There’s a fine line between prayer and witchcraft.
Many people who start to explore the Hebrew roots of the Bible soon find out that Jesus is not actually Jesus’ real name. Since He was actually Hebrew, he would have had a Hebrew name, not a Greek or English name. Also, there is no letter ‘J’ in either the Hebrew or Greek languages, and the letter ‘J’ is a relatively modern addition to our English language. So what is His real name, and does it matter which name we use in prayer? Let’s dig a little deeper into the scriptures to answer both these questions.
What’s His real name?
The word ‘Jesus‘ is Strong’s number G2424 [ee-ay-sooce’] in the Greek, which comes from the Hebrew word ‘Joshua‘ which is Strong’s number H3091 [yeh-ho-shoo’-ah]. Joshua comes from a combination of two other Hebrew words, ‘Jehovah‘ H3068 [yeh-ho-vaw’] and ‘save‘ H3467 [yaw-shah’].
The word ‘Jehovah‘ is usually translated as ‘the LORD‘ in most modern English translations, but if we look at the Hebrew letters, it is spelled yod-hey-vav-hey. Since there is no letter ‘J’ in the Hebrew, Jehovah is a very poor translation of the word. The most common modern recognized translation of this word is actually ‘Yahweh‘ (pronounced yah-way). So Jesus’ name actually means ‘the LORD saves‘ or ‘Yahweh saves‘, and it would be pronounced ‘Yah-shua‘ or ‘Yeshua‘ instead of ‘Joshua‘.
Being Hebrew, Jesus’ real name (which His disciples and family would have used) is actually Yahshua, not Jesus. In Hebrew thought, we find that a person’s name is also their function, so it’s not by accident that His name means ‘the LORD saves‘ because that was His function… to reveal the LORD’s plan for salvation!
Which name should we use in prayer?
In John 14:13-14 it says,
‘And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.‘
Through the above scripture, I came to understand that whenever I prayed, I should always ask in His name by saying the words ‘in Jesus name‘. After many years of ‘asking in Jesus’ name‘ and not seeing many of my prayers answered, I discovered that His real name was Yahshua, not Jesus. So I started ‘asking in Yahshua’s name‘ instead, and guess what happened? Nothing! Many of my prayers still went unanswered. Regardless of which name I used, whether Jesus, Yahshua, Yeshua, Joshua, Holy Spirit, Father Son and Holy Spirit, my prayers seemed to still go mostly unanswered. So what’s the problem?
It turns out that this scripture has nothing to do with the words you say at the end of your prayer. The answer is hidden in the definition of the word ‘name‘ that is used in John 14:13-14 above.
It is Strong’s number G3686 [on’-om-ah] in the Greek and it means ‘authority and character‘.
So when it says to ask in His name, it is NOT telling you to say Jesus or Yahshua at the end of your prayer. What it really means is that you are supposed to be asking ‘in His character and His authority‘.
So the answer to ‘Which name should we use in prayer?‘ is: ‘It doesn’t matter!‘ Anybody can just say the words ‘in Jesus’ name‘ or ‘in Yahshua’s name‘ when they pray, but just saying the words does not mean you are actually asking ‘in His character and authority‘.
As further proof, let’s look at the definition of witchcraft:
Witchcraft: Witchcraft involves the casting of spells — saying words to make things happen. The focus of witchcraft is to make something happen by the ritualistic reciting of words combined with specific ritualistic practice. Another form of witchcraft is charming — to quote sayings or phrases that are designed to alter one’s mental state regarding some bad or good thing — an attempt to control natural things with words.
Many people, myself included, were taught that you have to say the words ‘in Jesus’ name‘ or ‘in Yahshua’s name‘ at the end of your prayer, in order for it to be answered. According to the definition of witchcraft above, if you believe that saying certain words will cause your prayer to get answered, then you are actually practicing witchcraft. No wonder many of my prayers were not getting answered all those years… I was practicing witchcraft and didn’t even know it!
How do we ask in His Name?
Okay, so now you probably want to know how you can actually ‘ask in His name‘.
John 16:23-26
23 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things I have spoken to you in proverbs and parables; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs and parables, but I will speak to you openly and plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you;
In v23 the disciples are told that whatever they ask of the Father ‘in the character and authority‘ of Jesus/Yahshua, will be given to them. But it goes on to say in v24 that up until this point they had not asked for anything ‘in His name‘, meaning that they still did not carry the character and authority of Jesus/Yahshua.
Now if you skip to v26 it says that ‘in that day‘ they WILL ask in His name, meaning that something happened between v24 and v26 that will allow them to transition from ‘not being able to ask His name‘ to being able to ‘ask in His name‘. So what happened in verse 25, that allows them make this transition?
In v25 Jesus/Yahshua says that He had been speaking to them about the Father in proverbs and parables, but that He was going to speak to them openly and plainly about the Father. Openly and plainly can also be translated as without concealment or without ambiguity or no longer in proverbs/parables.
So in v26, the ‘day‘ that they will be able to ‘ask in His name‘, is the day that he reveals the meaning of the proverbs and parables to them. His character and authority is released in us as we begin to understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom (see Matthew 13:10-11 where He says the Mysteries of the Kingdom are hidden in the parables). Being able to ‘ask in His name‘ means that I have taken on the same character as Jesus/Yahshua, and have become like Him (Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16).
Conclusion
If you believe that just simply saying certain words will get your prayer answered, then you are practicing witchcraft. But let’s be clear that I am not saying you can’t or shouldn’t say the words ‘in Jesus’/Yahshua’s name‘. What I am saying is that the words you say at the end of your prayer are irrelevant. You can still ask in His character and authority with or without saying those words. And as you begin to understand the meaning of the proverbs and parables that He spoke, you will begin to see an increase of His character and authority in you and in your prayers.
