There is a trend which has developed in the Body of Christ where people pray to the God of their church leaders. When Jesus Christ taught believers on how to pray in Matthew 6, He showed us that prayer should be addressed to God, "our" Father in heaven who is not only the God of our leaders.

When the Bible refers to God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob it is because these people are the ones who cemented the eternal Covenant with God which then materialised between God and the Israelites as the Old Covenant and later the New Covenant when the seed of Abraham came to reconcile all man with God in the form of Jesus Christ.

Believers in the Lord Jesus have been given only the Name of Jesus Christ through which prayers should be directed to God and ministry service has to be done. The Bible says only Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man.

Apostle Paul observed a similar trend in his days when people were now categorising themselves according to their respective leaders:

1 Corinthians 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

The above scripture shows that Apostle Paul wouldn’t want God to be categorised as per the leaders of that time. It is the same thing happening today and whatever reason being given to support this anomaly should be viewed as unacceptable as God is God of all believers and shouldn’t be particularised to a human being who is capable of sinning and falling away.

Some people give an example of Elisha who enquired ‘where is the Lord God of Elijah’ as in the following verse:

2 Kings2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

Looking closely to the events that preceded this incident, it is clear that Elisha was approached with a situation he was not familiar with, holding the mantle of Elijah which he was not sure it could work for him to cross the river at that point. His statement was sort of an enquiry to arouse the intervention Elijah had experienced in a similar situation. Elisha then got to see the Lord God’s intervention and would never repeat the same statement in his walk with God after he realised God was now walking with him. He never lived his life praying to the God of Elijah after this incident but developed his own relationship with God. Learning from this, I would excuse the novices in Christ if they are to be found in a similar situation where they need to find their path.

Believers who hear the gospel of Christ and accept it should be in a position to know that they have started a relationship with God and have to do all things in the name of Jesus Christ:

Colossians3:17 And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

There is so much we need to learn from the Word of God. People should have faith that God can hear them without even mentioning the names of those they look up to. The sons of Sceva tried to invoke the God preached by Paul but it did not work out because they were not in a faith relationship with that God. This shows us that it is not in the God of a particular person but it is in the faith relationship with our God that He intervenes for us.

Acts19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the LORD Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?" 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

We end here.

By Howard Tundu