\u201cWhat in Jesus name mean, Mom?\u201d Penny asked after I had prayed for her the other night.<\/p>\n
I more or less say, \u201cIn Jesus Name, Amen\u201d to conclude every prayer. And I had a vague memory of asking myself what exactly those words mean a long time ago. But when Penny asked me, I was tired and feeling a bit rushed with bedtime because we had friends waiting downstairs, so I mumbled something incomprehensible to me and my daughter, gave her a kiss, and walked out the door.<\/p>\n
But her question lingered. What does it mean to offer a prayer to God\u2014to converse with God and believe that God hears and that God responds\u2014in the name of Jesus? I\u2019m sure there\u2019s much more to it than this, but a few days later, when Penny and I were sitting on the porch steps watching William try out his new T-ball game, I followed up. \u201cPen, I didn\u2019t answer your question very well the other night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s okay, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, but I\u201dm going to try to do better. You asked me what it means to pray in Jesus\u2019 name. And I\u2019ve been thinking about your question. I think it means we\u2019re reminding ourselves that we are a part of Jesus\u2019 family. We aren\u2019t just praying on our own, but we are praying as a part of Jesus\u2019 family, in Jesus\u2019 name. Just like our family all has the name Becker, Jesus has invited us to become a part of God\u2019s family. So when we say, in Jesus name, we\u2019re basically saying that we\u2019re excited to be a part of God\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think there\u2019s more to it\u2013that claiming Jesus\u2019 name identifies us with his death and resurrection, demonstrates to any forces of evil whose side we\u2019re on, so to speak, and more beyond that. But I\u2019m grateful to Penny for reminding me that we are children who have been invited to live as sons and daughters in the house of the Lord. And I\u2019m grateful to be reminded that I\u2013like many brothers and sisters from all across the globe and across all of our socially-constructed dividing lines\u2013am a part of the family of God. That I have the great privilege of praying in Jesus name.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What Penny taught me about praying “in Jesus name.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-family"],"yoast_head":"\n