In Jesus name, Amen.

Since i was a little child, I have been taught to pray (with closed eyes, bowed head, and folded hands mind you) to begin my prayers with "Dear Father" and end them with "In Jesus' name, Amen." To this day I end most prayers that way and of course, I have come to appreciate it not only as the form I learned but as the biblical pattern and practice of the early church. As I preached yesterday, there was simply nothing the first century church did that wasn't in the name of Jesus. Today I'd like to add an extra thought to doing "whatever I do in word or deed... in the name of The Lord Jesus" As I said, we are able to do everything in Jesus' name first by simply being aware of his presence in every situation (ie. Jesus is here). If we begin to realize how present he is in every conversation, every location, every task, and every activity then our words and actions may reflect his name in them. Secondly we noted that we can do things in Jesus' name when we realize we are his direct representation in every encounter. This bestows on us an incredible honor to actually speak words of encouragement and love on his behalf, to actually love and do acts of kindness on his behalf, to represent his presence in the most common of settings. Everything (and I mean everything) can be done in the name of The Lord if we are aware that he is there and that we become his voice and hands. What came to me today is that if we as Christians were to live like this, we could rightly end every conversation with the actual words, "In Jesus' name, Amen". We should be able to end every conversation with "In Jesus' name, Amen". If we are living out our calling, we can look at every relationship and every task as a prayer that begins by calling on the Father and ends with "In Jesus' name, Amen". I began thinking that my life should really be lived as a daily prayer that begins each morning with "Dear Father" and ends when I lay down for the night with "In Jesus' name, Amen." It's the middle of Monday now, and my life prayer is midstream, but even now I can call on God to Father me through it all and work as unto The Lord so that I can later say that this day was lived in Jesus' name. Amen.