In his name

Often, we tack on the words "in Jesus' name" at the end of our prayers without thinking about why they are important.

Albert Richardson, author of The Kneeling Christian, says those words are at the very heart of prayer according to God's will.

And if we pray according to God's will, God promises to answer.

I have long realized that the words "in Jesus' name" mean "in the character of Jesus".  In other words, our prayers are being offered as if Jesus himself was praying them.

But I confess that many of my prayers have had little to do with how Jesus would have prayed in my circumstances.

So, Richardson suggests that the words "in Jesus' name" are meaningless unless we seek to find out what God's will is before we pray.

The author notes that Jesus mentions praying in his name five times in the New Testament.  For example, he says in John 14:13-14:

"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."

That seems like a blank cheque, allowing us to indulge our wildest whims.  But it contains a condition - the prayer must bring glory to God.

And, in John 15:7, Jesus says: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

So the Lord is saying we must be intimately related to Jesus if we are to count on answers to our prayers.  If not, we should not be surprised that some of our prayers go unanswered.

The key questions in Richardson's mind are: Do you see prayer as a way of getting everything you want?  Or, do you want what God wants?

His view is that God wants what is good for us as well as for his glory.  He will say "No" if we ask for things that are wrong for us (James 4:3).

Does that mean I have to know every detail of God's will for my life before I pray?  I don't think so.

Richardson says we have a couple of firm guidelines for finding God's will:

• The scriptures tell us what God wants; and
• The Holy Spirit reveals to us what the Father wants in harmony with the scriptures.

This calls for humility when I pray.  I must ask God what he wants in my situation rather than insisting on my own desires.

"He [God] is willing to make us channels of blessing," Richardson says.  "Shall we not worship God in sincerity and truth, and cry eagerly and earnestly, What shall I do, Lord? and then, in the power of his might, do it?"

I see that, if I apply this approach consistently, my prayer life will change - and I will change, too.

God's glory and prayer

Contemplating God's glory can change you and your prayer life, says Albert Richardson, author of The Kneeling Christian.

Worshiping God and his glory, says Richardson, "not only puts us in the spirit of prayer, but in some mysterious way, helps God work on our behalf".

He notes the psalmist says in Psalm 50:23: "He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

"Have you ever fully realized that the Lord Jesus desires to share with us the glory we see in him?" the author writes. "This is his great gift to you and me, his redeemed ones.  Believe me, the more we have of God's glory, the less we shall seek his gifts."

Indeed, Jesus said in John 17:22 that he has given his followers the glory that the Father gave him so that we might be one as the Father and Son are one.

Richardson says that when Moses asked to see God's glory, he shared in that glory and "his own face shone with the light of it".  As we gaze upon the glory of God, "we shall not only get a glimpse of that glory, but we shall also gain something of it ourselves".

It is interesting to me how the glory of God can terrify people and yet change them forever.

In Isaiah 6, the prophet had a vision of God in the temple and it was so overwhelming that he declared he was finished because he had seen the holy Lord and the prophet had unclean lips.  Yet, God was gracious and cleansed him and empowered him to speak God's words to the people of Israel.

Similar displays of God's glory had a decisive impact on people like Daniel and the apostle Paul.

Richardson acknowledges that most of us need help in glorifying God.

Personally, I have found help in comments by Terry Law in his book The Power of Praise and Worship where he lists the different names of God in the Old Testament along with scripture references.  But any book or article that lists the names of God would assist anyone who wants to focus prayers on the many facets of the Lord's glory.

The names of God describe such aspects of God's character as creator, redeemer, healer, provider, master of all mankind, almighty, deliverer, sanctifier.  He is our peace, our righteousness, our shepherd, and he is always with us.

We can't help but be encouraged as we meditate on God's character and use that as a jumping off point for praise and worship.

Finding God's comfort

Sometimes, life's pains are so severe that even prayer seems impossible.

I am learning that a great prescription for emotional and spiritual pain is praying the Psalms back to God.

As I mentioned recently, Donald S. Whitney, author of Praying the Bible, recommends using scriptures to fuel your prayers.  He suggests that the Psalms are particularly valuable as prayer fodder, although you can use other Bible passages, too.

The value of the Psalms is that they contain the whole gamut of emotions - from deep depression to great joy.  And God is at the centre throughout.

Today, I turned to Psalm 46 for my daily read.  The opening two verses caught my eye:

"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So, we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea."

This helped me remember that God is my refuge.  He is always there for me.  I can run to him for his comfort when things seem to be going wrong.

So, I thanked God for being there for me.  I asked him for his strength.

Later in the Psalm, I read in verse 10: "Be still, and know that I am God!"

I was reminded that, no matter what the circumstances, God is God!  Stopping and focusing my mind on who God is helps restore perspective to my anxious thoughts.  He knows the beginning from the end.  He is almighty.  He is working things out for good to those who love him.

In fact, I occasionally picture Jesus with me and neither of us says a word to the other.  I am just content to be with him.  This brings me peace.

The rest of Psalm 46 is a great encouragement when struggling with worries.  It speaks of God and how awesome he is.  I may not know my way out of a particular problem, but God has everything in hand.

The Psalm's description of God is a platform for praising our Lord.  Praising God brings a measure of hope.

So, I am grateful for the psalms - a record of honest feelings expressed to a loving and mighty God.

They help me pray.

Praying the Bible

Is your prayer life a bit stale right now?

If so, Donald S. Whitney, author of Praying The Bible, has a suggestion for you: Pray the Bible.

I have put Whitney's approach into practice in the last few days and find it practical and helpful.

Christians have prayed the scriptures for many centuries.  And there are many who do today.

D. L. Moody, the great American evangelist, and George Muller, founder of British orphanages and an apostle of prayer, prayed with the Bible open before them.  Each considered prayer vital in seeing God move powerfully in their work.

Whitney, an American seminary professor, says the advantage of using scripture passages to fuel your prayers is that you are using God's words and his promises.  And, as you pray the Lord's words, you are praying his will.

Another advantage: You will never run short of prayer material.

Whitney says Muller began praying the scriptures after finding he had a hard time concentrating during his early morning prayer time.  His prayer life took wings when he began praying through Bible passages, even as he walked through nearby fields.

I like Whitney's simple method.  Here is his illustration of someone praying through David's Psalm 23:

• Starting with verse 1 - "The Lord is my shepherd" - this person might thank God that the Lord has shepherded him all his life.
• Then, he might ask God to shepherd his family, guarding them against the ways of the world and guiding them into the ways of God.
• He might request the Lord to shepherd him in the decision that faces him about his future - does he change jobs or not?
• He might go on to pray for the leaders of the church - the church's "under-shepherds".

The author says a woman in one of his classes spent a half hour on that one verse as it sparked one idea after another for prayer.

He urges us to continue praying through a psalm until we feel we have completed our prayer time.  We might even go on to another scripture passage.

Whitney says the psalms lend themselves most easily to this kind of prayer because they were originally written as prayers.

But he notes that the letters written by the apostles are full of great material for praying.  And even the gospels are good as we can use an incident in Jesus' life as a springboard to prayer.

In fact, there are Old Testament passages which offer inspiration for prayer, too.

Whitney emphasizes that praying the Bible is not the same as studying or
 meditating on the scriptures.  The purpose is to use God's word to stimulate prayer.

As Whitney says, we need never be bored in our prayer times again.