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In Jesus' Name


I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14)

Oh boy! I can ask anything…anything in Jesus’s name and He’ll do it! OK, well, let’s get started….
          Ten billion dollars, in Jesus’s name, please and thank you.
          My dream house in its dream location (even if I’m not sure what those are yet), in Jesus’ name, thank you very much…
          To write fifty best selling novels and books in the next two years, in Jesus’ name. You’re the greatest, Jesus….
           All my enemies humiliated, in Jesus’s name….
          My body in great physical condition, in Jesus’ name….
          To take all the pictures I’d like to be able to take, in Jesus’ name…
          Oh, and so that it’s not entire selfish, let’s see… Dad, healthy and competent, cures for the top ten causes of death and solutions to the top 5 social problems of our day, in Jesus’ name…. I rub my hands together and shoot much cuffs in anticipation….
           Oh, that’s not what Jesus meant? Maybe when we get done with the book of John, we can look at Jesus’ prayers. In the meanwhile, or perhaps as a prelude, what does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name? 
          When I worked at Sears, I represented Sears. Sears got credit for what I did or didn’t do and took the blame for what I did or didn’t do. When I did things, Sears was doing them, not me. Now, I’m not joining the Nazi soldiers who claimed that they were just following orders when they brutalized people, but when one acts in the name of another (at least if one is honorable) one does what the other would do. To pray in His name means praying for the things He would pray for, in the way He would pray for them.
          On the positive side, I think WDA is an “in Jesus’ name” sort of prayer. On the less positive side, I suspect most of the rest of my prayers aren’t.

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