You Have Access to God

“Jesus said, ‘Are you still lacking in understanding also?’” Matthew 15:16

A passport is an official document that allows you to move freely from one county to another. It is the means of access without which international travel is virtually impossible. When Jesus instructed us to pray “in My name,” He implied that His full work on the cross was the sole means by which the forgiven and justified believer can legitimately come to the Father and expect an answer.

E.M. Bounds, a noted writer on prayer described Jesus’ comment in such a fashion in his book, Purpose In Prayer: “Christ taught us also to approach the Father in His name. That is our passport. It is in His name that we are to make our petitions known....How wide and comprehensive is that ‘whatsoever?’ There is no limit to the power of that name. ‘Whatsoever you shall ask.’ That is the Divine declaration, and it opens up to every praying child a vista of infinite resource and possibility....And that is our heritage. All that Christ has may become ours if we obey the conditions.”

Asking in Jesus’ name means we come on the merit and mediation of the cross and in the authority of His name. We ask, wanting the Father’s will to be done above our own.

“You can do more than pray - but only after you have prayed.” -S.D. Gordon