John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
It just blows my mind to think about these three verses. The power and relationship and closeness of Jesus and the Father is now working to help us and to work through us in our daily lives forever! Jesus was in perfect relationship with the Father while He was walking around on the Earth among us. Now His Spirit lives in us and He continues His intimacy with the Father while at the same time dwelling inside of us. THAT is greater than He ever did when He was flesh and blood down here, because now He has millions of bodies to run around in and advance His Kingdom and make His name great!
To ask “In Jesus Name” is by His authority and backing and in His Spirit, not just tacking on some magic words at the end of your prayer. When I was in Asia, there was a 2 month span in which I was one of only two expats present at our organization. Because of the financial rules, for those 2 months, I had to become the accountant of the organization. The ladies that worked there still did all of the work, but if anything major went down (PRAISE GOD IT DIDN’T) on my watch, I would have to sign for it. I couldn’t just sign the name of the Australian that was the full time REAL accountant, because HE WASN’T THERE. Even if it was something he approved of, and something he signed all of the time, I had to put MY name on it because I was the one PRESENT and RESPONSIBLE to back up my signature.
To ask for something IN JESUS’ NAME is to ask for it when He is present and responsible to back up your request. To know Him and to believe Him and to hear what He is asking. He wants to be involved in all of our activities because He knows that the most glory comes and happens when His activities are our activities.