What Does It Mean to Pray in Jesus' Name?

Mark Roberts has some interesting things on what it means to pray in Jesus' Name:

I have Christian friends who believe that every time a Christian prays, it's necessary for that person to mention the name of Jesus specifically, by saying "in Jesus's name" or "through Christ our Lord" or something similar. Thus they would not be pleased with what happened at the National Prayer Breakfast, where Christians prayed without using Jesus's name before saying "Amen."...

In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray "in his name": "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13-14). Yet Jesus doesn't mean that we must say "in Jesus's name" at the end of every prayer, though this is surely a fine thing to do as long as we don't think of "in Jesus's name" as magic words. To pray in Jesus's name is to pray under His authorization. It means to approach God through Jesus and to seek, not our own will, but the will of Jesus our Lord.

Therefore, all Christians should pray in Jesus's name and no other, whether they say "in Jesus's name" or not. When I, and thousands of other Christians at the Prayer Breakfast, agreed with Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Jewish man, in prayer, we were praying in Jesus's name, even though he was not and did not use the familiar Christian ending to his prayer. I was coming before God in the name of Jesus because that's the only way I pray...

I think that Mark is absolutely right-on. As John Schroeder writes insightfully on his blog today:

Prayer is not about what we say, or even really "think" - it is another way of placing ourselves in a proper attitude in front of God, prostrate, humble, reliant, submissive and in awe.

In the ninth part of my blog series on Prayer: The Essential Conversation, I wrote last January:

...praying in Jesus' Name is more than saying a word or employing an incantation, as though communicating with God is like using a Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring...

I went on to describe some of what I think it means to pray in Jesus' Name:

People who pray in Jesus' Name:

1. Acknowledge Jesus' Lordship...

2. Ask God to provide answers to our prayers in ways that are consistent with the character and the will of Jesus. In essence, when we pray in Jesus' Name, we subordinate ourselves to the will and the infinitely greater wisdom of God...

3. Have confidence that their prayers are heard...

To pray in Jesus' Name means that we submit to God by way of the One Who died and rose for us, whether we legalistically intone His Name or pray in the company of those who don't share our faith or not.