In My Name

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

Philip Yancey, in his book entitled "Prayer, Does it make any difference?" writes:

As a journalist, too, I know the value of a name. I once secured an interview with Bill Clinton during his first term as president. I was instructed to attend a political rally at a local junior high school and afterwards to hand the letter with his signature to one of the Secret Service agents. After the rally I stood with a pack of other journalists behind a police rope. Most of them were holding microphones and yelling questions: "Mr. President, Mr. President, do you have anything to say about..."

Clinton smiled and waved, ignoring the questions, then climbed into the limousine. I shouldered to the front of the pack to find a Secret Service agent. When he saw the name at the bottom of the letter, he lifted the rope and escorted me to the limousine, leaving the other journalists to wonder, "Hey, what's he got that we don't have?" I had the president's name on a letter, and for that reason alone his staff treated me deferentially.

We use another person's name if that person has some clout with whomever we're petitioning. Given the proper name, credit mysteriously becomes available and limousine doors fly open. When it comes to prayer, Jesus promises, we have the right to use his own name in approaching the Father. We have access to his authority, his reputation, his leverage. My leverage with the White House ended ninety minutes later. We have the extravagant right to use the name of Jesus in perpetuity, for whatever we ask.

Don't neglect to take advantage of that opportunity today!