What does it mean to pray in the Name of Jesus? Paul writes in Colossians 3:17; “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”. Jesus Himself said; “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.” John 15:16
To ask in the ‘Name of Jesus’ is to ask on His behalf for the fulfilment of His divine will and purposes. I hope we grasp the potential of that truth. When we intercede in prayer in the ‘Name of Jesus’, we are seeking from the Father what Jesus, His Son, needs and purposes for the Kingdom of God. He is the Head of the Church; the Church which is commissioned to be His voice, His hands, His feet. Indeed, called to image Him and God the Father to a disbelieving world. God will not ignore such intercession, He will not deny what Christ, the Church and the Kingdom of God need for His divine purposes.
But what is Christ’s purpose here on earth? His chosen imager is the Church empowered and led by the Holy Spirit. The Church; commissioned to be Christ’s witness around the world to every nation, tribe and tongue, to lead men and women to faith in Christ and, in the words of the ‘Great Commission’ to ‘Make Disciples.’ Yahweh is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to faith. But what of the Church itself? There is a verse in the Book of Jeremiah which reflects the deep pain in God’s heart for His own people. “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13
Too often today the Church holds to a form of godliness but denies the power of God, the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit. Too often the Church which has forsaken the Fountain of Living Water to seek broken useless cisterns which hold no water. How God’s heart must grieve. Today the focus of our prayer is for the Church, the Body of Christ, and for revival across the land.
“Father, we cry unto You today for the Church, the Body of Christ, called to reveal You to a lost world. Father, we confess our waywardness, our sinfulness, our focus on self and the flesh. Forgive our nation Father for turning their back on You the Source of Life. Abba Father, ‘In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ’, we cry for revival, for transformation of Your Church throughout the world, but especially in Ireland. Father, call Your people back to You and manifest Your Glory throughout this land we pray.”