“Many in the church today are being held captive spiritually, not because of the enemy’s power, but because we do not clearly understand our authority and calling in Christ... As we begin to understand the hope of His calling, we will begin to walk in an abundant life of freedom and power.” Angie Weaver
Dear intercessors,
Most Christians do not exercise the tremendous authority they have in Christ. God has called us to make a difference in our nation. He can enforce His will, but He limits His dealings on earth by working through His people. He does not want us to passively stand by and watch the earth fall into decay (Psalm 8:4-6, 115:16). But if we were to evaluate the situation, isn’t this what many Christians are doing? How many of us exercise our authority? This needs to change in the coming days.
God has given us authority on earth to rule. It may not feel like it, but it’s true. He does nothing on earth unless he does it through a person. He always intended to rule the earth but through His delegated authority in mankind (Genesis 1:26). We were to carry out the government of the earth, but Adam and Eve gave it away through disobedience. You know the story. Adam transferred authority over the earth to Satan (Luke 4:4, 2 Corinthians 4:4). All of mankind was then under his dominion. God did not give Satan authority over the earth, Adam did.
We needed someone to stand between us, and Satan, in order to break that dominion. Jesus was the only one who could. He came as a man completely fulfilling God’s will and became our intercessor - the one who could join us to God again and break Satan’s headship over us (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus purchased us with his blood (Revelation 5:9, 1 Timothy 2:5) and not only restored us to God, He became the way that God could again have dominion over the earth (1 Corinthians 15, Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus could now rule in the affairs of earth.
He has given us authority to rule - and through prayer - we exercise this authority in Christ.
We are called to pray and seek justice on the earth on behalf of others. Not only can we break the personal strongholds in our lives through prayer, but we can impact our cities and nations. The world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Look around and you see this everywhere; drugs, pornography, murder, evil and so on. But we can make a difference. Jesus has authority in heaven and on earth, but since He is no longer on the earth, He rules through his Church. He changes things on earth through us! We must learn to exercise our authority right in the middle of Satan's territory. As we use our authority, we can actually subdue powers and principalities (Ephesians 3:10). Wow!
But how can we walk in authority in the midst of personal, and sometimes unrelenting, spiritual warfare? What are some ways we can stand strong?
Ways to Stand Strong in Steadfast Authority
"Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1).
When we got new inter-net access a few years ago, a man came and installed it outside our house. While we were at church one Sunday, someone cut the wires. We were unable to communicate with anyone! We knew that it was an unreasonable next-door neighbor because he had done bad things to us in the past. In this and other difficulties, we’ve learned to walk in God’s peace and take our authority in prayer by practicing these points. Perhaps you can identify with some form of spiritual warfare where you live or work. Practice taking your authority in prayer, look to Jesus, and realize that God has called you to live in steadfast authority on earth for such a time as this.
It’s time for the Church of Jesus Christ to arise and aggressively take back land stolen by the enemy. Are you and I going to let the devil control our cities when Jesus died for the entire world? The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalm 24:1). Let’s not forget that. This will be our finest hour if we learn to wield the weapons of warfare and stand in our God-given authority. It’s time to arise and realize the victory we have in Christ. It’s time to arise in steadfast authority in prayer.
A Prayer for Steadfast Authority
“Dear Lord, I thank You for giving Your people authority to rule on earth. Help me to understand the hope of my calling. Teach me to exercise this authority in my life, my city, and my nation. Thank You for becoming my intercessor and breaking Satan’s headship over my life (Isaiah 53:12). Help me to pray and seek justice on the earth on behalf of others. I thank You for giving your people authority to actually subdue powers and principalities (Ephesians 3:10). I choose to reign with You and walk in Your authority. I am called to declare Your authority and rule the earth with You (Revelation 1:6). Through steadfast authority in prayer, I can enforce Your victory on earth (Romans 16:20, Colossians 2:13-15) and fight for the nations (Psalm 2:7). ‘Praise be to the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle’ (Psalm 144:1). In Jesus’ name, amen.”
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org