My first encounter with evil spirits occurred at the moment of meditation. I had just returned from some crusade meetings, and I was tired from a long journey, so I decided to take a nap.
When I woke up and started reflecting on what the Lord had done in those meetings, something strange occurred in the room as I laid down. The Lord opened my spiritual eyes to see the spiritual world of evil in action.
I first saw a shadowy reflection of what looked like a human being on the wall beside my couch. The shadow was moving as it immediately caught my attention. At first it looked like the shadow of a man; but it soon turned into a monster with about four horns and two long ears. All of a sudden it started moving so quickly towards me, as if it was going to grab me.
Without any thought about it, these words came out of my mouth as I shouted: “In the name of Jesus”. Before I could finish the sentence the monster disappeared through the wall…
As I thought about that encounter, I began to understand the enormous power in the name of Jesus, and how people often get under the influence of demonic activities. If I had done nothing to resist the Devil at that moment, there was nothing Jesus could had done about it. He had given me the dominion and authority over the works of the Devil. But thank God the Spirit within went into action immediately.
There are many believers in the name of Jesus today, who had been brainwashed by dead doctrines, not to believe that they do have the power over Satan and his forces. Spiritual ignorance is destroying their faith in the power that they do have in using the name of Jesus.
There are others also who will often begin speaking in tongues in situations like mine. The truth is that we’ve got to exercise our authority boldly in the name of Jesus.
Some will wait until they’re being led by the Spirit in confronting demonic forces. While Jesus expects us to make use of the key of the kingdom, that He gave us against him in enforcing His kingdom (Matthew 16:19).
It is not in all instances that the Lord will lead us against the enemy by the Spirit. That is why it is important to live and walk by faith always. The Devil cannot stand before a Christian, who lives and walks by faith in the name of Jesus always.
It is also weird when people do try to confront spiritual problems with natural solutions. We will often hear them say things like: “We are not praying enough”; “We need more people to pray with us”; and their list of excuses is endless.
Well Jesus said:
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.””
Matthew 18:20 NIV
It takes two people and not a crowd to agree and pray in the name of Jesus. It is the prayer of a righteous man that makes tremendous power available. Jesus hears when two agree together using His name. God is not looking for a crowd before doing anything on earth. He is looking for one or two people to agree in the name of Jesus.
Jesus had given us the authority and victory over evil. We must always be ready to use our authority to walk in victory.
Jesus gave us His Word on this when He said:
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.””
Mark 16:17-18 NIV
Every child of God can perform wonders in the name of Jesus. No one is ever exempted by God from miracles, signs and wonders.
The Source of His Name
But for us as Christians to be effective in using the name of Jesus, we must be able to recognize, how He got the name that has been given to us to use against the enemy. His name is so powerful that any newly born-again child of God can use it to get anything from our Heavenly Father. The scriptures says about Jesus and how He received His name:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:6-11 NIV
There can be no clearer and no other precise explanation of how Jesus received His name, that is stronger than this. The scriptures also testifies about what exactly He did to get that name:
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Colossians 2:15 NIV
His victory on the cross is very unique. He did what no one had never done before.
For us to walk in victory, we must be seeing the power behind that name. It is the power that He possessed from the place of dominion and authority in the heavens. We need to be walking in the attitude of Jesus as described above by Paul in Philippians 2:6-9.
His victory on the cross was the most unparalleled in history. No one has ever been able to achieve such a feat in history.
The Bible says:
“And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
Colossians 1:18 NIV
In using the name of Jesus during prayer, we are not expecting something else apart from what we asked for. Jesus’ name has supremacy in all situations.
When as believers in His name we pray, Jesus will always manifest himself in glory as we call on His name.
Be Specific in Prayer
He said:
““Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:9-11 NIV
Spiritual truth is often revealed to the heart, in ways by which only the spiritually alert person is able to discern its meaning. A bread is different from a stone.
In praying for whatever we have at heart, Jesus has given us the authority to use His name. His name is available to every believer to use at anytime.
