a BMW this fall, and a big sail boat for next
summer,” to make it spiritual and to have an edge on getting it answered
we ask it “in the name of Jesus.” But the name of Jesus has nothing to
do with this! We pray a lot of childish, selfish, carnal prayers that have
nothing to do with the mind of God. And then we tack the formula on, “in
the name of Jesus,” as though that will induce Him to indulge us. I tell
you the truth-you might as well say “abracadabra” and expect the vault
of heaven to open! God deliver us from formulas, from magical words, from
spiritual sounding hocus-pocus and superstitious mantras and bring us
mightily into union with the Lord Jesus Christ until the prayer we pray
expresses His mind, His heart, and His purpose.
“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat.
So what did Jesus say to those who told Him that they had done
wonders in His name? “Congratulations, blessed are ye, enter into the
Kingdom and receive a hundred more stars in your crown!” Is that what He
said? His answer was, “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work
iniquity.” “I never knew you-you whose prophesying is iniquity; you
whose casting out devils is iniquity; you whose mighty works are
iniquity.” Do you know what “I never knew you” means? It means that
the works were not done in union with Him. “And Adam KNEW His wife, and
she conceived...” (Gen. 4:1). “Know” in the Bible is the most
intimate word of union. Jesus says, “I never KNEW you, I was not
intimate with you, you were not acting out a deep and abiding love
relationship with Me.” He classified their works as iniquity.
“Iniquity” means lawlessness, something done outside authority. Isn’t the whole business of the Gospel just this: “All power in heaven and in earth is given to Me...I give it to you...you go and preach the Gospel and when it’s all over I will reward you!” No-”Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Mk. 16:90). The Lord was with them, working with them- IN UNION WITH THEM. So using His name may be blasphemy, it may be iniquity, it may be lawlessness, it may be foolishness like the seven sons of Sceva-if the words and the works are not done in union with the Christ. We have seen in our day the sad spectacle of men who get hold of God’s power, God’s ability, and use it to their own ends, for a name, for power, for money, to build a kingdom. The word will yet come to these in a terrible day of judgment, “Depart from Me ye that work iniquity; I never knew you.” So this business of the name of Jesus-watch it. Is the person who is using the name using it in vain? Or is the usage of the name an expression of love, devotion, obedience, divine nature and authority? What is your motive? What is back of it? Is it that God alone may be glorified? By J. Preston Eby. [ENTER TEXT OF WRITING / SCRIERE HERE] |
Other Writings in This Series:
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