S72P4 – A friend of God: authorized

John 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

He had been doing the job for years and was competent enough to get the work done no matter the obstacles he faced.  Even so, he knew that certain tools and equipment would make some of these obstacles easier to overcome.  Recent trends in home construction meant that he would encounter the same challenges over and over, and it simply made sense to him to upgrade his equipment to help speed along future jobs.  He placed his request for everything he thought he needed, but it was denied.  Those in his position did not have the authority to make such a request.  He needed the approval and signature of one who was authorized, or he was simply asking in vain.

We have no spiritual authority outside of God.  Without him, we are sitting ducks for the enemy to oppress and attack.  What Jesus gives to those He calls friends is the authority He has in the Father.  The important thing here is that we make our requests in the name of Jesus. This means that what we ask of the Father must be in accordance with the character and mission of the Son.  If we want a picture of what such a request might look like, we need only read the scriptures to learn what Jesus asked of the Father and why.  His requests are the model for our requests.  Jesus was kingdom-minded, and everything He asked served to further his kingdom.  Those are the requests we are authorized to make in his name.

The authority we carry as friends of God is not some blank check we can use to write our own little happy endings.  That authority has a purpose which is much greater than ourselves.  We can think of praying in the name of Jesus as being the same as praying in his motives and character.  We are granted our authority only to be exercised according to the standards exhibited by Christ himself.  Asking of the Father in the name of the Son is not just about saying those words at the end of our requests.  It is about making requests which are modeled after the Son’s.  Father, thank You for the authority You give us to pray as Jesus prayed and have our prayers answered as He had.