The name above all names is without a doubt the name of Jesus Christ. There is power in His name! When you use it, mountains can be moved, demons can be cast out, and your prayers can be answered. Or are there different results for you? Perhaps you’ve experienced certain disappointments in your life when you’ve asked God for something in the name of Jesus and achieved no result. Could it be that you did not have the right to use the name of Jesus?

Lets take a look at a story in the book of Acts:

^“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (One day) the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” Acts 19:13-16 (NIV)

The verses above speak about a group of Jewish exorcists who would try to imitate Paul when he was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. They did it following a  formula they extracted from what they saw Paul do. In their minds, all there was to Paul’s success was a set of ceremonial steps.

This was a huge failure on their part, as they failed to realize that Paul’s success in casting out demons was in his personal relationship with Jesus. The scripture tells us that they would cast out demons saying “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out”. Jesus was not personal to them, they only knew the Jesus that Paul preached. In other words, they knew about Jesus, but didn’t know Jesus.

Let me ask you this; do you only know the Jesus your pastor preaches? Or do you know the Jesus of your salvation? – Your redeemer, your healer, your master? Your adversaries know you by your relationship with Jesus and how much of Him is evident in you. They don’t know you by how well you sing, or because you use the same phrases your pastor uses. If you aren’t close to Jesus they will speak to you like they spoke to the sons of Sceva, they’ll say something like: “Jesus I know, I know your pastor, but who are you?”. You might even be in danger of them lashing out at you like verse 16.

Rather than getting angry at God for things not going your way, understand that God is a personal God. His desire is to have a personal relationship with you. The truth is that your personal relationship with Jesus is what gives His name power.

Are you following a formula for success? Or are you in an intimate relationship with Jesus? If the later is true for you, then you have the right to use the name of Jesus!

Filed under: Devotionals, Reflections by Jose Palacios