I've been taking a course called CPE; Clinical Pastoral Education at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.  One of the strict guidelines of ACPE (the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education) is that chaplians are not allowed to "proselytize".  We must be ecumenical.  By and large, this makes ending one's prayers with "In Jesus' name we pray."

Now, there are a few ways we deal with this as many of our students are young seminarians and concerned about such things (that's humor for those of you who missed it!)  The first is to say whatever you need to say silently during a pregnant pause.  Another is to say "In Jesus' name I pray."

But, I'm more interested in engaging my fellow chaplaincy students in a deeper theological question; what does it MEAN to pray or ask in Jesus' name?  Taking John 14:13 at face value, many people believe that they must attach the name of Jesus to their petitions and prayers ensures an answer.  A Sunday School teacher I had as a child once told me that demons try to block our prayers from getting to heaven and attaching Jesus' name to the end makes the demons flee so the prayer gets through.  (Interesting .....) One literal way to read this passage is to understand it as saying that anything we ask in Jesus' name, the Father will do and be glorified by!  If this were true, there would be a whole lot more empty graves in the world!  I prefer to go "deeper".  In the Middle Ages, when a nobleman carried out the wishes of a king, he would carry the king's seal as proof that he spoke and acted "in the name of the king".  To speak in the name of the king (or, as in our case the King - Jesus the King of Kings) was to speak with the authority and in keeping with the express will and wishes of the king and not of our own desires or authority!  So to pray in Jesus' name, is to pray in keeping with the character, will, message and with the authority of Jesus.  It's not about magic words; but praying God's will over our own.  In fact, even this passage of scripture says that  Jesus will do what we ask in His name (in His authority and in keeping with his will, message and character) that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  Let's face it, sometimes we ask things that certainly aren't going to bring God glory.  Other times, we believe that they are and Jesus doesn't do what we ask exactly the way we request it because there was another, better way in which the Father would be glorified.  We might not understand it, but God does.

In Jesus' name - no magic words here; just praying in the authority of Jesus, as His servant, in keeping with his character and will.