Jesus--Name Above All Names: Releasing His Anointing in Your Life (3 page)

Not My Will, but Your Will

And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed,

Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.

Luke 22:41,42

My younger son was nineteen years old when he got married. We knew he was young, but we were all for it. The girl he married was only eighteen, but she came from a minister's family and had a strong relationship with the Lord. They were as cute as they could be.

They received some money as part of their wedding presents, and they had some more from their savings, so they had enough to make a down payment on a little house, if it was not too expensive.

My husband had taught our son a lot of good principles about how to handle money. He didn't want to throw his money away paying rent if he could buy a house of his own.

So we went with them to look for a house. They found one that they liked and could afford. They were really excited about it.

The next day our son told us, “Charity and I went out last night and sat in front of that house and prayed, ‘Lord, if it is Your will for us to have this house, then we want it. If it is not Your will for us to have it, then we know You have something better for us. We only want what is Your will.’”

As it turned out, before they could get back to buy the house, someone else bought it.

“We were disappointed,” he told us later. “But I just believe that house sold because God has something better for us, and we are just going to wait for it.”

That is the way we need to pray when we are not sure that what we are asking for is God's will for us based on His Word.

It would not have been wise for our son and his bride to have gone out and sat in front of that house and prayed, “In the Name of Jesus, this house is ours, and we are not going to have any other house! Father, this is the house we want, and we believe You are going to get it for us because Jesus said we can have whatever we ask for in His Name!”

We can have whatever we ask for in prayer, if we know that what we are asking is the will of God for us—and not just our own will.

We find God's will for us by praying and by reading His Word. Then when we apply our faith according to His Word for our life, we can claim what is rightfully ours and use the Name of Jesus with results.

3

U
SING THE
N
AME

And it shall he that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord—Christ] shall he saved.

Acts 2:21

A friend of mine, whom I taught in Bible college and who went on to pastor a church, gives a vivid example of calling on the Name in a crisis.

One day when he had his little son who was about three or four years old in the car with him, he was driving through a busy intersection and preparing to make a right-hand turn. He did not know that the boy's door was not locked. When he began to make the right turn, their weight was thrown to that side of the car. This happened before seat belt laws were passed, and the child was not wearing one.

When the man made that sharp turn, the car door flew open, and the little boy rolled out of the vehicle right into the middle of the intersection and into oncoming traffic!

The father remembered seeing traffic coming from all four directions and was horrified as he saw a set of car wheels moving at a very fast rate of speed—just about to roll on top of his son. The only thing he could do was cry, “JESUS!”

The father stopped his car, jumped out and ran to his little boy, who was perfectly all right. Then he turned to the man who had almost run over his son and cried, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for stopping your car in time!”

But the man driving the car that had almost hit the child was absolutely hysterical. My friend went over to him and started trying to comfort him.

“Don't be upset!” he said. “My son is all right—he's OK. Don't be concerned about it. Just thank God you were able to stop!”

The man was shaking as he said repeatedly, “You don't understand! You don't understand!”

“What's wrong?” the father asked.

“I never even put my foot on the brake!” the man responded.

The power in the Name stopped that car! This was a crisis situation. There was no time for anyone to do anything—no time to think, plan or reason. Although there was nothing the man could do, the Name of Jesus prevailed. Because miracle-working power came on the scene, the boy's life was spared.

Power and Authority in the Name

Then Jesus called together the Twelve [apostles] and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases,

And He sent them out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

Luke 9:1,2

In my meetings we always have a time of ministry in addition to the preaching.

I used to have prayer lines in which I prayed for people individually. I love to do that, but my meetings have grown, and if I did that, I wouldn't get anything else done.

I have learned that I can stand and pray in the Name of Jesus, releasing my faith, and people in the congregation can receive that healing power just as surely as if I prayed with each one of them individually.

When people come into my meetings burdened and depressed, I have learned to take authority over those spirits in the Name of Jesus so that heaviness is lifted, and the people are able to leave in freedom and joy.

But it is not my prayer that breaks those yokes of bondage; it is the power and authority in the Name of Jesus that does it. My prayer is simply the vehicle that carries the power.

The Power of Attorney

…
All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be.)

Matthew 28:18-20

In this passage, Jesus is essentially saying, “All power and authority in heaven and on earth have been given to Me, and now I am giving it to you. Go and do the works that I have done, and even greater works than these shall you do—in My Name.” (John 14:12.)

In other words, Jesus has given all who believe in Him the power of attorney or the legal right to use His Name.

There is no reason for us to be whiny, wimpy, weak or powerless. There is no reason for us to ever give up and quit. We will feel like quitting if we have not been using the Name of the Lord to the degree that it is available to us because we will have no victory and will find ourselves struggling all the time. We must avoid using the Name to make frivolous statements like, “Oh, my God, I'm so hot”; “I'm so cold”; “I'm so tired”; “My God, I'm so hungry”; “I'm so weak.”

