Praying in the Name of Christ

I reflected a lot on prayer this past week, and as I did my scripture study in the New Testament I read 1 John 5:14, which states:

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us”

Two questions in particular came to mind as I read the above passage: Why do so many prayers seem to go unanswered? Why do we pray in the name of Christ?

The specificity of this verse really caught my attention in regards to my two questions. I feel we often read throughout the scriptures the promise that if we “ask... it shall be given” to us (Matthew 7:7). Although this promise holds true, there have been times where I, like so many, have felt as if it weren’t. How many times have I felt like my prayers were unanswered? In this moment a statement about prayer came to mind that can be found under “Prayer” in the Bible Dictionary.

“We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when His words abide in us… Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart.”

It was then that I realized something: My prayers are not just meant to be my own. My prayers should be a reflection of Christ's prayers on my behalf. In 1 John 5:14 a specific promise is made, saying that our prayers will always be heard when in line with the Lord’s will.

Praying in Christ’s name made sense to me in that moment. When we pray in the name of Christ, we are telling our Father in Heaven that we are aligning our will with the will of His perfect Son, our Brother. Christ is our advocate with the Father, and when our will is aligned with His, He can plead on our behalf with the Father so that our prayers may be heard and answered.

So, how do we align our will with the will of the Lord? Simply put: we pray to know His will; we strive to do His will; we keep His commandments. Multiple blog posts could be made on the principles in this paragraph alone, but that is not where the focus is meant to be.

In summary, when our prayers become Christ's, we will undoubtedly receive answers to our prayers. I cannot say how or when, but I can promise that they will be answered. The Lord makes no promises He cannot and will not keep, so long as we are worthy.