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Because of my Baptism, I am now a child of God, by the grace of Christ, whose Holy Spirit now lives within my soul. When I pray, it is as if the huge gates which hide Heaven are opened wide, when I utter the name of Jesus. The Father cannot refuse to hear the prayers offered in the name of His Son.

A great battle goes on when a person is torn between love of God and love of self. Satan attacks that heart and mind, while the Guardian Angel acts to restore that soul's peace. Someone like this desperately needs to pray in the name of Jesus.

The Father is like a great king, in Heaven; and whenever we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ at our side, delivering our requests, it is as though the Father is so full of love for His Son that - as He declares to the Saints, Who surround the Father in Heaven - I can refuse nothing to my Son Jesus, nor can I refuse anything He asks for His friends.

We pray with power whenever we pray in the name of Jesus. He is truly our bridge, and our Way to the Father. Christ carries all our needs and desires to the Father, as we pray, and draws the Father's attention to what is most urgently-needed, whether grace and help for ourselves or for those we love.

If we are determined to withstand temptations and spiritual assaults, we will use holy water, which is a sacramental, blessed by the Church. It drives away demons. It is more than a reminder of our Baptism. Wise people keep it by them, as well as a crucifix, and a rosary. They know the help received through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and through the name of Jesus.

It is an immeasurable blessing, to be a baptised person who is forgiven, and who believes the Faith, lives in a state of grace, and prays in the name of Jesus Christ to the Heavenly Father. It is as if that person, when praying, is whispering into the Father's ear, in a loving intimacy, in combined reverence and trust, unlike others who shout to God as if from far away, not sure of being heard.

It's as if God is like Three loving parents. Some people mock the simple requests of the faithful, and say that God is not a 'Sugar Daddy' or a Fairy Godmother. Christ wants us to know, however, that what He said in the Gospel is true. The nature of God is generosity and love. So when we ask God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - for something in prayer, believing that it will be ours, we shall receive it, if of course we have prayed properly, with trust and reverence, in the name of Jesus.

When we pray with faith, in the name of Jesus, trusting in His merits and in the Father's goodness, our prayer of faith has a power greater than that of the greatest rocket. Our prayer pierces Heaven, and is granted, for Jesus' sake.

If the evil one wishes to cause distress, he will attempt any number of ploys, whether spiritual assaults to cause fear, or false visions, or a flurry of images to annoy the soul during prayer, or new and vigorous temptations to sin, or other trials. Trust in God is essential, and holy water is very helpful, as is the Name of Jesus - and Our Lady's prayers.

Some people refuse to be helped towards salvation and joy. When we pray in the name of Jesus we should be confident that the Father will hear our prayers and grant many of our wishes: if they are in accordance with His Will; but it can happen that certain persons refuse to benefit from our intercessions. If they are people who insist on walking away from God, refusing to co-operate with His graces, we cannot raise them up to Heaven by our prayer. God has given them free will; and some condemn themselves.

To pray sincere prayers in the name of Jesus is like being lifted to the top of a high tower, to be poised at the edge of a great abyss, yet confident that the Holy Spirit will carry our prayer to the unseen Father of Light. It is the same Holy Spirit Who carries a soul across the Abyss at death. Woe to those who do not possess the Spirit! We must never drive Him out, but repent like little children, confident of finding forgiveness, and new hope.

Just as we need to trust our judgement when we are in physical danger, so we must, too, in spiritual matters. Just as we are right to feel alarmed if someone entering a nearly-empty train carriage chooses to sit right next to us, so we are not wrong to feel alarmed at indications of spiritual danger; and we should call on the name of Jesus, and prayer of Our Lady to help us, and also use holy water to put Satan to flight.

All over the world, people pray prayers, sending them up towards God the Father Who hears everything. But when there are prayers that rise up in the Name of Jesus by people faithful to Jesus, it's as if Jesus Himself is rising up to intercede with the Father, Who cannot fail to hear and answer such prayers; hence our confidence, if we live in a state of grace.

All Christians should recognise the power of Christian prayer. To pray 'in the name of Jesus' - or 'through Christ our Lord' - is to pray with faith in our union with our one and only Saviour: the God-man Who sacrificed His life for us, but conquered death and sin by His death and R+D5182esurrection. It is also to pray with faith in His prayer, Who perpetually intercedes for us with our Heavenly Father. It's as if all the people, projects and situations I pray about, or intercede for, are swept up in one great prayer from my heart to Heaven, in the power of the Holy Spirit: Spirit of Jesus.