Did you know the Bible says anything we ask in Jesus’s name we will receive? (John 14:13) Does this mean that if you say “in Jesus’s name” at the end of every prayer, you are guaranteed to get what you ask for?
When Yeshua (the Hebrew name of Jesus) spoke those words in John 14:13, He told them to other Hebrew Jews living in a Hebrew culture. If we want to understand John 14:13, we have to think like a Hebrew.
What does it mean to a Hebrew man or woman when you say “ask in My name”? In Hebrew culture, a name can mean two things. It can mean the actual given name, but it can also mean character and personality.
In John 5:43, Yeshua says, “I have come in My Father’s name.” We know His full name is Yehoshua, which means Yehovah saves. So we know John 5:43 is referring to His given name. We also know from John 14:9 His character and personality were identical to the Father. In John 3:36, Yeshua says that those who believe in Him will also obey His teachings. All of these verses give us valuable insight into what He is referring to in John 14:13.
When Yeshua says, in John 14:9 He is identical to the Father in character, it gives us a clue to what He is referring to in John 14:13. His Father Yehovah says in Prov 15:29 He hears the prayers of the righteous, but He does not listen to the prayers of the wicked.
When Yehovah says those words, in Prov 15:29, it is in the Old Testament times before the cross. So who are the righteous? The Bible says, in the book of Exodus and 1. John the righteous are those who do righteousness. Righteousness defines as Torah obedience in the book of Exodus, the book of Romans, and 1.John.
So what Yehovah is saying in Prov 15:29 is that He only listens to the prayers of those who obey the Torah.
Because of John 14:9, we know Yeshua is no different from Yehovah. If Yehovah only listened to the prayers of those who obey the Torah, then we know Yeshua will only listen to the prayers of those who follow the Torah.
Now we know what He is referring to in John 14:13; it is character and not saying the actual name. So what Yeshua says in John 14:13 is this: As long as you have the same character as Myself and My Father, what you ask for in prayer will be done.
So how do you get your prayers answered? By obeying the Torah.
