As the Father for anything in My name.
length: 72:32 - taught on Oct, 12 2022
Class Outline:
Wednesday October 12,2022
Prayer is to the Father.
Today, we want to further understand our Lord’s incredible promise concerning prayer.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name.”
In the name of the Son is more than just saying, “in Jesus name, Amen.” We are to remember this every time we pray.
Praying in the name of the Son means:
- We can only pray because of the cross.
- We are before the Father as representatives of the Son.
- Obedience to the will of the Father.
When I conclude prayer with “in Christ’s name,” I take a minute or two to think of all three of these and seek to thank the Father and also do any final adjustments to my will and desire. It really only takes about two or three minutes, and it makes a vast difference to the condition of my soul. A difference that is not made by quickly tacking on the words.
A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him, there is no want.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, "How awesome are Thy works!
Because of the greatness of Thy power Thine enemies will give feigned obedience to Thee.
4 "All the earth will worship Thee,
And will sing praises to Thee;
They will sing praises to Thy name."
Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 And the descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.
Never think that promises to Israel are not promises to you. The church is not Israel, but Israel’s salvation is our own, meaning, if Israel isn’t saved then no one is. God’s fulfillment of His covenants to Israel is salvation blessing to all the families of the earth.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity."
Psa 100
A Psalm for Thanksgiving.
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There are dozens more just like these. The name of the Lord in the prophecy of ISA 9:6 pulls into our view the multiple accomplishments of His Person, which for Him, each point to an aspect of His nature. He is the sole foundation of the kingdom of God. He is the only comforter of our souls. He is the Creator, the one powerful to save who sits at the right hand of the Father until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. He is the eternal one, one with the Father who has given Himself to us so that we could enter into that relationship of love and joy in the eternal life of the Trinity. He is the one who has broken down every wall, the author and prince of our salvation, the Prince of Peace.
Names mean much more in the Bible than they do in our modern world, and that is much more true with God’s names. The Son of God has many titles; many names. His name refers to His Person and therefore His character and will. This is easily seen in the Word of God.
Therefore be careful how you walk [going all the way back to 4:1], not as unwise men, but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
And we get a hint here as to what it is to be praying in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ because we are to do everything in His name and that can mean nothing else than obedience.
Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord would certainly be one aspect of prayer - adoration and thanksgiving.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is obedience to Him since we are to do everything in His blessed, holy name.
But what if we are unwise or foolish, or we do get drunk or fall into some other sin that is reckless abandon or debauchery? First, we have to set straight, hopefully just a reminder for most, that we will suffer for every sin, our Christian fellowship (church, marriage, family) will suffer for it, and the more often we sin the more suffering we will cause and the more bad habits and addictions we will fall into. No sin is exempt. Sins of the mind like pride, bitterness, jealousy, lust, self-justification, self-promotion, feelings of superiority, judging, etc., sit right next to drunkenness and all forms of debauchery or so-called sins of the body.
And, never think that so-and-so’s sins are worse than yours. From even the shortest pedestal we make ourselves more important than others, promote ourselves to judge, and will be unable to serve anyone. We will live outside the will of God with any pride.
That said, can the one who has sinned pray to the holy Father in heaven in the name of the magnificent Son? Most definitely. But first there must be a broken and contrite heart.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
It is not that we have to feel sorry for our sins to be forgiven. All believers are forgiven. It the proper attitude of the person who has broken God’s law of life because he loves the law and the Lawgiver. Grace accompanies the humble, not the proud.
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
John is telling us that we are sinners, but that we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. However, if we walk in the darkness we will not fellowship with one another. Sin does not fellowship with others in the way of love. Sin seeks its own self.
Since we are all sinners, how then could we fellowship with each other? Confess the sins AND walk in the light.
Confessing or acknowledging our sins to God allows us to claim His grace and forgiveness and to stop sinning (not forever) because we are deciding to walk in the light.
Some believers confess sins but then fail to strive diligently to walk in the light of the Word of God. Confession is important, but it is not ever depicted in the Scriptures as a means of gaining something from God, as if it merits anything from Him.
Confession is not a light switch that turns the Holy Spirit on and off. We never read of the Holy Spirit being under our control.
Even the command to be filled with the Spirit is a passive verb, not active. We are filled with the Spirit; we do not fill ourselves with the Spirit. We don’t turn Him on and off at will with confession. However, confession (or acknowledgment; both words are used) is often a part of the process of turning from dark thinking to light walking. Remember, evil hates the light. Our confession drags our sin into God’s light and we then watch it die away from our conscience, and eventually, from our consciousness (“forgetting what lies behind”).
Our faith and obedience allow the Spirit to fill us. Confession is the start when we find we are grieving the Spirit with our sin.
This brings us back to the topic of obedience.
My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
And we return to the inclusio of “walking in the light.” If we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another. We ought to walk as the Lord walked.
In Paul’s Eph 4-5, walk in a manner worthy of your calling; be careful how you walk, not foolish and unwise, be filled with the Spirit speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ (5:19-20).
I think that now we can understand something more about our Lord’s incredible promise:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name.”
Therefore, Jesus can confidently say that whatever we ask the Father in His name we will receive because “in His name” is in the Father’s will. The Father’s will is in the Word, so then, we are in His name when we are praying in His Word.
If we are to be literal to God’s Word, and we should, the Lord never told us to say the words “in Jesus name,” but was telling us something far more important; to come to the Father in His will.
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