Praying With Authority

Jesus had just expelled an evil spirit. What impressed the people who witnessed it was His authority and power. The Jews at the time knew about demons and had ways of dealing with them – ways that involved all manner of rituals. What was so startling about Jesus was how uncomplicated was His way of driving them out. No long ritual but a simple, “Shut up! Get out!” They (the demons as well as the people) recognised that He had both authority and power. He had both because He was (and is) ‘the Holy One of God’ (Luke 4:34).

Every day we inevitably face, and hopefully pray into, challenging situations, many of them empowered by the enemy. But we walk with ‘the Holy One of God’, the living Lord Jesus Christ. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18).

Paul says that we are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Ambassadors carry the authority of the rulers of the nations they represent. It is in their name that they speak and act. They have no power of their own. They can call upon the power of their nation, but only so long as they remain under its ruler’s authority. They aren’t free agents to do whatever they like.

The same is true of us. Jesus once said, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). We can have the authority; but only Jesus has the power that overcomes the enemy. We don’t have authority to call upon His power until we are submitted to His authority. Jesus modelled this pattern for us when He said, “The Son can do nothing on his own initiative but only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19). In His earthly ministry He was totally submitted to His Father’s authority.

There’s all the difference in the world between authority and bravado. Bravado is self-assertion. Authority implies obedience to a higher authority.

As I’ve been thinking about all this, I’ve felt quite challenged. When I pray for God to change lives and situations where Satan is dominant, how submitted am I to Him? Is my praying tinged with bravado rather than authority? Until I’m truly submitted to Him, I stand in the way of His power being released into the situations I’m praying for. The more He has authority over our lives, the more His power will be released through our prayers.