John 14:14 (NKJV)

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Eisegesis: 

God will give me anything I want. I only need to say the magical words after my prayer “In Jesus name”. 

Exegesis:   

Christ did promise that He would do anything we asked for, but something also implied within this promise is that whatever we ask for must be consistent with the will and nature of Christ. 

Using the name of Christ in prayer is both an endorsement (like a bank cheque) and a limitation (in that the request should be made in accordance with the character and nature of God). 

Jesus gave the disciples this promise while they were lamenting His imminent death on the Cross and departure to be with the Father. 

Jesus spoke these words to encourage the disciples that He would provide them with the resources necessary to accomplish their task without His immediate presence (which they had come to depend upon).

When Jesus says to pray “In My Name,” it is not to be used as a magical incantation at the end of a prayer. The phrase is not a magical formula that obligates God to grant every selfish request people make; instead, praying in His name has a far more severe and profound and serious meaning. 

Here are some of the important rules for praying in Jesus’ name:

(1) the believer’s prayer should be for His purposes and kingdom (Matt. 6:10), and not selfish reasons; 

We are to unite our minds with His, having one united aim and motive consistent with His will. We should reflect if the request we make is worthy of being prayed in the name of Jesus. For example, we cannot pray for personal vengeance or something immoral using His name.

(2) the believer’s prayer should be based on Christ’s merits and not any personal merit; 

Our prayer should come from a humble acknowledgement of our spiritual poverty, lack of self-sufficiency and unworthiness.

We cannot approach God without the merits of Jesus Christ (John 16:26-28). We need to be utterly dependent upon Him to supply every need (Matt. 6:25-32, Phil. 4:19).

(3) the believer’s prayer should be in pursuit of His glory alone. 

Our primary purpose in life is to glorify God. So our prayers need to be prayed in accordance with His will, not in defiance of it or for selfish gain.

The desire of our prayers and the answers to our prayers should be that God is glorified.

The problem in the church today

The reason why this verse has been abused in the church today is because people are motivated to follow God for His miracles, signs and wonders instead of being motivated by faith, repentance and genuine love for Him.

We have more thrill-seekers today who, like in the days of Jesus, have failed to grasp the true significance of His miraculous signs, which all point to Him as the Son of God and the Messiah.

Many people flock to receive blessings but ultimately refuse to accept His words; people flock to receive the benefits of His power for their physical lives but ignore the benefits for our spiritual lives.

The funny analogy

God says to “make your REQUESTS known to Him” not “make your DEMANDS known to Him.”

God has a will of His own and is certainly in power and in control therefore it is essential that things do happen in accordance with His will.

Imagine how it would be if for example a Christian farmer is praying for rain but on the other side a pastor in his private jet is praying for the rain to stop because the storm will mess up His flight and so the rain stops. But later the farmer is emotionally upset so he prays for an extreme rain which causes a storm that messes up the flight plans of the pastor.

Now that is just an example of two people praying at the same time, imagine how it would be if there was a crowd of 100 people praying different things. Would all their desires be met? The answer is no. in fact, not even one of their desires would be met if they aren’t in the will of God.

Human beings are narrow minded and sometimes we may need God to say no to many of our prayers so that His purposes and plans are fulfilled.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, to pray in Jesus’ name does not mean that we can ask Jesus to request of the Father anything on our behalf that is contrary to His will. Rather the privilege all believers have is that in demonstrating loving obedience to Christ (John 3:36; 14:21, 23; Heb. 5:9; James 2:14–26; 1 Peter 1:1–2), their requests are made directly to Father that are consistent with the will of the Son.

Believers are called to pray aligning our selves with His purposes, His nature, His person, His glory and His Majesty.