The sixth sermon in the series of “Making Spiritual Connections” is Connecting Prayer with God’s Purpose. Prayer is relational communication with God. It is the divinely ordained link between the natural and the supernatural. Prayer was designed by God to bring heavenly involvement into the physical realm. God told man to have dominion over the earth; yet that dominion was to have man rule under God’s authority, and prayer was to be the link by which God guided man in his rule.

Prayer is a way by which God has given you and I the privilege of participating in the divine realm by making human contact with Him. So then the question that looms in the heart of many Christians is, “How do I know that my prayers will be answered?” In I John 5:13, John says, “I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” So then you receive eternal life by believing in the NAME; therefore, you can have that same confidence in answered prayer, if you believe in the NAME. Now, allow me to be clear about what John did not say. John does not say you will receive answers to prayer by using the NAME. You must believe on the NAME.

The Greek word translated here as ‘name’ means, “Character described by the name, or the substance of a thing.” So then, when you were baptized in Jesus’ NAME, you were baptized into the faith or confession of Christ and to be identified with His character and purpose. So believing on His Name means that you accept His character as your character, and it is no longer you that live by Christ that is living in you.