Jesus: The Power of Prayer in His Name

By April McQueen

What true courage requires I often do not do when it matters most. Courage is facing down fear with faith and moving through it. I may struggle to do this. I am uncertain. Progress is possible for me, however, when I cannot act and just pray by stating His holy name: “Jesus”. A whisper or a shout, the loudness and tone may change with my circumstances and my emotions. The access remains the same.

Calling His name is radical faith. Courage and faith combine for a powerful prayer released as naturally as breathing and as necessary as oxygen. Many of the heroines from the Bible invoked the power of this one word prayer: the woman with the issue of blood reached out to and called on Jesus; the woman at the well met Jesus where she was; the woman at the tomb that He rose from after three days saw Jesus; the woman who sat by His feet and listened to Him and her sister who served Him with high hospitality both interacted with Jesus; the woman begging the judge to hear her case believed with faith and demonstrated with tenacity that was worthy of praise from Jesus; the widow with the coin as her offering gave all that she had in a parable from Jesus; the woman washing His feet with her hair and the perfumed oil worshiped Jesus; and, of course, the woman who gave birth to Him and saw Him die upon the cross loved her son, Jesus. I stand with these strong women when I am facing desperate times, going through challenging, changing conditions, and standing in need of this powerful prayer.

One word, so powerful: Jesus. It is more than enough and is always effective for a myriad of diverse situations. Saying His name is grounded in the belief that He will help and work it out. Courage is in this call unlike any other. It requires faith. It is an entire belief system in one word. It is prayer and penance; power and pain; anger and assistance; gratitude and joy. Courage comes in knowing that He will hear that one word and answer. Courage is hope when daring to call. Faith is the certainty that He will be there for us anytime.

Belief in the power of Jesus is one of the pillars of our faith. It is this simple truth with solid results that affirms and defines us as Roman Catholic Christians. The peace that follows is where His divinity touches our humanity. It is sacred and mysterious, for us who believe, to call on Jesus when we are at our most broken and least brave. “Jesus.” When we cannot handle it, we know that He can.