Thoughts for Life: IN THE NAME OF CHRIST

Andrew Murray- "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, . . . If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it . . . I have. . . ordained you . . . that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you, . . . 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. . . .At that day ye shall ask in My name . . ." (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26).

"In My name"—repeated six times over. Our Lord knew how slow our hearts would be to take it in, and He so longed that we should really believe that His name is the power in which every knee should bow, and which every prayer could be heard, that He did not weary of saying it over and over.

Between the wonderful "watsoever ye shall ask," and the divine "I will do it," this one word is the simple link: "In My name." Our asking and the Father's giving are to be e equally in the name of Christ. Everything in prayer depends upon our apprehending this.

As we grasp the meaning to the words, "At that day ye shall ask in My name"—the day when in the Holy Spirit Christ came to live in His disciples—we shall no longer be staggered at the greatness of the promise: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will do it."

What is asked in the name of Christ, in union with Him, out of His nature and Spirit, must be given. As Christ's prayer nature lives in us, His prayer power becomes ours too. The honest and wholeheartedness of our surrender to all that we see that Christ seeks to be in us, will be the measure of our spiritual fitness and power to pray in His name.

"If ye abide in Me," He says, "ye shall ask what ye will" (John 15:7). As we live in Him, we get the spiritual power to avail ourselves of His name. As the branch wholly given up to the life and service of the vine can count upon all its sap and strength for its fruit, so the believer, who in faith has accepted the fullness of the Spirit to possess his whole life, can indeed avail himself of all the power of Christ's name.

Here on earth Christ as man came to reveal what prayer is. To pray in the name of Christ we must pray as He prayed on earth, as He taught us to pray, in union with Him as He now prays in heaven. We must in love study and in faith accept Him as our Example, our Teacher, our Intercessor.

When we realize what time Christ spent in prayer, and how the great events of His life were all connected with special prayer, we learn the necessity of absolute dependence on and inceasing direct communicaiton with the heavenly world if we are to live a heavenly life or to exercise heanenly power around us."

(Abridged from the Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray)

Let's pray-

Father, "In My Name" was repeated six times in the above verse. Evidently, You knew how slow our hearts would be to believe that You longed for us to believe that every prayer would be heard, that You wouldn't tire of our saying it over and over.

Our asking in Christ's name, is the key to have our prayers answered. Everything depends upon our understanding this. Using His name means His whole nature, person and work and disposition and Spirit to be involved. We're to pray in unison with Him, what He wants done.
As a new believer grows in the foundation of his faith and developes confidence, he'll enter more deeply and truly into union with Christ. Abiding in Him, we learn to pray in His Name, Spirit and nature that the Holy Spirit imparts in us.

Christ is our Example, Teacher and our Intercessor in heaven! His life, while on earth, showed us how effective prayer works. The great events of His life were all connected with special prayer; He had direct communication with You! If we want to live a heavenly life and exercise heavenly power around us, we must love to study and in faith, follow His example.

We pray for this type of prayer to be what we are presently involved in, to have Christ's power manifested in our praying in His Name for His help to accomplish Your will, Father. Amen.

#52 Poem - Taken from Helen Steiner Rice's Poems of Faith, (p. 84):

God, Open My Eyes

"God open my eyes

so I may see

And feel Your presence

close to me,

Give me strength

for my stumbling feet

As I battle the crowd

on life's busy street,

And widen the vision

of my unseeing eyes

So in passing faces

I'll recognize

Not just a stranger,

unloved and unknown,

But a friend with a heart

that is much like my own,

Give me perception

to make me aware

That scattered profusely

on life's thoroughfare

Are the best gifts of God

that we daily pass by

As we look at the world

with an UNSEEING EYE."

1286-1290 One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

1286- Ps. 149:5 "Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud upon their beds."

1287- Is. 62:3 "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God."

1288- Job 13:23b "Make me to know my trnasgression and my sin."

1289- Ps. 135:13 "Thy name, O LORD, endureth forever, and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations."

1290- Lam. 5:15a "The joy of our heart is ceased."

#52 Hymn- There Is a Fountain

The information about this song, is taken from the book by Robert J. Morgan, THEN SINGS MY SOUL (p. 69)

"William Powper is one of God's gracious gifts to those suffering from depression. He shows us that our emotional struggles often give us heightened sensitivity to the heart of God and to the needs of others."

Some encouraging words-

In dark times, we experience God's closeness. His Word becomes more precious, and we often pay more attention than when on the mountaintop, where we seldom, if ever, learn anything. Instead, we receive most of our training and knowledge about God and the Christian life when walking through our dark valleys.

Upcoming posts:

9/21- SOMETIMES GOD SAYS NO- Ken Barnes

9/28- WALKING ANEW- Patricia Ranbow

10/5- HOW DO YOU LOVE GOD?- Dave Butts