When we arrived in the village where we had been working for over a year to distribute grain to people who were eating grass, they said, "Please pray for us in Jesus' name." It was rainy season, but it had not been raining, and they desperately needed rain to grow the food necessary for the new year. We prayed for rain, "In Jesus name". And within hours there was an abundance of rain. Word went out for miles and people kept coming and saying, "You are the rainmakers."
We kept telling them, God sends the rain, and we prayed in Jesus' name.
Three months later a group of Muslim men came to our team at our hut in the village and said, "We asked the Imam to pray for rain, but he sent us to you. He told us that you are Christians, and God answers your prayers." What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?
There are many answers to that question, but two comments are sufficient for our thoughts this morning. First, to pray in Jesus' name is to pray on the basis of His pleasing work on Calvary's cross. His atoning work not only brings forgiveness for our sins, it is also purchased the answer to our prayers. God never answers on the basis of our own merit, but only on the basis of the shed blood of Calvary.
The other comment of significance is that to pray in Jesus' name means to pray what He would pray. It is not a self centered prayer, but a prayer that honors the Father's will. To pray in Jesus'' name is to pray consistenet with His nature and character. There is power in the name that is above every name.
