Praying With Authority

By Charles F. Stanley

Think about all the scriptural promises God has given about answered prayer. How many do we claim on a daily basis? Too often, we choose instead to complain about our needs and problems. We tiptoe around the throne room of God, afraid to ask what we really want.

God doesn’t want us going through life with attitudes of fear and doubt, wondering if He will do anything about our requests. He has given us a spirit of power, not one of timidity (2 Tim. 1:7). Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Because of our position in Christ, we can pray with authority, believing that the Father will answer our prayers. We will never accomplish what God wants us to do––such as live holy lives or take the gospel to the unsaved––until we learn to go to Him, claiming the power He has granted us.

However, this authority does not give us license to make demands of the Lord. We are to approach the throne of grace boldly, but with a deep sense of humility. A humble person knows that he or she cannot tell God what to do. In actuality, we are crying out in desperation for Him to intervene in our circumstances.

Praying with authority is essential if we are to participate with God in accomplishing His purposes here on earth. There are five prerequisites for going to God with a sense of authority:

1) Salvation. We must have a genuine personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Since our authority is based on our position in Christ, we must be in Him to receive it.

2) God’s thoughts (1 Cor. 2:11-12). The Bible shows us God’s thoughts expressed in human vocabulary. The more we saturate our minds with Scripture, the more His thoughts and attitudes will become ours. In the Word, we can find basic principles for handling any circumstance we face.

As a result, it becomes easier for us to know His will and have confidence that He is on our side. If we are praying in agreement with God about something, we also know it is just a matter of time until He answers.

It’s also a good idea to look for a prayer recorded in Scripture that goes along with your particular problem or need. Put it in your own words. Then see how God answered that prayer in the life of the one who prayed it. Remember that the same God who met the needs of those people is able to meet your needs too.

3) Pure hearts. This means we must confess and repent of any known sin. God will not trust His power to anyone who isn’t submitted to His purpose—sin will render our prayers ineffective.

Often, Satan will try to use sin against us when we pray. He wants us to feel guilty and unworthy. But it is the righteousness of Christ that allows us access to the Father. It is a righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:9). So once sin has been properly dealt with, we should forget it.

4) Pure motives. We must know in our hearts that we are praying according to God’s will, not according to our own selfish desires and justified by an inappropriate use of Scripture.

However, not every personal request is selfish. The key is to have committed our lives to God before we start praying. When the Father knows we want His purpose accomplished more than what we are requesting, He can trust us with His power.

5) Persistent confidence. Many times we pray fervently for a while, but then we lose interest and say, “Well, I guess it wasn’t God’s will.” If we really believe we are interceding in alignment with the Lord’s heart, then why should we give up before we see an answer? If we are to petition the Father with authority, we must lay aside excuses and continue until we see victory.

Praying with confidence is a matter of claiming that which has already been bought and paid for by Christ at Calvary. When we intercede with the authority God gave us, we will see our prayers become the powerful tools they were meant to be. Our lives and the lives of those around us will be changed. His authority has been promised. Now we must decide whether or not to pay the price necessary to make it a part of our lives.

Adapted from “Handle with Prayer” (1992).

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