Acts 3:1-16 KJV
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 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.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Time before Christ and time after Christ prayers were answered. Did anything really change from Old Testament to New Testament when it came to answer prayer, not really. We had a name to pray by as our intercessor before God the Father, yet his word was ever interceding between men and God. Yet without the intercessions are sins are as scarlet. Yet Christ washes white as snow upon belief in the name of Jesus. Belief in the name of Jesus will save you. What is my point exactly? The book of Acts we see the anointing of God on the apostles and disciples of Jesus. We see the priesthood of Jesus arising in power by faith in Jesus, and the world attacking them after the ahs and oohs of witnessing miracles. Yet today we are not talking about persecution. We are talking about faith through prayer in Jesus name. Our claim as we pray in Jesus name is that we are his child not of flesh but of spiritual birth through the name of Jesus. There people that will use the name of Jesus swearingly, that one thing I totally am against, but it common in some circles. It angers me because they understand not the meaning of the name nor do they care. Yet when using the name of Jesus it should be done reverently, and with respect as a child of God. When we ask anything in the name of Jesus, we know he will do it. When we ask do we do it with it according to the will of God. Jesus talked to God the Father through prayer in the garden about his cup to come saying not my will but yours be done. Now remember if God is going to honor his will before even His Son's desire, we need to understand God's will is to draw all people to himself.

Baptized by the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, Peter and John were now entering a gate of the temple at the hour of prayer called Beautiful. There is a crippled man there begging for alms(money) and Peter and John said silver and money I have none, but in the name Jesus get up and walk and the lame man did. Now one might think this is a palour trick but some knew him and others had seen him begging that when he began to walk, it gave opportunity to tell the people gathering about to see about Jesus name and how to be saved. It was more Peter and John told how they had crucified Jesus, laying blame to the people only to tell them they could be saved through faith in the name of Jesus, the same name that had healed this once crippled man. Their sin of rejection crucifying Jesus.

Two things are happening when Peter preaches, some will receive Christ and others would seek to end their ministry. To simplify the topic the subject is the power in the name of Jesus. The other topic has to do with glorification of God the Father. The thing some preachers never bring out is this man born a cripple and his healing glorified God to stir the crowd, to bring them to hear what Peter and John was peddling, and to know by what name or authority they did these things in. One the Pharisees question when a miracle happened was always to Jesus by what authority. Jesus would not tell them. Yet here Peter and John openly declare the authority of Jesus name, to do miracles, sign, and wonders before the people, to preach repentance and remission for sin. The next chapter the Pharisees and Sadducees will get the legal authorities and try to destroy their authority to preach in Jesus name, and to deny the power of God before them.

Let us focus on this chapter of God being glorified and Christ name being magnified. How many today pray in the name and authority of the name given to those of us that believe to ask in order to receive. Prayer is the way in which we communicate to God. Now the man before John and Peter was spoken to with the authority of Jesus name, and he gets up and walks. Now some us may pray in the name of Jesus, only to wonder if God still working on the problem. I learned over the years that there things that with or without prayer will improve, but a man crippled and no way of being made whole by a doctor, needs a miracle. I see disabilities online and offline and wonder why is God not healing in his name as he was in Acts. Something else occurs in this chapter the opportunity to witness about the name of Jesus. Miracles performed through out Acts was done so to glorify God and Jesus' name to covert the sinners. The question does Jesus name still heal, and my answer is much like the story of Elijah who prayed by the Holy Spirit for it not to rain on the earth three years and it did not, but when he prayed again it rained.(I Kings 17). God's timing of sending rain, physical or spiritual, is based on God's timing to perform our desire and will that goes inside his time and will. He wants to heal us all, but his purpose for that healing comes sometimes with witness to those around us of that healing and deliverance, even from sin. The fruits of faith is grown not always just miraculously produced. Patience, love, hope, joy, longsuffering, and so forth come with time, and other things will they will heal in time because God does not allow that disease to control man, but man has the power to conquer his own mistakes in the world and to be over comers, but not over comers with faith. God has to enable us to believe, to be able to open the doors of our heart. When God is calling you, you need to answer before it is to late to respond to his calling. There are things man can not fix and it is act of God, and when God fixes them, man knows that God truly intervened. Yet we have to know that even though Christ himself in Luke said there will always be physician among us, it does not mean we do not pray, but that we pray and ask God for forgiveness, knowing he is a merciful God, that the miracles still happen today, not by the will of man but the will of God the Father. The power walk to pray in the authority of Christ begins when one believes. Did God answer Anna request for a baby, did he not answer Abraham servant concerning the wife of Isaac. We have to stop how many people of faith do we see praying and God granting their request? Sometimes God speaks to the heathen to just build their faith in him. Yet we have something that no other generation before Christ had and that was a name, that covered our sins when we approached the throne of God for anything we needed, wanted or desired that God could grant and was according to his will and not our sin nature. These wants and desire were for his glory. Not just our comfort. There is a purpose in his answer to our prayers, yet often we ask not and we receive not. Other times it is over a period of time before we get the yes answer or the go to leave answer, or that is the right door answer.

Point I making pray, don't stop praying, and wait on God to answer, because when he does, his provision to the answer door, is one you understand at the time. There doors all around but the right door must be the door of faith. It is the door that once open God's blessing flow both spiritually and physically. Yet the doors are never in our timing. Sarah had to wait for her opportunity to conceive, Elizabeth a righteous woman had to wait and God enabled. Elijah feed by a raven, and a widow woman who was herself starving. Faith when Christ walked the earth was all around him, but there were places even he went that miracles were only a few, because of a lack of faith. What does this say, faith is more then a quick fix for the moment it is a power journey, and a walk of faith. We need to know the power of Jesus name, for salvation is quick, the answer to prayer for deliverance from our struggles in life might not be so quick. We are to carry our cross. Do not live in I can not overcome these obstacles but walk by faith that God will provide, give the answer and solution to the problem everytime, even if it means the answer is to wait tell He sends the latter rain.

Dear Heavenly Father, we trust you to guide our walk and open the doors we only see as shut, to open them at the right timing. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: John 1:12 KJV
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 14:14 KJV
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

James 5:12-18 KJV
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.