He also declared:
“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:23-24 NIV
His name is always there for us to use at all times. Every believer in Christ has faith in His name when we first believed. It is ours to use always and at anytime.
Seeing through the eyes of Jesus as you pray
How we see the name of Jesus when we received it to become believers in Him, will always have an effect on how powerful our use of that name will be in reality.
Moses (as an example) was given an image by God on the mount Sinai, of what the Tabernacle was supposed to look like. He was directed by God:
“And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.”
Exodus 26:30 NKJV
From that moment Moses knew exactly what the Tabernacle looked like. He believed in the image that was shown to him. He worked on that image in his heart, until it was physically completed. In the same manner, we had received the name of Jesus for us to use. His name is not meant to be placed on a brooch or in a showcase, in order to show off to the world that we have His name. It is meant for us to use in walking victoriously here on earth.
Moses never had the name of Jesus to use in creating the first Tabernacle; but he had the words of the True and Faithful God, who revealed the image to him on the mountain. That was the authority that he needed to do what he had to do. The words of God were the authority behind the construction of the Tabernacle by Moses. We also have the words of Jesus as our guarantee and authority against the enemy.
Adam’s first duty was name calling
God once brought every animal that were made to Adam to give it a name to each one of them. The Bible says:
“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.”
Genesis 2:19-20 NKJV
In everything that were created by God, Adam agreed with God by calling them the names which fits into the heart of God when they were created. Adam saw what God saw when He created the animals as he named them.
Adam and God were in agreement together. They fellowship daily together in the cool of each day at the garden of Eden. They saw things together in unison, until the Serpent came in with his temptation.
It was this union in fellowship between God and Adam, that moved God to give Adam the dominion and authority over all of creation. Adam had the authority to create and name things just like God. He was unlimited in his ability before the Serpent came with the temptation.
Today that authority belongs to us in Christ Jesus.
Believe in His name as you use it
When we create an image in our heart of what the name of Jesus can accomplish for us, we are empowered to name that image to fit into what we saw, just as Adam called what he saw by name.
The name of Jesus works for us in the same manner. What is the picture in your human spirit about that name. The name of Jesus will always fit into that image in your heart about who He is and what His name can do for you.
If you see Him in your heart hanging on the cross, that is all about Jesus that will work for you. But He is more than that. He is also risen from the dead. He took all your infirmities on your behalf.
For example the Bible says that we are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). If you cannot create that image of yourself seated with Him in the heavenly places, then in reality you can not declare that you are seated with Him in the heavenly places. You are not empowered to be in that position of authority and power, because you do not see yourself in the heavenly places yet in Him. Christ will be to us who we envision Him to be in our lives.
There are many believers who proclaim Him to be, who they are not seeing Him to be. They limit God in their lives, because they are not paying attention to the blueprint of God to them – the Bible. Jesus will always be for us, who we see Him to be in the blueprint of God to us – the Bible.
To be Healed, begin by seeing Healing
But it is important for example to not only see healing. We’ve got to be naming our healing to manifest itself in power, as we pay attention to the blueprint of God about healing. Moses was able to build the Tabernacle of God, because he paid attention to the image that God showed him.
Jesus got His name from God, after Joseph received the vision of His birth. At that moment God revealed His calling in life, to the ones who raised Him up on this earth:
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.””
Matthew 1:21 NKJV
The power in any name is in what the bearer does. “Christ” is not the last name of Jesus; but it tells us what He does. It literally means the anointed One and His anointing. He is anointed to save His people from their sins.
Jesus used that anointing not only to save us from sin, but that word – to be saved, also means to be healed, to be delivered, to be at peace and much more. Salvation comes in a package. If you can see the image of what you want in that package, you can take the blueprint of it from the Bible and maximize it to your own advantage.
By calling His name people are being saved daily all over the world. Peter testified of His name after the healing of the crippled man by the Beautiful Gate:
“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”
Acts 3:16 NIV
Yes, faith in the name of Jesus made the crippled man whole. When we have a picture at heart of what we expect the name of Jesus to do for us, we are empowered to call that name in manifesting what we are seeing in His name. Live and walk daily in the power of His name within you.
