Prayer In the Name

Prayer In the Name

Why pray 'in the name of Jesus Christ"?

July 15th -August 13th, 2013 is the 30-Day Challenge: Prayer for MIssions in Asia .

To aid those who find it difficult to spend time in prayer or have not really checked out what God's Word has to say about prayer, the next month of posts to Discovered Treasures Bible Study and Who Am I? DailyDevo will focus mainly around prayer - how to talk to God.

Where do we learn how to talk to God? The same place we learn about His character, His likes, His dislikes, what pleases and displeases Him - In His Word.

There is one thing I want to point out in the Word before we go further on prayer.

The bible is divided into two covenants, the Old Covenant (before Christ died on the cross and rose again for us), and the New Covenant (after Christ died on the cross and rose again.) This is very important because many people go to scriptures like the Lord's prayer to learn to pray. There is nothing wrong with praying what is in the Lord's prayer. However, if you will note, it was a prayer example prayed before Christ had died.

When people prayed before Christ died, they did not have the Holy Spirit within them. This did not come until Christ died and rose again. It was not until Jesus died that the curtain (veil-Heb 9:1-9) that separated the Holy of Holies from man was torn from the top down. "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:50-51). It was not until then that we could become temples of the Holy Spirit. You will see this in Acts 1 while the disciples were in the upper room and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer before this event, was not guided prayer by the Holy Spirit directly to the Father. Rather there were rules of the Law (located basically in the first five books of the bible) to follow, sacrifices to be made, and a representative (the priest) just to talk to God and get right with Him.

In Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. And He did. But this is not the New Covenant Church praying, it is the Old Covenant Church. Jesus had not yet died and rose again. The Holy Spirit was yet dwelling within their renewed spirit, and they had no authority over satan yet. Why? Because man had not yet been bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ at that time.

You will notice that they did not yet pray IN THE NAME OF JESUS in that prayer. Why? He had not yet paid the price for sin of mankind. We did not yet have authority in the name.

"And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:23-24

At the end of His ministry, just before he died on the cross, Jesus changed the way they were to pray.

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." John 14:13-14

By praying "In the name of Jesus" we are going to the Father with authority given to us by Jesus. Through faith and by grace we are saved (Eph 2:8), we receive a new spirit man making us an adopted child of God, and we can boldly go before the throne of God in prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ."

Watchman Nee

"Prayer is the most wonderful act in the spiritual realm, as well as a most mysterious affair." Watchman Nee

Therefore....."

"When you see a 'therefore' in the bible, stop and see what it is there for." Kenneth Hagin

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:23-24

When you pray believe that you have what you prayed for. Notice this says, right at the moment that you are praying, BELIEVE that you received what you have prayed for.

"But I don't see it, I don't have it. I need to keep praying for it." you may think. We walk by faith, not by sight. God's Word says to BELIEVE you have received WHEN you are praying for it, at that moment.

When you pray, and when you believe that you have received as you pray, faith begins to work. If you believe you have the answer you do not ask for it again. Rather, thank Him for giving you the answer to your prayer.

He continued on to say "AND"...

Jesus did not stop with verse 24 in Mark 11. He continued on to say "AND"...

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:24-25

Why? Because prayer and your faith will not work in unforgiveness. Unforgiveness allows the devil to enter in and play with your mind, even causing guilt and condemnation that draws you away from your Heavenly Father.

Unforgiving is defined as "Not willing to gorgive or excuse people's faults or wrongdoings." This means forgiveness is a choice. We make a conscious choice to forgive others.

"But, you don't know what they did, I can't forgive that." According to the definition and according to God's Word, you can forgive them. It is as much of a choice as it is to choose to love someone.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Col 3:13

Why is this so important in prayer? His Word is clear. To be in willing obedience to God, we must make the decision to forgive, otherwise we are not forgiven of our sins.

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." Isaiah 1:19

According to Isaiah choosing not to forgive (being unwilling and disobedient) prevents us from receiving "the good of the land." This prevents us from receiving the desires of our hearts that we pray.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:24-25

Opening the Eyes of Our Understanding

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in prayer.

