In Jesus’ name…

It’s no magic formula. Just tacking on ‘in Jesus’ name’ to the end of a prayer does not insure anything. There’s more to it than that.  Some of the scriptures below not only include the origins of the catch phrase, but an explanation of what’s required of us as well. Notice the conditions for receiving what you ask for: Faith in Him. Asking in His Name. Obeying His commands. Remaining in Him and His words remaining in you.  Doing what pleases Him. Loving one another.  But don’t be fooled!  Though your faithfulness testifies to your love for, faith in, and commitment to Christ, you still have no power.  The reason that you ask ‘in His Name’, is because He is the one doing the miracle!  When someone is healed in Jesus’ Name, it’s a confirmation, it’s a sign to the witnesses, that Jesus is who GOD said He was.  After all, there is salvation in no other name under heaven.  It’s pretty important that people know that. 

John 14:12-15…I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command.

John 15:7-10…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

1 John 3:21-24…Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

James 4:3…When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Acts 3:1-16…One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.  Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.  When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.  Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!"  So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.  Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."  Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.  He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.  When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognised him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.  While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.  When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.  You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.  You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.  By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Acts 9:32-35…As Peter travelled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.  There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.  "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and tidy up your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up.  All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

My, Me, and I…

How good are we at intercession? When someone sins against us personally, how often does that put us right on our knees asking God to please forgive them? I’m pretty certain that the collective answer would be ‘not often enough’. It would appear that the spirit of intercession is really quite foreign to us….as is loving our neighbor as ourselves, and yet that is the high calling. Indeed God’s ways are not our ways. Indeed God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). None the less the command is to be holy (Leviticus 11:45). Note below a few biblical examples of an intercessory spirit and one in which I’m certain God loves. Also, note that in some of the examples, how the person interceding identifies with the sin…includes themselves! Not the traditional, forgive THEM…but rather forgive US!  My Christian Interpretation would be that none of these prayers are about my, me, and I, but rather about the collective good.  How does our prayer life stack up against these examples?

Exodus 32:31-32…So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin— but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."

Exodus 34:8…Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with US. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive OUR wickedness and OUR sin, and take US as your inheritance."

Numbers 16:41-48…The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD’s people," they said. But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD said to Moses, "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown. Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started." So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.

Deuteronomy 9:6…When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD’s sight and so provoking him to anger. I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me. And the LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.

Acts 7:59-60…While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Luke 23:34…Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Prayer…

I once heard a joke of sorts….that went something like this:

A Jewish man goes into the synagogue and prays. "O Lord, you know the mess I'm in, please let me win the lottery."

The next week, he's back again, and this time he's complaining. "O Lord, didn't you hear my prayer last week? I'll lose everything I hold dear unless I win the lottery."

The third week, he comes back to the synagogue, and this time he's desperate. "O Lord, this is the third time I've prayed to you to let me win the lottery! I ask and I plead and still you don't help me!"

Suddenly a booming voice sounds from heaven. "Benny, Benny, be reasonable. Meet me half way. Buy a lottery ticket!"

Which brings up the question…when you are praying…are you meeting God half way? If you are obese and pray that God will help you lose weight and yet don’t diet or exercise, what are you expecting? If you are unemployed and pray that God will open a door for you to gain employment…and yet put little effort into seeking work, what are you expecting? If your business is not doing well, and you pray that God will prosper you, but do nothing to address the deficiencies of the business, what are you expecting? That old saying ‘God helps those who help themselves’ rings a bit true. The Word of God paints a pretty clear picture about the benefits of hard work, of self discipline. It also paints a pretty clear picture of the pitfalls of laziness. Read the book of Proverbs closely and you will find many references. Does that mean, then, that whatever success you do achieve is purely by your own efforts? My Christian Interpretation would be that I don’t think so. God is still the great provider, but He also won’t be mocked…and a man truly does reap what he sows (excepting in regard to salvation itself).

Aware of the devils schemes

1 Samuel 16:14-15 ¶ Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

I find this to be an interesting scripture and one that many have pondered but few have agreed upon. Personally, I’m considering the possibility that Saul’s experience is not entirely unique…that even you and I may occasionally experience something similar. First, I think the stage has to be set. Something, or someone, has to really cause you grief. The more personal, the more painful, the more frequent, the more likely that you could fall prey….that a seed of bitterness could find root. If you water that seed, if you allow it to grow, it can create an opportunity for the devil to take advantage of you. For that matter, the devil can remind you of the injustices, he can stir the pot. The next thing you know, indeed the Spirit of God has left you (after all, God is love), and an evil spirit is left to torment you.

I believe it is likely that the above scenario is not uncommon. What is the cure? Faithfulness. We have to take control. We have to submit to God…to resist evil…to forgive…to pray. We not only have to read what the Bible says, we have to understand it so that we can be aware of the devil’s schemes, and we have to do what it says (put on the full armour etc Ephesians 6:11).

Something I think we have to remember is that evil can spread. If one person is taken captive to do the devils’ will…what do you think the devil would have that person do? Break someone else down? The person that has been taken captive needs our prayers, not retaliation (Romans 12:20). Retaliation only feeds the fire.