S. Sekou Abodunrin
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Mt 6.9
Most assuredly, I am saying to you, whatever you shall request of the Father, He will give it to you in view of all that I am in His estimation. John 16.23 [Kenneth Wuest Translation]
The example we find in scripture is clear, the Lord Jesus Christ never addressed prayer to the Holy Spirit. He always addressed his prayers formally to God whom he called the Father.
This is the way he taught the disciples to pray. In John 16.23 – 27 Just before Jesus left the earth, he taught that prayer should no longer be addressed to him but to the Father. He died and rose again to make the Fatherhood of God available to all men that believe. Thus God is no longer just God to us, but Father.
Though God is expressed as a trinity in scripture, you should not be confused about who to address your prayers to. We do not pray to the Lord Jesus or to the Holy Spirit. The scripture teaches us that we are to pray to the Father.
As we pray to the Father, we do not have to feel the need to divide our prayer time between praying to the Father, Son & the Holy Spirit for unlike human beings, there is no contention or problem within the God head.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:14
The Holy Spirit's ministry to us is to glorify the Son. The Lord Jesus focuses all attention on the Father and brings him all glory. [John 17.1]
In the New Testament, we pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus by the anointing and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit supplies the anointing and witness so that we know what to pray for as we ought to as christians. The Son supplies the basis and ground of access so that we stand in the spirit realm in the merit, greatness and glory of the risen Christ. On the basis of this access, we boldly approach the Father in prayer.
While it is true that we have communion with the Holy Spirit and with the Lord Jesus formal prayer in scripture is directed to the Father only.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Acts 4:24,27,30
This is the way that the church in acts prayed.
All the recorded prayers of Paul, he directly addressed the Father of or Lord Jesus Christ. [Eph 1.17, 3.14. Col 1.3]
As intelligent word-trained believers then, we follow the scriptural pattern and pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus as we yield to the Spirit.
What does it mean to pray in Jesus name?
Jesus said whatsoever you shall ask in my name the Father shall give to you. When a person allows another human use his name in his interactions in life the owner of the name is granting the user, the power and rights of attorney.
This means that we would be granted all the privileges that should be accorded the person that owns the name.
Thus praying “in Jesus name” is a short hand or portable way of saying that we are to pray knowing that God will responding to our prayers in the exact way that he would have responded had the Lord Jesus himself uttered the petitions that we are bringing to the Father out of his own mouth. It is praying with absolute certainty that just as God would not deny Jesus a request, he will also not deny us. This is what it means to approach the Father in prayer in the name of Jesus.
You see, implied in that statement to pray 'in Jesus name” is the fact that we are acting representatively as though Jesus was the very one doing the praying. As far as God the Father is concerned, the Lord Jesus has done the praying. So, praying in the name of Jesus is making the very requests that Jesus would have presented to the Father if he were on earth bodily.
This means that one has to know the mind of the Lord Jesus in order to properly say he has prayed in his name.
You are a good representative of a person to the degree to which you can express his intent. Jesus has interests in your life, you are to discover what these interests are and then present them to the Father as Christ. We are to understand what the Lord Jesus really wants done or expressed in our lives and then boldly take his place and see to the expression of the will of Jesus on earth. This is praying in the name.
This means that I am firstly to find out the will of Jesus on any matter and then having known his will, I can exercise my right to use his name. If I attach the name of Jesus to that which is against the will of Jesus as revealed in his word, I empower my prayer to fail. You see, I could be pronouncing the name of Jesus in Greek, English or any other language on earth, but the secret is not the phonetic sound of the name of Jesus, but the understanding of what is meant by “in the name of Jesus”.
The implication is that when I stand to pray I should not use the name of Jesus as though it is a magical formula or mantra for it is not the very words “in Jesus name” that command the answer, but the understanding behind the use of that phrase.
It simply means we are making the request as him.
