Paradigm Shift #4930: Praying in the Name

When we pray in the Name of Jesus it's like we are using his Name as a little extra oomph to get our prayers deeper into the Throne Room. We say, "In the Name of Jesus, in the mighty Name of Jesus, in the All Glorious Name of Jesus," and other things like that.

But I wonder if we shouldn't be also praying in the Authority of Christ, too. The Name IS authority after all. If I am an ambassador for the United States and happen to be in another country, I carry the full authority of my home nation. In my resident alien-ship I can decide things, make decisions, and carry on with business as if I was the President himself.

Perhaps if we went about our prayers and ministries in the confident power of his anointing upon us we would be able to speak AS the authority of the Name and not cling to it as if was a magic formula for answered prayer.

Praying in the Name is a good start. Proclaiming in the Authority of that same Name is a shift of praying that challenges us to walk as empowered witnesses. We are Name bearers by virtue of our redemption in Christ. We are the Name. We are the Body. We need not be redundant.

More on Labeling

Last Blog I shared that labeling is the new witnessing. That means, as far as sharing the Gospel goes, it's far more fruitful to label what God is currently doing in or around a person than it is to witness your own testimony or even go through a tract of the Four Spiritual Laws.

You can read it for yourself.

So what is needed to be a labeler? Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Spiritual Alertness. There is life and there is spiritual life. A person who is spiritually alive will have the worldview of the Kingdom of God, the supernatural, and an understanding that God is everywhere, always up to something, always revealing, always coaxing others into his arms. 
2. Iconographic Sight. Following of heels of spiritual awareness, the labeler needs to have the ability to look through the things seen into things unseen. Creation, events, situations, heartache - God uses it all as portals of grace. Everything we see are iconic teachable moments of the Eternal.
3. Gifts of Revelation. When confronted with a situation a labeler will wonder what God is doing or saying. God speaks through the Spirit. A labeler needs the Spirit to speak revelational moments.
4. Common Sense. Labeling isn't rocket science. Many times it is just calling a shot over a person. You don't need to go to seminary to be a labeler. You don't even need to know the Bible all that well. Your spiritual authority will cover that as you speak the Word.
5. Compassion. Behind it all God loves people. His desire is to have fellowship with all people. He knows we are hurting. If his heart is in us then we will love the people, speak to the people, and bless the people in the spirit of compassion.
6. WIsdom. Jesus not only did what he saw the Father doing but the Father also told him what to say and how to say it. We want to be like Jesus.
7. The Holy Spirit. Need I say more?

Labeling: The New Witnessing

A big part of Jesus' ministry was simply labeling what God was doing in the world. He didn't make it. He didn't force it. He didn't manufacture it. But when God showed up he was quick to label it.

Labeling is what we are all about. Without labeling God's Love, people wouldn't recognize him in their midst. We're pretty blind, you know.

"Check out the lilies of the field. You think they look good? Your Father has clothed you much better than they." See? They were just doing life and happened to be passing by a field of lilies. Jesus simply shared what the Spirit was revealing through creation at that time.

Labeling is simular to witnessing but labeling can be more poignant because it provides "on-time" descriptive of something happening in the here and now - something happening around you, your friends, or an event.

Witnessing shares personal stories and BIblical narratives designed to present a protocol for coming to Christ. Labeling is different, though the revelation of Christ is no less compromised. Labeling is simply a verbalization of what God is doing at any given time. This is that.

For some, the idea of being a labeler takes the heat off. It lessons the academic responsibility of the labeler, allows him or her to speak matter-of-factually out of their authority in Christ, and provides an "on-time" example of the nexus of God's love and the particular life experience of the listener. Labeling carries a prophetic punch that is hard to argue with.

Example: A person comes to you and tells you her experience when she was in church. "I can't explain it," she says. "I just felt peaceful all over." How would a labeler respond to that? She would respond, "That was the peace of God. He loves you."

Labeling isn't rocket science. It's just affirming what God is doing in the people around you. Want people to see Jesus? That's easy. Label Jesus in the people around you.

Bill's website HERE.