According to the Bible, all authority is delegated from God. Christians are commissioned representatives of Jesus and are given authority to succeed in their tasks. Those in authority are accountable to God and can be rebuked if they stray from God's Word1. Luke 10:19 says that Jesus has given authority over all the power of the enemy4. Christians must take this authority and exercise it to claim victory4.
The devil is afraid of only one type of Christian, the one that knows his Authority and knows how to exercise it. Knowing our Identity in Chrsit is at the core of our Authority. As we know and walk in the revelation of who we are in Christ it will become clear who we belong to, what we have and what we can do as Kingdom people. Authority is basically knowing the will of God and exercising it over that God wants to do an earth.
The way we exercise our authority is through speaking or praying. So let us discover what the PRAYER OF AUTHORITY IS.
It is a commanding prayer- This is the most crucial and most spiritual prayer in the Bible. This kind of prayer is a sign of authority and a declaration of authority.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matt 18:18
The move in heaven is dependent on the move on earth. Heaven listens to the earth and obeys the command of the earth. Whatever the earth binds will be bound in heaven, and whatever the earth looses will be loosed in heaven. The earth does not pray; it binds and looses. This is to pray with authority.
Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. Is 45:11
15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea Ex 14:15-16
The rod which God gave Moses was a symbol of His authority. He was telling Moses that he could pray with authority; there was no need to cry out to Him. Once there was the commanding prayer, He would carry out the work. Moses was learning, and he eventually learned, to pray with authority, that is, to pray the commanding prayer.
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AT WHAT POINT DID THIS KIND OF COMMANDING PRAYER BEGIN FOR CHRISTIANS?
The death of Christ dealt with the old creation in Adam, while resurrection brought us into the new creation.
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality[a] and [b]power and [c]might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, Eph 1:20-22
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Eph 2:6
Death and resurrection are for redemption, while ascension is for warfare; it is to execute what death and resurrection have accomplished.
Ascension secured a new position for us before Satan; it is not a new position before God. A new position before God was secured through the Lord's resurrection, while a new position before Satan was secured through the Lord's ascension.
The Church along with Christ has transcended
1) Over all things,
2) Over all spiritual enemies, (Under the feet of the church)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Eph 6:12-13
Ordinary prayer is directed from earth to heaven. But the prayer here is not from earth to heaven; it begins from a heavenly position and goes from heaven to earth.
Pray Upward VS Pray Downward.
It is to stand in the position that Christ has given us in the heavenlies, to command Satan with authority and reject all his works, and to proclaim with authority that all God's commands should be accomplished.
The meaning of the word Amen is not "so be it" or "may it be so," but "it will be so" and "it will surely come to pass." Satan begins his work by trying to take away our position in the heavenlies. Victory is standing continuously in the heavenly position of victory.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:23-24
A mountain is a problem that stands in front of us. A mountain is something that blocks the way and stops us from going on.
Therefore, before we do anything, we have to be clear whether what we are about to do is according to God's will. If it is not God's will, we cannot have faith toward it. If we are not sure that something is God's will, we will not be sure that it can be accomplished.
God has commissioned us to be those who issue the command. We command what God has commanded, and we give orders to what God has given orders to.
Prayer with authority has much to do with the overcomers.
We must see that Christ's ascension has made Him far above all things, and we must see that all things are under His feet. For this reason, we can rule over all things with the authority of the throne. All of us have to learn to pray with authority.
RESOURCE LINKS AND DOWNLOADS
We've given the executing judgment on the nations, but we need to really grasp the Word and put our trust in it, in order to be effective.
Where do power and authority come from? In this sermon clip, Bill Johnson teaches from the Gospels and Jesus’ example of walking in power and authority. As believers, we are called and commissioned to walk in both power and authority
Part of Bill Johnson’s sermon Being Transfigured at Bethel church in Redding, California.
You Got Authority - In Christ You are MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU FEEL! All believers have authority!!!
When the devil looks at you, does he see a man or woman who is lukewarm or one who is truly burning with a love and passion for the things of God?