Leaving the Elementary Things

Hi Ray,   Now that your email is back.......   Last night, Ralph talked about getting past the elementary things which we will never do. Several reasons not the least of which is we are comfortable rehashing if baptism is important, is Bible study important and the like. We are uncomfortable talking about how to evangelize Pigeon Forge, getting our hands dirty with the poor, and on and on. Another uncomfortable subject is prayer. We do no know what the word means but we like it just the way it is.   When our grand daughter was beginning to talk she was taught to say please and thank you. Sometimes she would say please in such a way it was like a weapon. If she said please we had to do what she asked.   John recorded that in response to a question from Philip Jesus said to his disciples: "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13)   We have presumed that to mean we must say "In the name of Jesus" and if we say that phrase nothing else matters, not our attitude, not our request, not our intent, nothing. God must answer in the affirmative because we said the magic words and Jesus put no qualification on it.   It's like when a police officer says, "Stop in the name of the law." The police officer is saying that because he is standing in the place of the law and speaking on behalf of it. To the degree that he speaks for the law, he can enforce the law and has authority. When he steps outside of the law, he has lost his authority even though he still says, "Stop in the name of the law."   In the prayers of the Bible we never see a prayer that ends with the phrase "In Jesus' name. Amen," even though the same text teaches us to pray in Jesus' name. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to draw the conclusion that we are, first, to pray in the name of Jesus, and second, praying in the name of Jesus doesn't mean ending our prayer with the phrase "In the name of Jesus. Amen." It is never done in the New Testament.   Acting in the name of someone, in the sense that the Bible authors used it, was what the person stood for, the substance of their character, or their authority.     When we pray it might be better for us to drop the phrase "In the name of Jesus" altogether because generally we don't mean, "I am praying in the authority of Jesus Christ." Practically speaking, it means the prayer is over. That is the Christian exit. Amen.    "Grace to you and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ." That would be an example of a prayer that we see often at the beginning and sometimes at the end of Epistles. Paul says, "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father", he reflects a prayer there. "I pray that the eyes of your heart might be opened that we would understand the length and breadth and depth of the love of Christ which is beyond comprehension." Paul gives a prayer.