Whose Authority?

“And I (Jesus) will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13

I read of a story that spoke of a Dad who took his daughter and two sons to the County Fair and went ahead of them to stand in line and buy a batch of tickets for the rides. Shortly afterward, the man was standing near the gate to the Tilt-A-Whirl where he held the roll of red tickets ready to distribute them to his children who were waiting in line for him. First, he was met by his daughter holding out her hand into which he placed a ticket.

Next, to his surprise, a small boy, whom he did not know, stood in front of him holding out his hand. “Wait a minute, who are you?” the man thought to himself. Not wanting to hold up the line of people formed behind the small boy, the father became noticeably irritated but just as he was about to confront the boy his son stepped forward and said, “Dad, this is my friend. I told him you would give him a ticket too”. Without hesitation the father tore off a ticket and handed it to the small boy. It was not because the father discerned he deserved a ticket or that he had planned to give tickets away to strangers that day. He offered the ticket for one reason alone.

What made the difference was that the small boy held out his hand pleading “in the son’s name”. The father made good the word or promise of the son to the friend in need. It was because of the son that the boy received. In this story that Ronald Dunn’s tells in his wonderful book, “Don’t just stand there Pray Something!” we gain an insight into the principle of why we ask “in Jesus Name” to receive from our Lord. We are to come to the Father through the Son and on the Son’s authority – a legal union as well as a loving union.