The Name Above All Names

“Jesus,” “Jesus,” “Jesus.”  During Sunday’s service the entire congregation at our church simply sang the name of Jesus to close out the worship service. It was a powerful, reverent moment. You heard no side conversations, no babies crying, only Jesus’ name permeated the sanctuary. If I could have bottled that moment, I would have. It was holy. The name of Jesus had everyone’s attention.

What is it about that name?

Philippians 2:9-11 recognizes the power of Jesus’ name when it says, 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.

When I think of this verse my mind goes back to Jesus’ arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane. When Jesus asked the soldiers who they wanted, they replied “Jesus of Nazareth.” Do you remember what happened when Jesus replied, I am he? The soldiers fell to the ground. At the name of Jesus, they bowed.

There’s something powerful about that name.

The name of Jesus was the focus of a story I read right after my worship experience on Sunday. In her book, Unglued, Lysa TerKeurst, said she was wrapping up a speaking engagement when she received an emergency call.  A woman who had been at the conference was crying hysterically because she had just learned her two grandchildren, ages eight and four, had been killed in a fire. TerKeurst says she couldn’t find the words to pray for the grieving grandmother, so she just started uttering Jesus name.  “Jesus.” “Jesus.” “Jesus.”  Once she did that, the woman’s “body relaxed, her crying slowed and her breathing eased.”

The name of Jesus brings peace.

When we pray “in the name of Jesus” we recognize the authority Jesus has over our lives and the lives of others. Through Jesus we find healing, direction, protection and salvation. I can remember undergoing a scary CT scan a few years ago after being hit in the head with a golf ball. To calm myself down, I kept repeating Philippians 4:13 to myself. I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me.  I can do all things through JESUS who strengthens me. JESUS, JESUS, JESUS. The name of Jesus got me through it.

What area of your life needs the great and wonderful name of Jesus spoken over it? When was the last time you bowed humbly before him and placed your troubles at his feet? Who else is also called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace? (Isaiah 9:6b)

Jesus is the name above all names. When you can’t find the words to pray, simply say his name. He knows what you need.