Throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments there are practical lessons to help us pray with intellegence and effectively, and enjoyably. In Matthew 20:22, the disciples were encouraged not to pray in ignorance. James warns us not to pray for selfish and unwholesome reasons (James 4:3). According to Psalm 66:18, we should also prepare ourselves for prayer and not pray with unconfessed sin.
The most frequent and fundamental lesson that Jesus taught His disciples about prayer was the “name” in which they should pray. “Ask in my name,” he said, and the Father will hear you (John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–24, 26). To pray “in Jesus’ name” is first, to trust in the merits of Jesus’ atonement; second, to rest in the authority given to Jesus by the Father; and third, to rely on and enjoy the guarantee of Jesus’ acceptance with the Father.
First, to pray in the name of Jesus means to rest on the merits of his atonement—his sacrifice for sin (John 16:23–24). Prior to Jesus’ finished work on the cross, believers did not ask in Jesus’ name. But when Jesus finished his work on earth and ascended into heaven and sent his Holy Spirit, the condition for prayer was fully met—the finished work of Christ.
By faith in his atoning work on the cross, we are brought into a living, loving relationship with the Savior and reconciled to the Father. We pray in Jesus’ name to our heavenly Father (see Matthew 7:9). Jesus is the mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). When we pray in Jesus’ name, we lean on Jesus’ accomplishments, depending on him and trusting his saving work.
Second, when Jesus told His disciples to pray in his “name,” he meant for them to pray on the “authority of his person.” To a Jewish understanding, the name stood for the whole person. Now, notice which “name” the disciples appealed to in their prayer and in their work—it was the name “Jesus;” sometimes the “Lord Jesus” or “Jesus Christ,” but mostly just “Jesus” (Acts 2:38; 3:6; 4:10, 18, 30; 5:40; 8:12, 16; 9:27, 29; etc. ). Why did they emphasize the name “Jesus” among the other names? Well, Paul told the Philippians that our Saviour has been “highly exalted” and given a “name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9–12).
Jesus was the name given to him by the angels, meaning, “Jehovah is salvation” (Luke 2:21).
When Jesus ascended into heaven he did so as a man, representing human beings—us. He is our mediator as a man. He accomplished redemption as a man and he applies that redemption as a man still in heaven. Therefore, as a man, our representative, he has been given “all authority” in heaven and in the earth for the establishment of His Kingdom (Matthew 28:11).
Third, to pray in the name of Jesus is to pray with the guarantee of Jesus. He is the “Amen” of our prayers (Revelation 3:14; 2 Corinthians 1:20). We use the word “amen” often after prayer, or while someone else is praying, to express agreement—“so be it” (it is used like this in Jeremiah 28:6).
In Revelation 3:14, however, the word is used with the definite article as a descriptive title, or a name which Jesus takes to himself. He is “the faithful and true witness” (Revelation 3:14; 19:11; 21:5; 22:6 cf. Isaiah 65:16 the “God of Amen”). Men (in the Church of Laodicea) had failed to make good the promises of the gospel, but Jesus will not—He is faithful and true. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that all of the promises of God are guaranteed in Christ – they “find their yes in Him. That is why through Him we can say amen.”
Conclusion
Praying in Jesus’ name provides equal opportunity for every believer. We are accepted by him on the same ground. There is no merit in the length of our prayer, or the particular words (ancient or modern), or the eloquence, or ingenuity of argument, or in the volume of our prayers—everything rests in the name of Jesus.