In His Name

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13

Friend, would you lead a Sunday School class?

Dear, would you hand me the flashlight?

Aunt, can we stay at your house a few days?

Daughter, would you come visit me?

Gramma, can we spend the night?

The list goes on including neighbor, cousin, great aunt, niece, and more.  These are all my names, and those who truly know me, know that this is so and are not afraid to use them.  Those who don't know me will say no more than "hello" until they are introduced and may even then choose to ignore me and consider me unworthy of their personal friendship.  That is their choice. 

It is the same with God.  Those of us who truly know Him know Him by many names: Father, Healer, Forgiver, Warrior, Shield, Rock, Fortress, Savior, Mercy, and many, many more.  However, we tend to be lazy (at least I do at times) and so want to make a blank statement and simply pray in Jesus' name.  After all, it was Him Who made the statement in the verse above.  However, how much more intense would my prayer life be if I were to pray using His name represented in my prayers?  For instance, if I am praying regarding finances, why do I not remind myself through saying to God, "Father, You are the Provider of all my needs....." rather than simply closing  with "in Jesus' name I ask this"?

I don't believe that it will change God's perception of me, my needs, desires or situation, but it just might change my perception of Him in a more powerful way.  When I read the Psalms I see evidence of this in David's life.  When he needed protection, he cried out to his Protector; when he needed help or wisdom; he asked his Provider;  when he needed strength in battle, he cried out to his Banner.  Once again, I could go on for quite some time with this list.  What was the result?  God answered David's prayers in much the same manner as He does mine, but David was called a "man after God's own heart."  David knew God just that well!  He got to know Him better each time he prayed and I'm thinking it was because he was constantly reminding himself of just Who God really is.

Lord God, You are all we ever have needed, do need and ever will truly need.  You are Provider, Defender, Helper, Healer, Resurrection, Life, Direction, Truth and so extremely much more.  You reveal more and more of Yourself to us daily if we will simply seek, watch and learn.  Help us to remember that we are a forgetful people and need to remind ourselves on a regular basis of Who You really are in our lives.  If we admit that it is You Who are our everything, perhaps we will begin to act like it.  May Your childrens' deepest longing be to bring You great joy through recognizing Who You are, who we are and that we belong to You and then to live it through obedience to Your Word.