Praying in Power – Week 1

Praying with Power & Authority – Week 1
 
Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at what it means to pray with power & authority.  Let’s begin by looking at who we are and what authority we have so that we can confidently pray.
 
As I have spent time praying for each of you participating in this study, I recognize that for some this will stretch you, offend you, and grow you.  But above all my prayer is that it will take you on a deeper journey of faith!
 
I don’t know about you, but for me – I want Holy Spirit to be so active in my life that the atmosphere shifts when I walk in the room.  When we know who we are in Christ and recognize the power & authority that dwells within us – that’s exactly what happens.
 
“I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance.  For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger.  And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.” Philippians 4:12-13 (The Passion Translation)
 
You might be wondering why we need to know our authority.  If we don’t know our authority, how can we go anywhere confidently.  There was a day that the team was asked to go pray in and over a families home.  The mom could sense a presence of evil in her home and she was watching as her son continued slipping further away.. As the team gathered to pray before going, someone made the comment “maybe we need someone else with more power/authority”.  I quickly said, “the same power that lives within them, lives within us.  We knew the authority that we had.  Now let’s fast forward, the son was not home when we were there; however, the mom allowed us to pray in each room – spending extra time in his room.  When the young man walked into his home – he immediately said, “mom, did you change something – it feels different”.  The Holy Spirit was moving and he could tell the atmosphere had shifted. Can you imagine how different that night would have been if we had not acted within the authority given to us by the Holy Spirit within us?  So many Christians believe that the Pastor is the only one that has been given any power.  Nothing is further from the truth.  Remember, Scripture says “Greater is He that is in us, than he who is in the world”.  That is not just for Pastors – but as believers we all have Holy Spirit within us.  We just have to learn how to trust & live our lives accordingly.
 
Before you continue, I would like to encourage you to think about any religious beliefs/doctrines that have kept you in bondage.  Those could be anything that holds you back from freely worshipping and living life full of the Spirit.  Before we go any further, take some time to shake of all that bondage – so that we can truly hear from God in the way He wants to speak.
 
Here are some Scriptures that can help you in living in that freedom He desires for you to live in:
Psalm 9:10
John 8:36
Galatians 5:1
1 Peter 2:16
Jeremiah 29:12
Philippians 4:6
Psalm 102:17
James 5:16
Matthew 26:41
Acts 2:21
 
Now that we’ve broken free – ask Jesus if there are any doors that are open in your life where that bondage can sneak back in.  
 
The next part of learning to pray in another dimension, we have to move from a head knowledge into a heart knowledge.  You can obtain knowledge without living out that knowledge.  For some, it’s difficult to understand the difference.  Is it possible for someone to be in the Word-praying-mediating and still not have a heart knowledge?  The answer is sadly yes.  We can know the truth but until we receive that truth, we are still operating in a head knowledge. 
 
I believe that one reason people struggle is out of fear.  When we make the decision to let Holy Spirit truly guide us – we give up our control.  Then we have to recognize that change is coming.  For some (or most) change is hard.  Even for those that love change, we have to learn that sometimes God says change something immediately -.
 
Read 2 Timothy 1:7 – most of us know that verse, but let’s take a moment to look at it in context.  2 Timothy 1:6-10.  This is such a great passage, not just to remind us that we should not fear, but it’s also a great example in context of who we are in Christ and the power that is within us.  How can we say we truly live by faith if we are constantly afraid or if we think we aren’t worthy or if we worry about everything?
 
Don’t misunderstand – I don’t want you to go play in the street….There is a fine line between confidence & arrogance and fear & cautious.  Can we be cautious (guarded) and still be confident?  Absolutely!  Can we be confident without being arrogant?  Absolutely!
 
Pride/arrogance and insecurity/fear are evil.  That might seem harsh – but we also know that things are either of God or they aren’t.  If they aren’t that means they are evil.  We as people just don’t like to think of it quite as stern.  But confidence is from God!  2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that.  We are to be bold and courageous, come to the Father confidently in prayer!
 
Often times the biggest thing that stops us is fear.  We blame pride a lot, but I am convinced that fear is a much bigger issue and because we don’t take the time to know who we are fighting.  We aren’t fighting the right battle.  Scripture says “do not fear” 376 times – that’s one for every day!  That absolutely does not mean that every time we are afraid or nervous that it’s from the enemy!!  We certainly want to give him any power that isn’t his.

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