The Acceptable Prayer
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.


As a petition to the Queen can only reach her through the hands of a minister, so we can only approach God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. All our prayer and praises must be offered in the name of the Lord Jesus. Very many of those prayers are like letters with no name and address upon them, which never reach their destination. What is it that makes our public services in church so frequently cold and spiritless? Why is it that some of us look on church-going as an irksome task, and the hours spent in God's house as the most wearisome of our lives? The reason is simply this, that their services are being offered in the wrong name. One offers it in his own name, he is sacrificing to selfishness; another offers it in the name of fashion, another in the name of respectability, but there can be no reality in our services unless offered in the name of Christ.

(H. J. W. Buxton, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

WEB: Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.




Suggestive Summary of Christian Duty
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