By Joy Haney
There was a young lad that knew the power of the name. When David went to the camp to take his brothers an ephah of parched corn and ten loaves of bread, he entered a camp of fear. David had a different spirit. They were all trembling, but David asked, “…who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (I Samuel 17:26). He did not even acknowledge that he was a giant. He put more emphasis on his God than he did the enemy.
Finally when word circulated among the camp and eventually reached the ears of King Saul, David was sent for by the king. After discussing the matter of the challenge between Goliath and the army of Israel, it was agreed that David could go fight. Can you imagine the audacity of a king letting a young teenage boy go fight, while seasoned warriors hid behind rocks? It was absurd, crazy, and highly unusual. It had to be desperation and fear that dictated King Saul’s decision, but not that alone. The king sensed an element of faith in David that was lacking in everyone else. He was still sensitive enough to know that when faith was present miracles could happen.
David was totally alone when he ran down that mountain towards Goliath. He had no armor bearer, and he wore no armor. You do not need fleshly crutches when God is involved. He does not need man’s helps to do a miracle, only his faith, and that is what David possessed. When he got near Goliath and heard the ranting and ravings of the Philistine about all he was going to do to him and the army of Israel, David did not run back with fear. He kept going forward saying these powerful words:
Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hands (I Samuel 17:45-47).
David spoke it before it was done. He put all the glory on the Lord and went in his power. It all happened just as he had spoken. God avenged Israel through his servant David whose faith was stronger in his God than in the circumstances. This is name faith: coming against circumstances with the powerful name of the Lord.
When Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, there was a lame man that sat nearby at the gate Beautiful. When he saw them going towards the temple he asked them for alms. Peter told him they did not have any money, but they had something more powerful than money. He said, “…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength” (Acts 3:6-7).
When the people saw the familiar lame beggar up walking, leaping, and praising God, they wanted to know what had happened. Peter told them the reason for it all. “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know; yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:16).
The man had the faith, but without the power of the name there would have been no miracle. Faith in something itself is not enough. There must be faith in the name of Jesus, for at the name of Jesus every knee is going to bow. It is a name to be revered, for it is the most powerful name on earth, and by it all men are saved and healed.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18).
When the name of Jesus is evoked over a situation, it sets in motion catalytic movements, for His name is “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21).
Jesus is highly exalted, so high that every power is under His dominion. “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). Did you read what was just quoted? The name has power over all inhabitants of the earth, heaven, and of hell. It is the only name that makes the devils tremble. They know there is only one God and they know His name is Jesus. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).
The trembling devils–what a blessed sight! The demons are under the dominion of the name of Jesus. They have to let go of whatever they have hold when that name is applied with authority. They become very fearful when another one of God’s children gets the revelation of the power of the name. As long as a Christian is passive with the name, they do not have to worry so much, but let Him get hold of the name and they break out in a cold sweat and have to flee for their lives. When Jesus sent the seventy people out to do His work throughout the villages, they came back excited at the end of their journey. They said, “…Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17).
One normal day a pretty young mother in a normal neighborhood answered a knock at her door, thinking it was the neighbor. It was not the neighbor; it was a masked man who pushed his way inside her home. Fear immediately gripped her and he tried to force her to go to the back side of the house away from her baby. He threatened to kill her, and stood but a foot away from her holding a revolver to her head.
When he told her to take her baby to the other side of the house, she refused his command. The girl and man just stared at one another, when suddenly she realized for the first time in her life that she was a child of the King of kings. And being His child she had more power than the man she faced. She started rebuking him in the name of Jesus.
The attacker showed a brief moment of uncertainty, then she noticed doubt and fear comes into his eyes. Looking oddly about the room he became more and more uneasy with his situation. Then suddenly he asked her, “Lady, do you have a back door? I’ve got the wrong house.”
Who knows what really happened. Maybe he saw angels come into the room. Maybe the presence of God was so strong that the evil spirit within him quailed under the influence. The important thing was, the devil trembled at the name of Jesus, and he ran for his life.
We received a missionary report one time from Africa. The soldiers of the country walked boldly into a church service that was in progress and demanded the benches and everything in the building. The missionary stood up to them and told them no, they had worked hard to prepare everything for the Lord’s work. While all this was going on, the missionary’s wife was praying and repeating over and over, “In Jesus’ name. In Jesus’ name.”
The soldiers said, “We’re going to shoot you,” but she just kept on praying. One of the soldiers shot and the bullet went into the floor, and then another one shot and his bullet went into the wall. Suddenly one grabbed the other and said, “Let’s get out of here.” These were trained soldiers. I wonder, did an angel jerk the guns when they fired them and make the shots go astray? Did God allow them to see the angels in that little humble church building? What made them turn around and run and give up so easily? It was the power of the name of Jesus!
In fact it is so powerful that Paul instructed the Colossians to use it in every circumstance. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus…” (Colossians 3:17). We treat the name of Jesus too casually, or ignore it too much. The name of Jesus should be held in awe, and become part of our very concepts, ideas, and practices. Christians are not powerless, although they act like they are sometimes. It is time to think on the name, and become acquainted with the God who bears the name, so we can utilize it more instead of living in the molygrubs so often.
The Lord promises protection to them that know His name. “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him” (Psalm 91:14-15). The whole earth needs to know He can deliver out of any hand. “That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me, I am the Lord, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:6).
John tells us in Revelation, “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him; And they shall see his face: and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3-4). What is going to put the name of Jesus on the foreheads? Will it be marked by an angel? Or could it be that as the person thinks on the name so often, that it naturally appears showing the thought pattern of the individual? The name will be there and it will be an identification mark, but the name cannot be there if the individual does not know or revere the name.
The church needs a new revelation of the power of the name. Knowing about the name is not enough; the name must be thought upon, because a name represents a per-son. A name tells everything about someone. Malachi wrote, “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name” (Malachi 3:16).
There was once a saying that was quite popular: Hitch your wagon to a star. Upon reading this verse that quote came to my mind, only in a different sense: Hitch your thoughts to the bright and morning Star. If you want to win you must think upon the name, because you are what you think about all day long. You can think about the problems, or you can think about Jesus who can solve the problems. The next chapter will discuss the second meaning of this verse in Malachi.
The above article, “Name Faith,” was excerpted from the 11th chapter of Joy Haney’s book, Great Faith.
The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name. However, this material may be freely used for research purposes.
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