Praying in the Name of Jesus

Those who know me well know that when I posted about praying in the name of the Lord Jesus, I did not mean uttering the words "in the name of Jesus" at the end of the prayer. This is a fine thing to do, but it is as open to abuse as any religious practice if the emphasis is put on the outward form rather than the heart of the matter.

If we are "in Christ"; if we are His disciples; if we have His interests at heart, we will pray in His name. We will pray for things He wants as much or more than we do. And when we pray for things that are for ourselves, our only plea will be that we are Christ's, and He has promised to give us all things. We know that we deserve nothing, and all we have is through Him. Thus we ask for it in His name --- whether we use the words or not.

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is powerful -- but only as powerful as the person you pray to. Our God and creator who spoke the universe into existence and sent His Son into the world as a redeemer is all-powerful, loving, and good. He has promised to hear the prayers of His people. He has placed some conditions on answered prayer, and He is rarely on the same time table as we, but we have His word that He will hear us, and we know He is able. Thus, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Prayers made to saints, guardian angels, ancestors, or a vague higher power may be powerful too --- as powerful as the demon who receives them. The devil is not all-powerful, and he does not promise to answer prayer. He certainly gives no assurance that he has our well-being at heart. Nonetheless, the devil has real power, and if it suits his purposes, he may answer prayer in a mighty and powerful way.

When we pray, we must be very clear who we are praying to and in whose name we pray. If we pray in our own name to anyone who has power to help us, we may get an answer, but it may not be from God. Those of us who love the Lord Jesus pray to the Father in His name. We know the power of that prayer, but its power is not in itself. The power is in the one true God to whom we pray. He is not only all-powerful. He is also holy and good. Let us be careful not to confuse our honor to Him for His goodness in answering our prayers with what the world gives to prayer itself without defining who is being prayed to. Let us make a distinciton between "the power of prayer" and the power of God to whom we pray in the name of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Running

You’re running from your troubles,

      But trouble comes along —

‘Cause when a person’s running,

      It’s usually him that’s wrong.

It may be something little

      That no one really knows,

But anywhere you run to,

      That little trouble goes.

Do what you can to shake it,

      It will not let you go,

And all the while you’re running,

      It’s likely just to grow.

Why don’t you turn and face it

      And grab it by the root?

Don’t think you can outrun it —

      Just give the thing the boot!

Discerning the Will of God

The will of the Lord is for you to do right —

To honor His Word and to walk in the light,

There’s no need to fret about finding His will;

He’s spelled it out plainly for you to fulfil.

What town you should live in; your house and your car —

And whether to move or just stay where you are,

The job you should get and what projects to start

Are rarely the issues most dear to His heart.

Your sanctification’s His primary goal;

Your spiritual health and the state of your soul,

So flee fornication and lusts of the eyes —

Away with all anger and malice and lies!

Be filled with the Spirit, not drunken with wine,

For this is our loving Creator’s design.

And work with your hands all the while it is day

To bless other folks and to earn your own way.

The will of the Lord doesn’t change over time,

Or blow with the wind and adjust to the clime.

The counsel of God remains steady and true —

What stood long ago He means also for you.

To author confusion is not His intent.

He means what He says, and He said what He meant,

So open the book He has placed in your hands.

Then read and believe — and obey its commands.

It’s never God’s will when a verse twists or bends

To justify sin or your own selfish ends,

But when at face value the Bible you take,

It still gives you freedom some choices to make.

The path that you choose must allow you to do

The things that are written — and strengthen you too,

To add to your faith every virtue and grace

That helps you to run and to finish the race.

If you are not able to keep the Lord’s Word,

Your view of His will is undoubtedly blurred.

How much you have prayed doesn’t matter a scratch,

If what the Word says and your actions don’t match.

Acknowledge the Lord by obeying His voice

And making the Bible the base of your choice.

Trust Him, not yourself, and He’ll guide and protect;

Your choices He’ll honor; your steps He’ll direct.

