Asking in the name of Jesus

Footnotes

Prayer “in the name of Jesus” does not mean ending a prayer by saying “in Jesus’ name.” Instead, it means that you know something about the Lord’s will and your prayer is focused on advancing it. Asking in Jesus’ name requires proactively seeking to discover and achieve his will on earth. Asking in his name means learning everything you can about what Jesus wants, then doing everything you can to bring his will to pass in all things. To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask God for what will advance his purpose.⁷

Most Christians treat prayer as if God is a genie standing ready to fulfill any wish they might contrive, and then wonder why God does not answer their prayers.⁸ When we focus our prayers on what we need to accomplish the purpose of Jesus, we are much more likely to receive what we ask for.⁹ God answers prayers that pursue the purpose of Christ.¹⁰

When you fail to receive what you ask in prayer, there are only a few possibilities:

You are failing to live up to God’s character as far as you believe it to be in your life.¹¹
You lack sufficient reasons to believe God will grant what you are asking.¹²
You have not done what you can yourself to obtain it.¹³
You do not desire what you are asking for enough for God to give it to you.¹⁴

In each case, more work on your part is needed before you comply with the conditions God has set for giving what we ask.

You can’t pray in Jesus’ name while living in a way that contradicts his character. You can vastly increase your confidence in what you pray for by always thinking, feeling, and doing as he would in your place.¹⁵ Those who serve God the most know him the best. You cannot get to know God except through spending a great deal of time and effort developing a deep love for him through perfect obedience to him. The more you learn about Jesus and immerse yourself in his purpose, the more accurate your idea of his will becomes, and the more confident you will be in what you ask for.¹⁶ God does not grant special requests to those who are not living “in his name,” according to how they understand him to be, any more than he does to the wicked.¹⁷ However, he answers the prayers of those who have learned about and live like him.¹⁸ Jesus said: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

The Lord will answer the prayers of all who are abiding in his purpose,¹⁹ but this obviously presupposes that they know what his purpose is²⁰ and that they are asking in accordance with it.²¹ You can’t pray in Jesus’ name when you ask for something other than you think he would or for reasons other than you think he would.²²

Effectual prayer requires a reason to believe that what you are asking for is according to God’s will and in alignment with his righteous purpose. Doubtful prayers are seldom answered.²³ The power of asking in the name of Jesus comes from having confidence in your idea of God’s character and your similitude to him, as far as you understand.

You can’t fulfill the requirements of asking the Father in the name of Jesus without confidence that what you are asking for accords with God’s will. When you pray, you ought to first focus on discovering the will of the Lord.²⁴ Until you have high confidence that what you ask for in prayer accords with God’s will, your requests should focus on finding out more about God’s will for you and those for whom you pray.²⁵

You can’t pray in Jesus’ name if you have not yet done all you can to bring to pass what you are asking for. A fundamental attribute of the Lord’s character is that he always does the best he can, not the worst he can get away with. Asking in the name of Jesus is how you engage in your part of his work: you find out what he wants, and you work to help it come to pass. When you merely “ask” God vocally for something, you are engaging in far less than he intended when he commanded us to ask him for things.²⁶ Asking in the name of Jesus requires a full effort to obtain what you request, not just a vocal effort to ask God to obtain it for you. Asking in the name of the Lord is a joint effort akin to calling for air support during an infantry mission: assistance is given to supplement your efforts, not to take their place.

Asking in the name of the Lord requires you to focus your whole soul on what you are asking for. The Greek word translated as ask, aiteó (Strong’s 154), means more than to vocally make a request. There is a strong internal connection in this word that combines the meanings of English words “beg,” “request,” “crave,” “desire,” and “require.”Asking in the name of the Lord results in a prayer with so much sincerity and fervor that it bears no resemblance to the rote and thoughtless routines practiced by most Christians, in particular at prescribed settings.²⁷

Footnotes

1. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. (Alma 34:19-27) ↩
2. But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul. (2 Nephi 32:9) ↩
3. And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. (Mosiah 4:11) ↩
4. And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. (2 Nephi 32:8) ↩
5. But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all longsuffering; (Alma 13:28) ↩
6. Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not....Behold, [I] will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. (Jeremiah 33:2-3, 6) ↩
7. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10) ↩
8. Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God. (Mormon 9:28) ↩
9. O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him. (Mormon 9:27) ↩
10. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (1 John 3:22-24) ↩
11. You can’t work “...a miracle in the name of Jesus save [you are] cleansed every whit from [your] iniquity.” (3 Nephi 8:1) “Every whit” means in totality. ↩
12. The Lord said: “all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22) ↩
13. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (D&C 123:17) ↩
14. When two blind men cried to the passing Lord, the crowd tried to silence them. They responded to the opposition by crying even more: “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” (Matthew 20:30-33) ↩
15. Our knowledge of God’s will and our obedience to it in all things is our confidence with God; it is how we know what to ask from him and how we know that he will give us what we ask. (1 John 5:14-15, Author’s Reflection) ↩
16. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you. (Moses 6:52) ↩
17. For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those who repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would that ye should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. (Helaman 7:23) ↩
18. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. (D&C 50:29) ↩
19. Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma 37:36-37) ↩
20. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7) ↩
21. And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33) ↩
22. ...Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it. (Enos 1:15) ↩
23. Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth. (Mormon 9:21) ↩
24. See 2 Nephi 32:9, previously cited. ↩
25. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8) ↩
26. Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. (D&C 9:7) Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (D&C 123:17) ↩
27. “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7) ↩

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