We can only come to know his mind on issues by fellowshipping with him through the word. We also know his mind through what the Spirit ministers to our hearts.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Mt 6.9
Most assuredly, I am saying to you, whatever you shall request of the Father, He will give it to you in view of all that I am in His estimation. John 16.23 [Kenneth Wuest Translation]
The example we find in scripture is clear, the Lord Jesus Christ never addressed prayer to the Holy Spirit. He always addressed his prayers formally to God whom he called the Father.
This is the way he taught the disciples to pray. In John 16.23 – 27 Just before Jesus left the earth, he taught that prayer should no longer be addressed to him but to the Father. He died and rose again to make the Fatherhood of God available to all men that believe. Thus God is no longer just God to us, but Father.
Though God is expressed as a trinity in scripture, you should not be confused about who to address your prayers to. We do not pray to the Lord Jesus or to the Holy Spirit. The scripture teaches us that we are to pray to the Father.
As we pray to the Father, we do not have to feel the need to divide our prayer time between praying to the Father, Son & the Holy Spirit for unlike human beings, there is no contention or problem within the God head.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:14
The Holy Spirit's ministry to us is to glorify the Son. The Lord Jesus focuses all attention on the Father and brings him all glory. [John 17.1]
In the New Testament, we pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus by the anointing and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit supplies the anointing and witness so that we know what to pray for as we ought to as christians. The Son supplies the basis and ground of access so that we stand in the spirit realm in the merit, greatness and glory of the risen Christ. On the basis of this access, we boldly approach the Father in prayer.
While it is true that we have communion with the Holy Spirit and with the Lord Jesus formal prayer in scripture is directed to the Father only.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Acts 4:24,27,30
This is the way that the church in acts prayed.
All the recorded prayers of Paul, he directly addressed the Father of or Lord Jesus Christ. [Eph 1.17, 3.14. Col 1.3]
As intelligent word-trained believers then, we follow the scriptural pattern and pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus as we yield to the Spirit.
What does it mean to pray in Jesus name?
Jesus said whatsoever you shall ask in my name the Father shall give to you. When a person allows another human use his name in his interactions in life the owner of the name is granting the user, the power and rights of attorney.
This means that we would be granted all the privileges that should be accorded the person that owns the name.
Thus praying “in Jesus name” is a short hand or portable way of saying that we are to pray knowing that God will responding to our prayers in the exact way that he would have responded had the Lord Jesus himself uttered the petitions that we are bringing to the Father out of his own mouth. It is praying with absolute certainty that just as God would not deny Jesus a request, he will also not deny us. This is what it means to approach the Father in prayer in the name of Jesus.
You see, implied in that statement to pray 'in Jesus name” is the fact that we are acting representatively as though Jesus was the very one doing the praying. As far as God the Father is concerned, the Lord Jesus has done the praying. So, praying in the name of Jesus is making the very requests that Jesus would have presented to the Father if he were on earth bodily.
This means that one has to know the mind of the Lord Jesus in order to properly say he has prayed in his name.
You are a good representative of a person to the degree to which you can express his intent. Jesus has interests in your life, you are to discover what these interests are and then present them to the Father as Christ. We are to understand what the Lord Jesus really wants done or expressed in our lives and then boldly take his place and see to the expression of the will of Jesus on earth. This is praying in the name.
This means that I am firstly to find out the will of Jesus on any matter and then having known his will, I can exercise my right to use his name. If I attach the name of Jesus to that which is against the will of Jesus as revealed in his word, I empower my prayer to fail. You see, I could be pronouncing the name of Jesus in Greek, English or any other language on earth, but the secret is not the phonetic sound of the name of Jesus, but the understanding of what is meant by “in the name of Jesus”.
The implication is that when I stand to pray I should not use the name of Jesus as though it is a magical formula or mantra for it is not the very words “in Jesus name” that command the answer, but the understanding behind the use of that phrase.
It simply means we are making the request as him.
We can only come to know his mind on issues by fellowshipping with him through the word. We also know his mind through what the Spirit ministers to our hearts.
0 comments:
Post a Comment