The Holy Spirit lives within believers, and He will help us in our prayer lives.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27
The Holy Spirit is our helper. We often do not know what to pray for ourselves or others. We do not know the full situation. However, if we pray with the help of the Holy Spirit, we pray out the full situation.

We do not have to pray prayers that say, "If it be your will God." We can know His will by the Holy Spirit's help in understanding the His Word, the Bible.

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power." Ephesians 1:17-19
As New Covenant Christians, we have the Holy Spirit to help us in our prayers - to help us communicate with God. If you find yourself not knowing how to pray often in situations, turn to the passage in Ephesians above and begin to pray it for yourself. This prayer alone, will change your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of God's Word as your read it and begin to apply it in your own life and in your prayer life.

"Listen well and listen good. Listen like you should. Open the eyes ofy our spirit. Close the yes of your mind. Close the eyes and ears of your mind to religious thoughts and training in church praying. Listen to the New Covenant, the Truths unveiled. Rejoice in them and walk in the light of them, and act upon them. And, prayer will become real. The supernatural will be an everyday affair, and you will love the Lord. And, worship and honor Him. For you see, He hears and answers prayer." Kenneth E. Hagin

Intercession? What is that?

Intercession is defined as an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person, a prayer to God on behalf of another.

An intercessor is one who take the place of another while praying for God.

While praying for others, an intercessor (someone praying for someone else, on their behalf) may be praying for someone lost, or someone sick, or someone in despair, or someone who needs direction in an area to move forward.

An intercessor can change the lives of one person or a whole nation just by taking the time to pray guided by the Holy Spirit with understanding of God's Word (His Will) in every situation.

"...and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16

By being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will help us pray out God's will in situations in the lives of others, whether we know the other person or not.

After a while, you will begin to notice that people will come to mind, and you will have an urge, a need to pray for that person. You may not even know their name. As you obey and begin to pray according to God's Word a life is changed, a situation altered, a sickness healed, a life spared, and the enemy hindered.

If you are a Christian parent you will know what this is like. I have heard countless stories where a mother or father knew to stop what they were doing and pray for their child. As they did, miracles happened.

The same is true of those who choose to intercede for others.

Praying God's Word

Moves Every Mountain

In life, it seems, things can be moving along just great, everything going smoothly. Then, all of a sudden, "BAM!", a mountain pops up right in front of you.

That mountain may be an illness, a job loss, a child in trouble, or a parent hit with disaster. Mountains are any circumstance that comes up between us and living the life God has intended for us to live.

Recently, my mountain happened right in the middle of a church service. I had a full stroke. What made it worse was that it was three days before I got to the hospital for treatment, and the damage was done. Healing is quickly taking place just as God has promised.

I will give a full testimony another time, right now I want to share one of the many things during this time that the Holy Spirit has shown me regarding faith.

When a mountain pops up right in front of you, what do you do?

You're walking along, the earth shakes, and a mountain just rises right in front of you. It's huge! You cannot even see the top of it through the clouds. You cannot see around it, and you cannot see the other side but you know this is the route you should take to get to what is on the other side. Now, how do you get there?
Three tools appear right before your eyes; a a shovel, a bulldozer, and dynamite.

What are you going to do? You know you need to get to the other side.
Some will sit down on the ground, scratching their heads, and say, "It's too big. What do I do?" And they just sit there staring at it.
Others will take the shovel and begin to dig into the mountain. Some of these will grow weary and quit, while others will persevere and dig till the mountain is moved.

Those who are a little more educated and know how to run a bulldozer (licensed to use it) will dig faster and move the mountain at a much greater pace. They, also, are more likely to succeed because they are a little more experienced at moving mountains.

Then, a few who are experienced, trained to use dynamite, and understand their authorization (the rules and regulations of how to use it) will take the dynamite and blast the mountain right out of the way.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Our words are the tools God has provided us to move the mountains (as we speak His Words) that pop up in our life. As our faith increases (as we renew our minds and get to know how to use God's Word and the authority we have in the name of Jesus) we move from shoveling, to bulldozing, to blasting right through the mountain.

The key is to get up and start using the tools, and do not quit. He has given us all the tools we need to live an abundant ly blessed and overflowing life if we just start digging into the Word of God and renew our minds, gaining wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.