The BattleSample

Prayer Authority

By Amy Cook

The authority a soldier carries with him onto foreign battlefields is only as good as the power of the government he represents. A soldier immediately becomes vulnerable the moment a nation stops validating his position as a legal representative of the nation’s government. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18, KJV). And then He told them to go preach, baptize, heal and cast out demons in His name, using His authority (Mark 16:15–18). Jesus came to defeat the devil and to equip you to do the same. When you call upon the name of the Lord, the Holy Spirit releases His power within you. That’s why the Apostle Paul prayed that believers would be “strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16b, KJV). Paul concluded his prayer by saying, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20, KJV; emphasis added).

Hebrews 1:3 says that God sustains all things by the power of His Word, and Colossians 3:16 (KJV), tells you to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Meditating on larger doses of God’s Word is a great way to turn up the power that works in you, freeing God to do exceeding abundantly above all you can even ask. In John 14:12–14, Jesus told His followers He would do whatever they asked in His name. One chapter later in John 15:7 (NIV), Jesus further clarified His promise: “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Your covenant with Jesus backs up your authority in prayer, because He’s the Living Word and His name represents everything He is. However, the word “Jesus” isn’t a magic word in and of itself. There are countless numbers of people around the world who speak different languages and have different words for Jesus’ name. Your covenant right to use the name of Jesus comes from your relationship with Him and your understanding of the promises His name represents.

Back in Paul’s day, there were some Jews not in relationship with Jesus who tried to imitate Paul’s power and authority by trying to cast demons out using the name of Jesus. Acts  19:15 (NLT) says that when they attempted this, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit attacked them until they ran away naked and bleeding. When word of the incident got out, the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor (Acts 19:13–17). Authority in prayer isn’t based on what you know, but who you know. As a soldier of God, you know Jesus—the One who has all the power over the enemy and who makes the impossible possible—and He’s given you full authority to use His name.

Memory Verse

And take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit … for all the saints. Ephesians 6:17–18 (KJV)