Before Amen by Max Lucado
Week 11: Chapter 10 — In Jesus' Name
Read Chapter 10 of Before Amen by Max Lucado. Key passages: John 14:13-14; John 16:23-24; Colossians 3:17.
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Most Christians close every prayer with "in Jesus' name" — but Lucado presses us to ask whether we understand what we are actually saying when we do.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Be honest: before reading this chapter, had "in Jesus' name" become a kind of verbal punctuation mark at the end of your prayers — more habit than meaning? What did you think it meant?
2.Lucado explains that praying "in Jesus' name" means praying on the authority and merit of Jesus — not our own goodness. It is like a child saying, "My father sent me." How does this reframe the phrase from a closing ritual to a statement of profound theological confidence?
3.John 14:13 promises that God will do "whatever" we ask in Jesus' name. Lucado notes this is not a blank check but a prayer aligned with Jesus' character and purposes. How do we discern the difference between a prayer that is truly "in Jesus' name" and one that is just using the phrase?
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