Continuing from * In the Name of the Son, Robert L. Millet wrote:
While serving as dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University, I was frequently required to leave town for extended periods to give speeches, attend academic and administrative conferences, and undertake fundraising and interfaith activities. Before I left I would sit down with my two associate deans to cover any last minute details and give them complete authority to act in my absence. They knew full well that meant that they could make decisions, interpret policies, and even sign my name when necessary. I had confidence in their skills, background and judgment; they had my permission to act in my name. I may have been the principal, but they were my agents, authorized to speak for the dean and the office of the dean.
There is power in a name, particularly when that name opens doors, unlocks opportunities, and equips us to act and speak with power and authority. We have been instructed that when we act and speak in the name of our blessed Lord, we are entitled to come boldly unto the throne of grace to receive assistance and entrance in time of need (Hebrews 4:16; Moses 7:59).
This is not the magic or voodoo or some occult practice. It is about the name of Jesus. It is about approaching our beneficent Father in prayer with humble confidence in the blood of the sinless Son of Man because of the unique status he enjoys with the Father (Alma 33:11, 16). It is as though the Savior had said to each of us, “Go to Father in prayer and, by the way, use my name.” The Savior’s name carries spiritual clout, real moral authority in the universe. It is so much more than offering a prayer and quickly closing in Jesus’ name. It is a lesson of worthy and of sober reflection and meditation, a lesson that ought to stay fresh in our minds and hearts, a lesson that ought to affect how we pray, how intently we concentrate, how sincerely we plead, what words we use, and how devoutly we thank and ask and approach the God of all creation.
After the death and resurrection of Christ, and having been endowed with power from on high at Pentecost (Luke 24:49, Act 1:4), the Apostles went about proclaiming the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18) with a spiritual dynamism, and boldness of soul, and a depth of understanding that was clearly lacking before the Lord’s passion and his rise to glory from Arimathean’s tomb. Peter and John performed a notable miracle in healing the lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:2-10). They were then taken before Jewish leaders and questioned regarding the healing: “By what power, or what name, have ye done this?” (Acts 4:7; emphasis added). Peter testified that it had been accomplished through the name of Jesus Christ, “whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this [formerly lame] man stand before you whole” (Acts 4:10). They taught Jesus and him crucified, and they knew precious little about how this teaching was received by their detractors. Having ignored the Sanhedrin’s strong warning that they were not to teach Christ in public any longer, Peter spoke with fearlessness: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Truly there is power in a name. The balance between, on the one hand, a healthy and righteous focus on Jesus Christ and the careful use of his beloved name, and on the other hand, the unhealthy, spiritually unstable, and vain repetition of his name, may not be easy to find, but it is important. The scriptures do not teach us to flaunt or multiply the name of our Lord in speech, sermons or prayers, as though the holy name were some kind of mantra. The key to fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 John 1:3) lies not in how many times we speak the name but rather in how reverently and intently we approach the throne of grace. ~~ Robert L Millet, Talking with God (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010) p. 25-28
