The Morning I Realized I Was Treating Prayer Like a Password
I remember one of those mornings where everything is loud, but it’s not even sound. It’s pressure. I stood in the backyard with a cold soda, the kind that tastes like regret, and I prayed fast for the family because I had to. “Lord, help us today, protect us, bless us, in Jesus’ name, amen.” Done. Check mark. Gold star. Except five minutes later I was still snapping. Still anxious. Still trying to control everything with my tone, my timing, my little mini plans. And it hit me, not gently either, I was using “in Jesus’ name” like a keypad code. Like if I ended the prayer correctly, God had to dispense peace like a vending machine. That’s not authority . That’s superstition with Christian vocabulary. So I started chewing on this question: what does it actually mean to pray in Jesus’ name ? Not the churchy way. The real way, the way that holds up when the day is heavy and your faith feels like it’s running on fumes. What “In Jesus’ Name” Really Means (And What It Doesn’t) A lot of mainstr...