B.J. Knefley

Words, words, words, sometimes I wish there were no such thing. Why? Simply because words can be so easily misunderstood, misused, misapplied, and misinterpreted. Take for example the passage from John 14:14, “Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” What does that mean exactly? Can I simply ask anything, and Jesus will do it? If I tag every request with “In Jesus name” will that be the clincher for an answered prayer? I think not!

The key to that phrase is found in “in my name”. What does that actually mean and what does it look like? Simply put it means within who Jesus is. That includes love, patient, obedient, gracious, forgiving, servant, committed, prayerful, gentle, meek, full of self-control, humble, and the list goes on. How often might we find ourselves operating in any one of those attributes? James said it this way, “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” (James 4:3). In other words, we’re not asking within the character of who Jesus is but rather who we are.

Have you ever stopped to considered that most of our prayers, if not all, are directly related to what we want, even if we’re praying for someone else. How many times have we prayed for someone’s happiness of wellness because it was what we wanted for them. There may be nothing wrong with praying that way, but isn’t it more about us then them?

Have we ever considered ourselves in the light of God’s holiness? To that issue Paul states, ^“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:24-25). If it’s that simple, then why don’t more follow Paul’s route?

Think about it.