“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
There is something of this in the way that prayer works, something to do with what Jesus meant when he told his disciples, “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
The foundational premise of this is that the Father already gives the Son whatever he asks for. Imagine prayer from God’s perspective: “If it looks like my Son, and lives like my Son, and prays like my Son, then I will respond as if it is my Son.”
If I look like a pagan, or live like a hedonist, or pray like a narcissist, I shouldn’t then be surprised when my prayers go unheard.
“In my name” does not mean use Jesus’ name like a secret code word, but rather, pray like Jesus would pray. Is my prayer in keeping with what I know of his character? Is it in line with the things he has revealed to me? Does it seem to be on the same trajectory as his good purposes in the world?
The more I look like Jesus, live like Jesus, and pray like Jesus, the more I will be heard by the Father like Jesus.
