Praying in Jesus' Name...

If you are like me, we are often guilty of tacking on the phrase "in Jesus' name" to the end of our prayers without really thinking about what are saying. Bryan Chapell's main thesis in his book "Praying Backwards" is that starting (and continuing) our prayers with the end in mind (in Jesus' name) will transform our prayers. Here are some excerpts:

• "When Jesus' priorities come first, our prayers will change. They will be less self-oriented, more Christ-directed, more blessed, and ultimately most satisfying to our hearts" [ Note: the prayer model Jesus gave us has this effect - starting with God's name, God's kingdom priorities, God's will ]
• "Praying in Jesus' name is automatically a confession of our unworthiness and a proclamation of his worthiness."
• "When we become the primary focus of our prayers and our earthly satisfaction is our greatest concern, then ending our prayer with Jesus' name is superfluous at best and possibly little more than superstition. When we pray backwards, we are faced with the fact that Jesus' desires should be honored preeminently and ultimately, because he who bought us at the price of his own precious blood should have his purposes honored most highly. Praying backwards helps clarify the priorities of our prayers so that we can distinguish childish from mature petitions."
• "To do anything in the Lord's name means to do it for his purposes. When we pray in Jesus' name, we are petitioning God to bring glory to Jesus and we are asking for his will to be done in everything so that he will be honored above all."

What a great NAME in which we pray!