I always believed if I ever came upon in a situation where danger was imminent, I would shout out the name of Jesus to save my life. But when actually confronted with such a situation would I—could I—actually do it?
My question was, "Would I remember to do it?" When confronted with immediate danger, you don't have time to pray. That may sound different coming from a Christian, but it is truth! God's Word tells us to, "Speak to our mountain," (Matt. 21:21) and "Death and life are in the power of the tongue," (Prov. 18:21).
When we study God's Word, it teaches us about the spoken word of God. It talks about what we, "say." It is the words we speak out that are powerful! The strongest word we can possibly speak out is the name of Jesus. One word. One name—the name of our Lord and Savior.
In Proverbs 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."
The name of Jesus saves! Not just as our deliverer and redeemer, but as our protector (Ps. 91). As I have loved studying from the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), I read that translation and love it for this verse. Proverbs 18:10 in the CJB reads, "The name of Adonai is a strong tower; a righteous person runs to it and is raised high [above danger]."
The name of Jesus does raise us high above danger when we call out His name! I have read Destined for Dominion, a book on power and authority. It speaks of our power and authority in the name of Jesus.
In the past, I have and I am sure some of you have heard people calling on the name of Jesus as a rapist was about to attack them, as a child was about to get in an accident, as a robber was approaching them and other times where violent attacks, crimes or accidents were attempting to invade their lives. But when confronted with such a situation would you remember or act on the name of Jesus, or would you freeze up and forget what to do?
The name of Jesus heals, sets free, saves, delivers and much more. The name of Jesus can cast out a demon. It can take an evil spirit that has invaded someone's life and by the name of Jesus that spirit has to disembody the person! That is a miracle to be able to cast out a demon of a person. That is the power of Jesus' name. The power of His name creates miracles.
As we were driving in treacherous road conditions on the way to a ministry trip in Nebraska, we found ourselves in unfavorable road conditions. My friend Carolyn (50) and I (46), at the time, had never driven in such perilous conditions. As we were driving on snow and ice with snow continually coming down and poor visibility, all of a sudden a semi-trailer began to jackknife right in front of us. With the road conditions, slamming on brakes was not an option. As we saw this semi turning sideways on the highway and spreading out over all 3 lanes, we did not know if we would be able to stop in time and miss hitting him. We knew we were in trouble and started shouting out the name of Jesus.
We didn't pray! We didn't have time to pray, "Oh Father please save us, come to your children and so on" I am not saying there is anything wrong with praying. I do pray daily. But in this case, we simply did not have time. We had time to call on the name of Jesus, like a strong tower, to run into his righteousness and save us! Carolyn, decreed out the words, "God protect us."
There was a parked police car on the side of the highway and the semi headed directly for the driver door with the police officer in his car. All of a sudden I called out, "I send angels to that police car right now, in the name of Jesus" and I kept speaking out the name of Jesus into the atmosphere.
As those angels went forth and the name of Jesus was being released into the atmosphere, suddenly we saw something that amazed us. The semi, which was partially jackknifed and directly in front of us, straightened out and missed the police car 2 feet away from it. Carolyn maintained control of the van while each vehicle—ours, the semi and the police car—received no damage. No one even stopped.
The name of Jesus lifted us high above danger! Praise God!
I believe I was able to call out the name of Jesus in that incident because I knew the power of Jesus' name. I had heard stories and testimonies of the power of His name. I had read books on my identity in Christ and, when He died and descended to hell for me and then on the third day ascended into heaven, He transferred His power of attorney to me. That's right. His Word says in Luke 10:19, "Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you."
He has given me power and authority. He has given you power and authority. We have to know the power and authority we have been given in His name. Like a person who awards power of attorney to another person to make decisions and act on his behalf, Jesus Christ has given us power of attorney and power and authority to operate in His name.
Knowing the name of Jesus, the power and authority it holds and how we are to use it comes from knowing our identity in Christ. We must know our identity in Christ. You must know who you are in Christ, that you are valuable, that you are of the kingdom, that you are from a world that cannot be shaken. In Acts 2:25, it says, "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.'" We must know the name and power of Jesus.
We must know our authority. There will be times in our life when we will need to call on His name.
Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries. She is a prophetic deliverance minister who is passionate about releasing the love and power of God. She travels hosting conferences, teaching schools and evangelistic love tours. Kathy enjoys writing and is the author of several books that educate, empower and equip people, including Spiritual Warfare Declarations and Flesh, Satan or God-Who Are You Hearing From? To learn more about her ministry visit degrawministries.org.
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