By Robert E. Coleman
Inherent in the whole procedure is love for each member of the fellowship, including the fallen brother. It is the concern of a family. Where consuming love for truth and the church flow together, Jesus says that "whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (
Matt. 18:18).
Out of this kind of agreement comes our authority in prayer. But another condition needs emphasis.
II. We must pray together in the Name of Christ.What Jesus affirms here is repeated many times in His teachings: "Whatsoever you shall ask in My Name, that will I do ... If you shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it" (
John 14:13-14;
cf., 15:16). "Hitherto you have asked nothing in My Name; ask and you shall receive" (
Jn. 16:24).
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Such praying is far more than respectfully acknowledging the Name above every name; it is to pray in consistency with the very nature of Christ -- His character, His purpose, His vision. It is, in fact, to pray like Christ Himself is praying now as our Mediator in heaven. In this sense, prayer is divinely initiated; we are but the channel through which the Spirit of Christ offers up the request according to His will.
This demands that we examine the intentions of our heart. It may be that the first step in such prayer will be to confess that we are not in His Name. The word "confess," as used in the New Testament, means to "line up with the truth." The truth is revealed by God in His Word, which has its perfect disclosure in Christ, the Word living in our midst.
Where the Spirit shows us our failure to abide in Him, we must confess the sin, and receive the forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of Calvary. This requires a willingness to bring our lives into alignment with His Word, not just an admission of guilt. Are we determined, as far as we are able, to make things right where His Name has been dishonored? Do we want the refining Spirit to conform us to His holiness? Is the glory of God our consuming desire?
If, for example, when we intercede for a lost loved one, is it because we feel constrained by the love of Christ, or because we would like a more comfortable situation at home? And are we willing to be used in the answer? Or when we pray for missions, to what extent do we offer ourselves and our means to the task?
Real praying in character with Christ is costly. It cost Jesus His life. And when we take His Name to heart, and pray, "Not my will, but Thine be done," it will cost us our lives, too. It will make us face the cross, and in so doing, die to everything that would stand in the way of fulfilling the divine will.