What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?  The name “Jesus” is not some magic wand that we wave and then anything we prayed prior to that comes to pass.  We do know, and have an example of the seven sons of Sceva who say, “In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, come out.”  Right?  They had no results but bad results.  That name of Jesus was not effective because they were not abiding in Him.  You can’t pray in the name of Jesus and not be abiding in Him.  We’ll look at John 14 through 16, here in just a moment, but it’s so important for us to understand the power comes from the abiding—not the declaration.  The power comes from the vine, we’re just the branches.  Amen?  We are the ambassadors.  You see why we pray in the name of Jesus today, and I won’t get too deep into this, but don’t make a doctrine out of it.  There are a lot of people that pray to Jesus, and that’s not what the Scripture teaches.  We’re to pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus.  Now, the disciples prayed, “Jesus, Master, don’t you care that we perish?”  Amen?  He was there in their midst, but He said, “I’m going away to the Father and I’m going to send you another comforter and He will be with you and shall abide in you.  Whatever you ask, then, in my name, the Father will do it.”  Amen?  So, it’s that abiding factor that’s so important to us.

We talked about the definition of prayer, and we said, “Prayer is practicing the presence of God.”  We don’t necessarily have to even be saying words.  Can you pray effectively in your mind?  Some people say you can’t.  Well, God is a spirit.  Amen?  We, as the tri-unity that we are in our being, are spirit, soul, and body.  The mind, this awareness of who we are, makes us unique before God.  God has created the soulical realm—emotion, intellect and will—and He fellowships with us in the whole being.  He brings healing to us, spirit, soul, and body.  One of the things that makes us unique as human beings is language, our ability to speak.  The thought processes take place prior to the articulation.  So, God is able to fellowship with us in our soulical realm.  Before we speak, the Scripture says that He hears us.  It’s about the presence.  It’s about being with God in our soul.  It’s about being with God consistently in our spirit.  “They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), praise God.

The point I’m trying to make in all that, is the awareness of God, the communion with God.  The fact that in the realm we occupy today, we are the ambassadors of God, of Christ, in this present world.  We’re ceasing from our labors, from all of our natural methods and we’re coming to find this rest.  The rest comes when we cease to trust in any natural ability or methodology.  The rest comes when all that comprises religion is removed from us.  Religion is always trying to appease God.  These sacrifices are made to God.  Our sacrifice to God is this holy, redeemed, renewed creature as we present our bodies, living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable unto God, which is our spiritual service.