Praying In Jesus' Name

I hear many prayers ended with the  staple phrase "In Jesus' name." Some of those prayers have been,  and continue to be, prayed by me, but what does it mean to pray in Jesus'  name?

"In that day you will ask nothing  of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my  name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:23-24, ESV

I have discovered that there are  certain kinds of prayers that God will not delay in answering. Other prayers,  however, seems to go unaddressed at best or rejected at worst. What kinds  of prayer cause the father to hasten to answer?

The answer to that question is  in what has become a popular prayer ending. When Jesus said "pray  in my name" what he was actually saying was, "pray according  to my character, heart, and will."

When our prayers match the will  of God for our lives, God will hasten to answer. When our prayers are faithless,  selfish, and shallow, his answer will be "NO."

A few years ago, I went through  and old testament survey class. In this particular class, the instructor  was talking about the incident of the golden calf in the wilderness and  idolatry. God used the class to deeply inspire me to find the idols in  my life. I asked the Lord to show me what those idols were and, within  24 hours, my prayer had been answered.

I didn't ask God for money, or  a nice car, or a perfect life. Those types of things are very secondary  to God. God is more concerned with our hearts than he is with our outward  circumstances. In fact, he will use those undesirable outward circumstances  to work on our hearts and draw us closer to Him.

My prayer focused on God's will  for my life, the condition of my heart, and my relationship with Him. THAT  is what matters to God the most. Health, material stuff, and comfort, are  all secondary and will follow with time, as a by product. Remember, "seek  first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these {material}  things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33, ESV (contextual clarification added).

So today, I want to challenge you  to look at your heart and the things you ask him for. Ask Him to help you  reach a closer level of intimacy with him. Ask Him for the things that  He thinks are important! Do this, always, with an attitude of thanksgiving,  reverence, and worship towards Him, and watch Him transform your life!!!