When we speak that glorious Name, we need to speak it purposely with reverence and respect, recognizing the power and authority that it contains.

We need to know that when we speak Jesus’ Name, we are calling forth into our atmosphere everything that He is. His Name represents Him. It takes His place. When His Name is spoken, He is there.

That's what it means to have power of attorney.

I have power of attorney over the affairs of my aunt. I am authorized to sign her checks, spend her money, pay her bills or sell her property. I have that power and authority because she gave it to me in the form of power of attorney. That is what Jesus has done for you and me. He has given us the right to speak to circumstances, principalities and powers with the authority bestowed on us by the power of attorney He invested in us. We exercise that power of attorney by using His Name.

The Name Gets Attention!

…He Himself became as much superior to angels as the glorious Name (title) which He has inherited is different from and more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:4

According to the Bible, when the Name of Jesus is spoken, all heaven pays attention.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if, when we sincerely and reverently and faithfully speak the Name of Jesus, all of heaven says, “Shhhhhh.”

Why do we all like to know somebody important? Because we like to be name-droppers. We like to use that person's name because it gives us an added measure of importance.

My daughters have learned that is true.

At my office I can't take every call that comes in or I would never get any work done. So when people try to call me there, they usually have to speak to one of my assistants or leave a message on my voice mail. The same is true for most of my managers. It's hard to get through to them personally because they are so busy.

Sometimes when I am at home, I will say to one of my daughters, “Call Roxane [my general manager] and get her on the phone for me because I need to talk to her.”

Now my children are important, and they are respected at the ministry, but they know their names don't get nearly as much attention as mine.

So if my daughter Sandra calls the ministry and says, “This is Sandra, and I need to talk to Roxane,” she won't have nearly the same results as if she calls and says, “I'm calling for my mother, and I need to talk to Roxane.”

I have told my staff that when I call in, they need to put my calls straight through because I may be out on the road and not have time to wait or another chance to call back.

So my daughters have learned if they will use my name, it will get them more attention and quicker results.

That is the way we ought to be with the Name of the Lord. We need to be “Name-dropping” the right Name—the Name of Jesus. We need to make sure we are using it to get the attention and the results we require in order to receive all God has for us and do all He wants us to do.

Using the Name in Prayer

I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and
he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.

And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.

[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM].

John 14:12-14

I don't mean to sound super-spiritual, but when I pray, I like to say the Name of Jesus in a certain way—rather deliberately with some special emphasis. Probably 75 percent of my prayer time is spent in praise and worship. I have found that thanksgiving needs to outweigh petition.

It is fine to ask God for what we want. Jesus told us to ask in His Name. But if we are praisers and worshippers, if we are thankful and grateful, we can spend the majority of our prayer time praising and worshipping the Lord. Then we can mention our need in the Name of Jesus, and He will move quickly to meet our need.

Many times in my personal prayer time, which is very important to me, I will enter into the presence of the Lord and just speak that Name over and over:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. I love You, Jesus. I magnify Your Name. I lift up Your holy Name.

I have learned that when I speak that Name, power is released to set the captives free and to break bondages off people.

When I speak it, I expect the sick to be healed and demons to be cast out.

That power and authority is not given just to me. The power in that Name is available to every believer.

You never know what may happen if you as a believer lay your anointed hand on someone and say, “Be healed, in Jesus’ Name.”

Many times when we sing songs about the Name of Jesus, we don't really understand the message the Lord is trying to give us. In
The Amplified Bible
version of John 14:12-14 Jesus says that when we pray in His Name, we are presenting to the Father all that Jesus is.

I like that because it takes the pressure off of me. I am not presenting what I am or have been or hope to be, because I make mistakes and do things wrong.

When I pray,
Father, I come to you in Jesus’ Name; by faith I put the blood of Jesus over my life;
¹
I ask You to forgive me for all my sins,
²
and I come in that Name that is above every other Name,
I am presenting to the Father all that His Son Jesus is. I am reminding Him of the sacrifice that He made for me when…
He came once for all…to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us
(Hebrews 9:26 TLB) on the cross and then rising again on the third day. I am declaring my faith in Jesus, so that my sins are not even in the picture anymore.

When I minister in a meeting, I expect to see powerful things come to pass. I am not trying to glorify my name or build my reputation.

My job is simply to stand up and speak the Name. My job is to pray for the people, and leave the results to the Lord. I want His Name to be glorified and lifted up. I want people to know there is power in the Name of Jesus.

Pray Your Way through Your Day

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple
at the hour of prayer,
the ninth hour (three o'clock in the afternoon),

[When] a certain man crippled from his birth was being carried along,

who was laid each day at that gate of the temple [which is] called Beautiful, so that he
might beg for charitable gifts from those who entered the temple.

So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them to give him a gift.

And Peter directed his gaze intently at him, and so did John, and said, Look at us!

And [the man] paid attention to them, expecting that he was going to get something from them.