03/08/2018
Your prayers are not powerless. When you enter into prayer you are not alone, but are joined there by the Holy Spirt, and Jesus Christ. When you don’t know how to pray the Holy Spirit will pray for you, and when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ it gives Him joint authorship with us in that prayer. Suddenly, what had been a knee shaking event as we stood alone before the throne of God, has become more than just that. I ask you... are you alone before God in prayer?
“"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:1, 12-14 ESV
When we pray in the name of Jesus we are using His authority and power to place our prayer. Even more than that, we are asking Him to do the things we pray for so that God Himself might be glorified.
I like to write, and a thought pops into my mind. I am going to ask you one simple question... who wrote the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?” If you answered that question by saying Mark Twain, then you are correct, but if you answered it Samuel Langhorne Clemens you were also right. Samuel Clemens wrote using the pen name Mark Twain. Samuel did this for the anonymity, and so that if his book was ridiculed he remained separate and unblemished. As a matter of fact he wrote under several names during his life, including such monikers as Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, and Sergeant Fathom.
However, when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ it is quite different, are not seeking anonymity, we are taking the name of the most established Spiritual Leader we have ever met, the very Son of God Himself. We are asking Jesus to intercede for us, to place His High Name alongside ours, upon our unworthy document, life, or prayer. The amazing thing is that Jesus says He is willing to do this because it will glorify the Father by doing so. Is this because of us, or anything we have done? No... Jesus does this for us because by His so doing HE brings glory unto god. It is the ultimate act of love, it is the honor and glory that we view as coming from philanthropy. Jesus is serving us the chowder of faith in the soup kitchen of God. By His intercession the price for our meal has been paid in full, and our hands washed by the water that flows from Him.
Yes, by His providing for us Jesus glorifies God. We read this once again in the book of Philippians
“so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Philippians 1:10-11 ESV
So, suddenly, the prayer spoken by an unworthy novice, by a believer who stumbles over his own words, or doesn’t know how to pray, has taken on heavenly proportion and authority. Quite suddenly the John and Jane Doe figures of the world have taken on the mantle of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Our prayers have assumed the power of Jesus. For our part we offer thanks...
“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"”
Psalms 50:23 ESV
When you pray today remember to give thanks, and never lose sight of the fact that your prayer carries power and authority with it, and is hand delivered by Jesus Christ himself before the throne of God.
Prayer:
Thank you Father for hearing my prayers, and thank you for your Son Jesus Christ in whose name I pray, and who signs and delivers my supplication before you. Thank you for your provision in my day to day life as I pray for sustenance and various other desires. I praise your name Holy Father, as I seek to glorify you in everything I do. Help me to perfect my faith through your Holy Spirit, and as I live my life in the name of Jesus Christ my redeemer. In all things let me represent you well that I would only bring glory upon your house. Great is your name Holy Father, and Great the name of Jesus. I praise you in His name forever more. Glory to God in the highest!!! Glory, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
Rich Forbes