ruwth is writing...

~In Jesus' Name~

Trigger Warning: mentions rape.

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." John 14:13

I clearly remember the first time I read that verse. I was about ten years old. I had memorized the 23rd Psalm, the 100th Psalm and the books of the Bible and our church awarded my efforts with a Bible of my own.

I was reading it in Sunday School. I am not sure what the lesson was about. I wasn't paying attention, I was reading my new Bible. That was when I stumbled upon this verse.

I remember thinking with astonishment: Whatever I ask?. I knew that was an amazing promise—an unbelievable promise. And yet, I did believe it.

Before Sunday School was dismissed, I called my teacher over and showed her the verse I was so excited about. I asked, "What does this mean?" because it sounded too good to be true.

She said, "Oh, it doesn't mean what it says."

Well, to this day, I am surprised by her answer but it did not matter, I still believed it. I believed it so much I started asking in His Name.

When I was faced with a test at school, I would pause, say a brief prayer asking for God's help with the test, and my prayer would include these words: "God, Jesus said whatever I ask in His Name that he would do that the Father might be glorified through the Son. I ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen."

I just realized as I wrote this, I didn't just tack "In Jesus' Name" at the end of my prayer. I quoted the Scripture back to God as I prayed.

Anyways, I did really well on my tests. Was it just my natural ability or did I get an extra boost from my prayers? Well, I bet by now you know what I believe.

As a teenager, I ran away from home. The police would always find me and bring me back. This one day as I was walking up over a hill on the edge of town I prayed for help and included the words mentioned above. Something different happened that day. The police did find me again but instead of taking me directly home, they took me to talk to a social worker who asked the right questions and realized why I was running away. That night, I was placed in a foster home with loving and kind foster parents. It was one of the best things that could have happened to me at that point of my life. I got a glimpse of normal family life.

In July 1973, I quoted John 14:13 in prayer to God in a much more serious moment. I was driving to visit my mother on a pretty summer day. I was wearing a dress because of my sister having made a comment the last time I was there. On the earlier visit I was wearing my standard outfit: faded jeans, one of my dad's old button up white shirts and was sans makeup. My sister commented: , "Oh my, you didn't have to dress up for us."

Well, on that day in July, I was dressed to the nines. I can still picture the brightly colored dress I wore that day. I can only picture it because the police never returned it to me. It might still be in an evidence locker somewhere but I am getting ahead of myself.

The very serious conversation I had with God that day started with me picking up a hitch-hiker. He was a black man with a walking stick hitching on a very hot July day. Someday, I will write in more detail about what happened but for this story, I will stick to the in Jesus' Name part. It is hard for me to share this because I know many women in my situation have prayed without the positive results I had. Please know, if that is you and you are reading this, you have my heart felt condolences—I am so sorry that happened to you.

Here is a very brief version of what happened to me: On a back country road, he started grabbing my keys from the ignition as I was driving and punching me. I fought at first but then thought, "He is stealing my car and I am letting myself get punched over a car?" I decided he could have the little Mazda I was driving if he wanted it and allowed him to push me out of the car.

As he drove off, I remember being out in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road thinking, "He stole my car." I picked myself up, dusted myself off and started walking toward a main intersection. Sadly, as I was walking, I saw him walking back toward me. He dragged me into the woods.

Initially, I tried to fight him off. I slapped and pulled his hair. He slapped me back so hard I almost lost consciousness. At that point, I stopped fighting but continued to physically resist him. I also tried to reason with him. Back then, the blacks I knew honored their mothers, protected their sisters and were brought up in church. I used all these points to try and convince him to stop. I am sure through it all I was praying and begging God for help. When none of this helped, I began to pray aloud.

I prayed aloud: "God, It says in the Bible, "Whatever I ask in Jesus' Name that he would do that the Father might be glorified through the Son. I ask in Jesus' Name that You stop this." I didn't stop there, I had a heart to heart with God, "God, either this is true or the Bible is not true." or words to that effect.

After struggling for hours, the fellow suddenly stopped and got up. I jumped up and said the stupidest thing, "Why are you stopping?" His answer was: "Because you really are a Christian."

Later that day, circumstances led to his arrest. I must admit, I did believe in Jesus, I had accepted Him as my Saviour as child but I seldom read the Bible, I did not attend church regularly and I did not live a godly life at that time. But I did pray in Jesus' Name and, that time, the results were remarkable. Even when I am not faithful, He is faithful. (Again, my heart felt condolences for anyone who has suffered a rape. I do not know why God chose to spare me that day. I wish no one ever had to experienced being violated in that way.)

Anyways, over the rest of my adult life, I have continued to pray in Jesus' Name but it has gone beyond just quoting the scripture and tacking on the phrase "In Jesus' Name, Amen." Years ago, I heard someone teaching that Jesus allowing us to ask in his name was sort of like one of us giving someone a signed blank check to our bank account. We would be giving them access to everything in the account. Jesus is doing something similar for us. That teaching broadened my perspective of what it means to ask in His Name.

Finally, in my own walk with God, I began to see it differently. When I ask in Jesus' Name, I am asking in His stead. As I pray for someone or something, I am standing in the place of Jesus and my words become His Words. As I ask in this way, I find myself thinking about what Jesus would want in a particular situation. I hold His Will in mind as I ask in His Name. I also use the privilege with respect. I might ask God in prayer for a good parking place but I would not likely ask that prayer in Jesus' Name.

So, if you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, ask in His Name and He will do it that the Father would be glorified through the Son.

~ ~ ~ JESUS is LORD! ~ ~ ~

Word Count:1358
Written for "I Write: Enter the Second Decade"