RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

MONDAY, 4TH SEPTEMBER.

THEME: WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

OPENING SCRIPTURE: 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 (John 16:23).

Some Christians pray, and at the end of the prayer, they say, “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” It’s not scripturally correct to pray “through” Jesus Christ; we were never told to pray like that. Praying through Jesus Christ is to make Him a medium. The Christian has arrived in God’s presence, and therefore, doesn’t need a medium. Only the sinner needs a medium; so he calls on Jesus that he might be saved. When he’s saved through Jesus Christ, he’s brought by the power of God into God’s presence, and no longer needs a medium.

There’s a strong, legal difference between praying through Jesus, and praying in the Name of Jesus. To pray in the Name of Jesus is to pray in Jesus’ stead. Asking for something in His Name means He’s actually the one asking for it, and He can’t be turned down by the Father.

Jesus said, “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). So, the correct way for us to pray is to the Father, in the Name of Jesus; not even to Jesus Himself, because you can’t pray to Jesus in the Name of Jesus. That wouldn’t make any spiritual sense.

There’re those who say, “When we pray to the Father, Jesus intercedes and begs the Father in our behalf”; no, He doesn’t. In John 16:26-27, He said, “At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” Notice that He said the Father Himself loves you and doesn’t need anybody to pray to Him for you. So, pray in the Name of Jesus and receive answers. Hallelujah!

PRAYER
Dear Father, I thank you for the privilege to pray in the Name of Jesus, and receive answers. Thank you Lord for the power vested in that Name. Nothing is impossible to me, because I pray in the authority, dominion, and character of the Name of Jesus! I’m a victor forever, ordained to eternal fruitfulness and productivity, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY:
Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

John 14:14 "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

John 15:16 "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
2 Corinthians 2:5-3:1-6;
Proverbs 14-15
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Luke 20:39-47; 1 Samuel 23