John 16:23-27
Introduction
Praying in Jesus’ name is the key to experiencing heaven’s authority on earth. When we understand the significance of His name and have an awareness of the authority His name holds (1 Tim 2:5), we can understand what His responsibility is in answering our prayers. Knowing who Jesus is and what His role entails as we pray is key to effectively praying in His Name.
There are prerequisites for praying in Jesus’ name and seeing His resulting work in our lives as He responds to our requests. They all boil down to His Lordship. We must surrender to His Lordship. We must be willing to publically identify with Jesus Christ as Lord while prioritizing the cultivation of spiritual intimacy with Him. Jesus Christ is Lord of your life when you are willing to surrender to Him in every area of life. Lordship is comprehensive. It’s not a piecemeal approach, but full commitment. By submitting to Jesus Christ in every area of our life, we grow in our faith and in intimacy with Him (John 15:7).
When we pray in Jesus’ name, we can have confidence that our prayers are going to be answered (1 John 5:13-15)! We may have to learn patience as we grow in trusting His timing or believe that He knows best when His answer is no, but God answers prayer (John 14:12-14)! And we do serve a God who often answers yes, too!
Praying in Jesus’ name also gives us authority over the demonic realm (Luke 10:17-19). Because Jesus is over that realm and everything is under Him, Satan’s power cannot trump Jesus’ authority in prayer.
As believers, if we learn to rest in the power we know that Jesus has to offer and pray in Jesus’ name as a demonstration of that, we will experience the power of God’s physical and spiritual healing in our lives.
Getting Started
- Take a moment to think about what God has already done. What prayer(s) has God already answered for you? How have you seen Him at work in response to your requests?
- As you reflect on this week’s sermon, what are the important qualities or components of the name of Jesus? Why does it matter that we understand?
Let’s Get Personal
- Jesus Christ being Lord in your life is a prerequisite for prayer. Is Jesus Lord of your life? If so, or if not, how do you know?
- What needs to be adjusted or changed in your life so that you can prioritize Jesus and, as a benefit, also experience more of your prayers being answered?
- Be honest. Have you ever prayed about something and ended up feeling as if God didn’t answer at all? Have you ever prayed and received “no” for an answer? Did that experience impact the way you see prayer and/or your belief that prayer works?
Take the Next Step
- In what areas of your life in Christ do you need to make changes, so that your prayers are as effective as possible? What responsibility do you have in positioning yourself, so that you can experience answered prayer?
- Are there currently requests that you’ve made of God that remain unanswered? If you are willing to believe that Jesus’ name has power and authority because He is the Son of God, decide today to keep praying! Share your request(s) with your group and continue to trust God. Call on the name of the Lord Jesus with others and continue to trust and believe that Jesus has authority to address your concerns and answer your prayers.
- Want to go deeper? Take a look at the following passages: Acts 3:1-9; 19:13-17; Romans 10:9-13; 14:7-9; John 5:18-23; 14:12-14; 15:7; Luke 6:46; 10:17-19; James 5:13-15; 1 John 5:13-15; 1 Timothy 2:5
Renew Your Mind
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
