There’s Power in the Name

There’s refuge in the Name.

The name of Yahweh is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe. – Proverbs 18:10

He answers prayer in his Name.

And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. – John 14:13-14

Even the demons flee in his Name.

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ – Matthew 7:22

But Hashem, the Name, isn’t some kind of magic incantation. What does it mean to ask in his name? It means to ask, believing in accordance with his will. (1 John 3:21-22, 1 John 5;14, John 15:7)

It’s not a Staples “Easy Button,” either. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva.

But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” Now there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, doing this. But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit, pounced on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. – Acts 19:13-16

This scene would be terrifying to experience, but reading it, I confess, I have to chuckle. Just imagine this demon strutting around saying, “Get a load of this guy. Thinks he can just say–” He stops himself before he uses the name. “That guy, and I’ll skedaddle.” And then he proceeds to WWE these guys.

There’s power in the name, but if we’re not believing in him, we have no authority.

Here’s a 21st century example of this power in action. Gary Bates, of Creation Ministries International, released a documentary about the UFO abduction phenomenon, Alien Intrusion,  in 2018. In a nutshell, this is a real phenomenon. It’s not extraterrestrials; it’s hyperdimensional beings (bad guys.) One of the researchers, a guy with MUFON, is a Christian. In debriefing those who had encounters, he discovered something fascinating. If the person being abducted called on the name of Jesus, the experience immediately stopped. Done. That’s a powerful name.