LEAVING JESUS OUT OF PRAYER?
"…whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32-33)
For several decades now I have been disturbed by a growing trend in prayers at worship services, weddings, funerals or special events such as Nascar races. Many preachers, chaplains or other religionists currently conclude their prayers by saying, "In your name, Amen." Whenever I hear that, I can’t help but wonder, "Whose name? God the Father? Jesus Christ? The Holy Spirit? Or perhaps some widely worshipped personage like Mohammed or Buddha?”
Jesus instructed His disciples to ask in HIS name (Jn. 14:13-14), and Paul commands Christians to do everything in HIS name (Col. 3:17). Since Jesus is the Mediator between God and man - 1 Tim. 2:5, it is always appropriate to end our prayers by saying, "in Jesus name" or "in the name of Jesus Christ".
When a Christian has the privilege of praying before others, whether around the dining room table or before an assembly of thousands, he has a unique opportunity to confess Jesus Christ. So why squander that opportunity and conclude with a nonspecific "In your name, amen"? Some argue that it is "politically correct" to omit the name of Jesus in public prayer in order to avoid offending Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. But if the fear of offending others is our main concern, then we may as well as change the name of the church to the “Church of Him”.
Perhaps we should be more concerned about offending Jesus! Jesus said, "…whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father..." (Mk. 8:38, Lk. 9:26) Therefore intentionally omitting the name of Jesus Christ may cost us our salvation.
Although we should not offend others for the sake of doing so, we should never omit an opportunity to confess Jesus publicly, even when the possibility exists that others will not like it. As one person put it, "Let’s put Christ back into prayer!"
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
"…whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 10:32-33)
For several decades now I have been disturbed by a growing trend in prayers at worship services, weddings, funerals or special events such as Nascar races. Many preachers, chaplains or other religionists currently conclude their prayers by saying, "In your name, Amen." Whenever I hear that, I can’t help but wonder, "Whose name? God the Father? Jesus Christ? The Holy Spirit? Or perhaps some widely worshipped personage like Mohammed or Buddha?”
Jesus instructed His disciples to ask in HIS name (Jn. 14:13-14), and Paul commands Christians to do everything in HIS name (Col. 3:17). Since Jesus is the Mediator between God and man - 1 Tim. 2:5, it is always appropriate to end our prayers by saying, "in Jesus name" or "in the name of Jesus Christ".
When a Christian has the privilege of praying before others, whether around the dining room table or before an assembly of thousands, he has a unique opportunity to confess Jesus Christ. So why squander that opportunity and conclude with a nonspecific "In your name, amen"? Some argue that it is "politically correct" to omit the name of Jesus in public prayer in order to avoid offending Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. But if the fear of offending others is our main concern, then we may as well as change the name of the church to the “Church of Him”.
Perhaps we should be more concerned about offending Jesus! Jesus said, "…whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father..." (Mk. 8:38, Lk. 9:26) Therefore intentionally omitting the name of Jesus Christ may cost us our salvation.
Although we should not offend others for the sake of doing so, we should never omit an opportunity to confess Jesus publicly, even when the possibility exists that others will not like it. As one person put it, "Let’s put Christ back into prayer!"
Jesus, always Jesus!
Dennis
RSS Feed