Have you ever wondered why Jesus told His disciples they could ask for anything in His name and He would do it?
Not most things. Not some things. Anything.
And we read it, and we think: Well, that sounds powerful. But does that really apply to me?
Yes.
But here's what stops us: we don't understand what we actually own.
The Battle Is About Knowledge
There's a fight to your faith. Always has been. But the greatest enemy to your faith isn't doubt or fear or circumstances.
It's ignorance.
"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
— Romans 10:17
Notice what that means: the greatest hindrance to your faith is a lack of knowledge of God's Word. When you don't know what God says, you can't believe it. When you don't know what belongs to you, you can't use it.
I learned this in my own life. For the longest time, the only thing that ever hindered my faith was not knowing what God had already said about something. The moment I found out what God said, faith rose up. Everything shifted.
You have been given something that belongs to you. And you don't even know you own it.
You've been walking around spiritually broke when your account is already full.
What Jesus Inherited
When Jesus rose from the dead, something shifted in heaven. He didn't just come back to life. He inherited something.
"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."
— Hebrews 1:3-4
Jesus inherited a name. A name above all names. A name that carries all the authority and power of God Himself.
But here's what most believers don't understand: that name doesn't belong only to Jesus in heaven. It belongs to the Church. It belongs to you.
The Name Belongs to the Body
This is the part that changes everything.
After Jesus rose and ascended, He gave that Name—the Name He inherited—to His Body. To us. To the Church.
"And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
— Ephesians 1:19-23
Jesus didn't just sit down in heaven and keep that Name for Himself. He made the Church—the Body of Christ—the beneficiary of everything He earned. Everything He inherited. Including that Name.
Think about this practically. When Jesus rose from the dead, He said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18) And then He said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19)
He was saying: I have all authority. Now go use it in My Name.
That Name belongs to you. Not because you earned it. Not because you deserve it. But because you belong to Him, and He has given you His Name to use.
What That Name Actually Means
Here's what most people miss: the Name of Jesus isn't just a title we say when we pray. It's not like a good luck charm or a magic password.
The Name of Jesus carries all the authority, all the power, all the dominion, all the rights that Jesus Himself possesses.
When you come to the Father in Jesus' Name, you're not coming as yourself. You're coming with all the authority and standing that Jesus has. You're coming clothed in His righteousness. You're coming as a member of His Body.
Think of it this way: if I give my child my name and my authority, they can go anywhere in the world and conduct business on my behalf. They can open doors I could open. They can demand things I could demand. Because they carry my name and my authority.
That's what Jesus did for the Church.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
— John 14:12-14
Jesus said: Whatever you ask in My Name, I will do it. Not: I might do it. I'll think about it. If you deserve it. No. I will do it.
That's not a promise that's dependent on your feelings or your circumstances. That's a guarantee. That's a legal right.
You Already Have It
Here's where believers get stuck. We think we have to get the right to use Jesus' Name. We think it's something we have to earn or pray our way into or become worthy enough to access.
No. You already have it.
When you were born into God's family through faith in Jesus Christ, the right to use His Name became yours automatically. It's not something you grow into. It's not something you have to wait on. It's yours now.
"Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
— 1 Corinthians 3:21-23
He said: All things are yours. Not: All things might become yours if you work hard enough. Not: All things are yours if you pray long enough.
All things are yours. That includes the Name of Jesus. It already belongs to you.
The question isn't whether you can use it. The question is: are you going to use what already belongs to you?
How to Use What Is Yours
Most people think using the Name of Jesus in prayer means just saying "in Jesus' name, amen" at the end of your prayers.
That's not using the Name. That's just saying the words.
Using the Name of Jesus means coming to the Father with the full understanding that you have authority. You have standing. You have a legal right to be there.
When Jesus taught the disciples to pray in His Name, He didn't mean: just add these words to the end of your sentence. He meant: come to the Father understanding that everything Jesus has authority over, you now have authority over. Everything Jesus can demand, you can demand. Everything Jesus can do, you can do in His Name.
"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
— John 16:23-24
Jesus said: Ask and you shall receive. Not: Ask and maybe you'll receive. Not: Ask and we'll see what happens.
Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. That's a promise. That's a legal right.
Real Faith Comes from Knowing
One thing I've learned over decades of ministry: people don't struggle with faith when they know what God said.
The woman who came to church and was healed of terminal illness didn't struggle with faith. She knew what Scripture said about her healing.
The elderly mother-in-law in a wheelchair who walked out didn't struggle with faith. She believed what she had been taught.
But the folks who struggle? They're the ones trying to talk God into something. They're the ones coming to the Father uncertain about whether He'll even listen.
And the difference isn't their faith level. It's their knowledge level.
When you know—not hope, not wish, but know—that Jesus has given you His Name to use, something shifts in your prayer life. You stop begging. You stop pleading. You start asking with authority.
You stop coming like a beggar hoping for crumbs.
You come like a child of the King who understands what they own.
What Blocks Us
Some of you are thinking: But Pastor Nicole, if this is true, why doesn't everyone just get healed? Why don't all prayers work?
Good question. Let me be honest.
There are times our requests don't align with God's will. There are times we ask for things that hurt us, and God—in His love—says no. Sometimes there are spiritual battles we don't understand. Sometimes people need deliverance from spiritual bondage before they can receive what they're asking for.
But here's what I know: the authority is real. The Name has power. The legal right belongs to you.
What stops most of us isn't the lack of a legal right. It's the lack of understanding that we have one. We're like that wealthy heir who doesn't know he has an inheritance. We're walking around spiritually broke when our account is already full.
Reflection Questions
Take time with these. Don't rush them.
1. When you pray, do you come to God uncertain about whether you have the right to ask, or do you come with the understanding that you belong to His Son?
What needs to shift in your perspective?
2. What's one specific thing you've been hesitant to ask for—something that aligns with Scripture—that you need to bring to God with full authority?
3. How does it change your prayer life to know that the Name of Jesus—the Name above all names—has been given to the Church to use?
4. What has God already done for you when you came to Him in Jesus' Name?
How does remembering that strengthen your faith?
Prayer
Father, open our eyes to what belongs to us. We've been so focused on what we don't have that we haven't recognized the inheritance that's already ours. Forgive us for coming to You uncertain, when we have every right to come boldly.
Teach us to understand the weight and the power of the Name of Jesus. Not as a religious phrase we add to prayers, but as the authority that breaks chains, opens doors, and brings the Kingdom of heaven into our earthly circumstances.
Give us courage to use what You've given us. Help us to stop living like spiritual paupers when we are the heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
In Jesus' Name—the Name above every name—we ask this. Amen.
If this message strengthened your faith, share it with someone who needs to know what they already have in Christ.