In Jesus’ Name

Jul 28, 2021

“I believe in God the Father, I believe in Christ the Son, I believe in the Holy Spirit; our God is Three in One. I believe in the name of Jesus.”

- Hillsong Worship

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”

- The Apostle Paul, Galatians 4:4-5

When we close our prayers “In Jesus’ name we pray,” these are not simply religious words to make our prayer seem more holy.

When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are acknowledging Jesus as the mediator between us and God, we are surrendering ourselves to His Will, and we are praying with the authority of Heaven.

One of the Ten Commandments is to not take the Lord’s name in vain. Often we think of this as not using curse words that contain God’s name - and that is one aspect of it - but an even more important aspect is to realize that when we invoke the name of Jesus, including praying in His name, we are agreeing that what we are saying, or what are praying, is in alignment with the nature and character of God. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are putting His name and His reputation on the line. We are acknowledging our desire to seek God’s will in our prayers, so as to not soil the name of Jesus with our selfish desires. It is a huge responsibility to pray in the name of Jesus, yet an amazing privilege and blessing to do so - His brothers and sisters, joint heirs with Him as children of God.

Wow! Think about that! We are adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ our Lord, joint heirs of the Kingdom.

When I even begin to grasp a small portion of what that might mean, it makes me very wary of ever doing anything that would dishonor Jesus and slander His name. He invested too much for me to ever do that... for He willingly gave His life for me to pay the penalty for my sins, then sits at the right hand of the Father as my mediator, pleading my case with whatever requests I bring to the Father. It is as if Jesus looks at God the Father when I pray and says, “You hear that request. He prayed that in my name. I died for him. He is my brother. He is your son. I vouch for him and for what he is asking from you.”

As one unknown author put it, “Speak the name of JESUS over every worry, every stress, every uncertainty, and every need. There is no greater power or more assuring calm than the precious name of Jesus.”