Parts I, II, III, and IV can be found here, here, here, and here, respectively.
The full form of the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” incorporates at least six biblical promises. These are:
1. Romans 10:9 — If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (cf. John 6:40; Romans 10:10-13)
2. 1 Corinthians 12:3 — No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (cf. John 15:26)
3. 1 John 5:1 — Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (cf. Matthew 16:16-17)
4. 1 John 4:15 — Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (cf. Romans 8:16-17; 1 John 2:23, 5:10)
5. John 14:14 — If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (cf. John 14:13, 15:16, 16:23-24)
6. 1 John 1:9 — If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (cf. Luke 18:14)
On the Fifth Promise
At its core, asking something in Jesus’ holy Name means being in harmony with His will, which is also to say His greater wisdom, authority, and power. It is founded upon the divine promise given by Christ. This, being a promise, means that it can be relied upon to be upheld by His unwavering faithfulness. This excludes the idea that it is the reduction of Christ to being a genie. The word genie comes from an old Arabic word, jinn, referring to a kind of supernatural being, a term which came into English usage through translations of the Arabian Nights where a jinn was being manipulated to grant selfish wishes. God is not anything like a jinn, for He is the Almighty Creator of all, the thrice Holy One who maintains all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). Moreover, as one who Covenants with His People, God does not promise to accomplish anything in His Name that is not also consistent with His holy nature and righteous character. We have to recall that the promise of Christ to do anything asked in His Name extends to those who are in and with Him. This occurs inexorably through the sacrament of holy Baptism, which is first and foremost a dying to self, a putting off of all worldly ways. Many people mistakenly think they can be a Christian and yet also at the same time a self-willed manmukh. An old Punjabi word, a manmukh is a person who follows their own mind and desires, without regard to God’s truth. This kind of person prizes their own thoughts, or the collective thoughts of their family or tribe, placing them above the revealed thoughts of God as given in His holy Word, the Bible, and as consistently maintained in the Church. This kind of person, when they encounter God’s promise to do something for His children when they pray in His Name, start to approach God as if He were simply there to guarantee that their selfish or tribal will is accomplished. When God resists their pride they end up blaming God for not obeying them, and so enter into all sorts of blasphemy. This precious promise of God is thus wholly for those who approach Him in faith as His obedient child. For in approaching God in Christ, it is not enough to simply be a socially “good” person, one must be His the Father's holy child by adoption into Christ Jesus His Son. But, if one approaches in humble faith, seeking God’s will and glory, then they can with all confidence ask in His Name, and He will do it. It may not be answered in an expected way, an obvious way, or an easy way, but it will be answered. For the most fundamental desire of a child of God is to be holy as He is holy, to seek to do His will in all things, and doing all for His glory.
