“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form,
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is
the head over every power and authority.”—Colossians
2:9-10
Just before Jesus was crucified, He instructed His disciples that
after His death that they were to pray in His name to the Heavenly Father—in
other words, to make requests according to His will. He very pointedly said that there was power attached
to prayer offered this way: “…The Father
will give you whatever you ask in My name” (John 15:16
NIV). Praying in Christ’s name means
we are declaring (legally stating) our . . .
• Relationship with the Savior. What makes it
possible for us to approach God through prayer is our relationship with Jesus.
At salvation, we went from being foreigners and aliens to being children of God,
“Now, therefore, you are
no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and
members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). God has
become more than our Creator He is now our heavenly Father. He hears our requests because we have been
made family through the redemptive work of His Son. The presence of Christ’s Spirit within us
proves we are one of His own.
• Legal right to approach the Father. Jesus’ death opened the
way for us to have immediate, unhindered admittance to the Father’s presence. When Jesus finished His work in making the
final priestly sacrifice, “For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the
word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever (Hebrews 7:28), the veil in the temple,
which closed off the Holy of Holies from man, was torn in two, “Then the veil of the temple
was torn in two from top to bottom”(Mark 15:38). This
symbolized the spiritual truth that access to God was now open to all who
believe. Through the Holy Spirit, we
have the right to talk to God directly without a human intermediary, “For through Him we both have
access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18).
Jesus Christ fully paid the penalty for our sins by dying on
the cross. Accepting His atoning death
on our behalf means we are in a new family relationship and we have unhindered
access to the Father.
Never allow the enemy to discourage you by causing you to
think that your prayers are not powerful and that you are not accomplishing
anything when you pray. When we pray
using the Name of Jesus our supplications and prayers are powerful because of
who we are related to and the legal access to the Father. Let’s remember
to give thanks to God for the incredible privilege of prayer!
Prayer—Father I thank
You for the privilege that I have in prayer.
Forgive me for taking this privilege lightly and help me to remember that
when I ask any thing according to Your will in Jesus Name, You will do it, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
