How much faith do you have in the name of Jesus?

In Acts 3, Peter and John are entering the temple by the Beautiful Gate at the same time a man who had been crippled form birth is being carried there to beg. He asks them for money and Peter responds, “Look at us…Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3: 4, 6) Peter then takes his hand and lifts him up. His feet and ankles instantly become strong, he jumps to his feet and he begins walking, jumping and praising God. When the people recognize him as the man who had always been begging they are filled with wonder and amazement.

When Peter said, “Look at us,” he wanted to get the man’s attention because what he was going to do was not the usual response of throwing a coin in a cup. This time was going to be different. Peter was going to give the man not what he asked for, but what he needed. He needed Jesus and healing. Peter gave him both.

How much faith do you have in the name of Jesus? On a personal note, I have seen prayers in the name of Jesus: heal a hole in the heart of our daughter, Emily; restore vision loss in me from glaucoma; find wonderful Christian spouses for our four married children; hold my prostate cancer in remission despite a doctor’s prognosis; to name just a few examples.

In the workplace, I have seen prayers in the name of Jesus: turn a negative work environment into a positive one; enable a person to forgive a business partner who defrauded him of thousands of dollars; result in a company deciding to forgo short term profits for the long term good of the company and its employees; heal a colleague’s brain tumor; lead a legal adversary to surrender his life to Christ before he died.

Jesus says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:13) When we pray in the name of Jesus we create an opportunity to bring glory to the Father.

Bringing glory to the Father through the name of Jesus is not something that is confined to the early Church. Jesus’ words are meant for us today as well.

Pray for something in the name of Jesus today and bring glory to the Father!