~ Nita Brainard

The Will of God

When I posted about how all things work together for good, I mentioned that the blessing of God is no proof that a course we have taken is "The will of God" in the sense that he preordained our path. While reading the book of Joshua I was struck by how clear an example of this the Lord gives us by including the story of the Gibeonites in the Scriptures. 

Gibeon was a chief city of the Hivites. The expressed will of God for the people of Israel was for them to extinguish the people of the land of Canaan, including the Hivites. (Deut. 7:1) Deuteronomy 7:2 says: "thou shalt make no covenant with them." Nonetheless, the men of Gibeon disguised themselves and deceived the Israelites into forming a league with them, contrary to the will of God. Joshua and the princes of Israel "asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord." (Josh. 9:14). If they had sought counsel, the Lord would have instructed them not to trust the deceivers, and they would not have made that covenant. Once, however, the league with Gibeon was formed, it was God's will for Israel to keep her promise. (Psalm 15). He honored the choice of his people, even when they had obviously made the wrong choice. How much more will he honor the choices of his people when they are making their decisions based on the principles of Scripture!

God did not direct Joshua to make the league with Gibeon. He had been left out of the decision making process. Nonetheless he blessed Israel and even used the league with Gibeon for Israel's good. (Rom. 8:28). Five kings of the land came out against Gibeon. Honoring the newly made covenant, the Israelites went to war in Gibeon's defense, and "the Lord fought for Israel." (Josh. 10:14). God so blessed them in the battle that he cast down great stones from heaven upon their enemies. (Josh. 10:11). In this battle the sun and moon stood still. The Scripture records that "there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man." (Josh 10:14).

God can and will turn even our bad choices to good account, for "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28).

                                                                                 

The Road

I took the road less travelled by —

      Not consciously I chose,

But followed, without knowing why,

      The path that upward rose.

It hasn’t been an easy course,

      My progress often blocked,

But I look back without remorse

      For walking where I walked.

When stumbling in some dip or hole,

      To passion much inclined,

I’ve felt the weakness of my soul,

      And seemed so far behind.

I’ve wondered if I’d chosen right

      To take a path so rough,

But viewing now in clearer light,

      I see ‘twas well enough.

I overcame the dips and rocks,

      And many trials withstood;

The stones I thought were stumbling blocks

      Were there for my own good.

They made me stronger in the race,

      And though I wasn’t fast,

I made some progress by God’s grace —

      And I'll reach home at last.      

~ Nita Brainard

Following Dreams

Follow your dreams is the cry of our day. We all have dreams. There is nothing wrong in that. But there are different kinds of dreams, and they should not all be treated alike.

Some dreams are directly from God. If you have a dream from God, as Joseph had, you should hang on to it and not despise it --- But hanging on to a dream is a different thing from following it. If Joseph had been following his dreams, he wouldn't have chosen slavery in Egypt --- and he probably wouldn't have had his dreams fulfilled.

Most of the dreams that people love to follow are not from God at all and have nothing to do with Him and His concerns. They are not necessarily wrong things --- just self-centered things. These, if we hang on to them at all, must be held with a loose hand by those who die to themselves and follow Christ.

Other dreams that godly people cherish really are centered in God and the things that pertain to Him. They are dreams for His work to be done His way. --- But often our perception of 

what is His work

and

what is His way

is skewed. There is no perfection under the sun, but our dreams tend to be idealistic and are often intermingled with selfish prejudices. Because of this, even these dreams must be held with a loose hand, so they can be refined as our minds are renewed by the word of God. They should only be followed to the degree that they conform to the things which the Bible commands us to follow:

                       The Lord Jesus  Luke 9:23; John 10:27

                       The things which make for peace Rom. 14:9
                       That which is good 1 Thess. 5:15; 3 John 1:11

                       Those who follow Christ 1 Cor.s 11:1; 2 Thess.3:7-9; Heb. 13:7; Rev. 14:13

                       Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness 1 Tim.6:11
                       Righteousness, faith, charity, peace 2 Tim. 2:22

For a poem about dreams not followed, see Dreams.