Emmanuel Evangelical Church Chippenham

From 1^st March 2007:

In this session we will consider what it means to pray in the name of Jesus.

Background

Prayer is personal communication from us to God.

Last time we began to look further at the ‘mechanism’ of prayer and recognised that Jesus Christ is our mediator to a Holy God: 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 3:23-26. In our relationship with God we can approach with boldness as if we were priests of the new covenant.  Hebrews 10:19-22; Exodus 29:4,21; 1 Peter 2:9.

What it means to pray ‘in Jesus’ name’

Please read John 14:13-14; John 15:16 and John 16:23-24 and answer the following questions:

1. Considering the prayers we find in the NT (Matthew 6:9-13; Acts 1:24-25, Acts 4:24-30, etc.) what does it not simply mean in terms of a phrase we should add to the end of our prayers?

2. To come ‘in’ someone’s name means something specific. Compare Acts 3:6; Acts 4:7; Acts 16:18; 1 Corinthians 5:4. What does speaking ‘in the name of’ imply?

3. In the ancient world the ‘name’ of someone spoke of the whole person and their character. To pray something ‘in Jesus name’ therefore required what to be consistent? (c.f. 1 John 5:14-15)