Jesus. I Come in the Name of Jesus

From A Praying Life by Paul Miller:

"Imagine that your prayer is a poorly dressed beggar reeking of alcohol and body odor, stumbling toward the palace of the great king. You have become your prayer. As you shuffle toward the barred gate, the guards stiffen. Your smell has preceded you. You stammer out a barely intelligible phrase, but you whisper one final word, 'Jesus. I come in the name of Jesus'. At the name of Jesus, the palace comes alive. The guards snap to attention, bowing low in front of you. Lights come on, and the door flies open. You are ushered into the palace and down a long hallway into the throne room of the great king, who comes running to you and wraps you in his arm".

I was so struck by this when I read it Friday afternoon. I was sitting at a marvelously pretentious new coffee shop, having spent my day off soaking in the Word and this book on prayer. Saturday brought a worship session with my friend Gab, who had received some tragic news. Things fell silent and we talked and then, without asking, I just started to pray. Slowly, out loud. And in the end I didn't know if I'd hit everything she was anxious about but I said in Jesus' name and how welcomed we felt. She said, that was awesome. And we worshiped some more. And I thought about grace and the cross and how that rugged tree is not a wall but a welcome sign. My heart overflows with thanks. Even as I mourned with Gab, I drove home with the music off, saying over and over, Lord You are good. What a wonderful Savior!