PRAYER AND

AUTHORITY

CHANGING GODS MIND

Unanswered prayer is a huge source of

frustration for many believers.

Part of the problem is misunderstanding

about the way that prayer works.

Misguided prayer is a major cause of

distress.
One of the most serious problems is

that Christians often pray as if they

were trying to change God's mind.

CHANGING GODS MIND

Our prayer style implies that God is

stingy and tightfisted

Under this approach, God is all

powerful. He can do anything, so if

prayer is not answered, it must be
because he is reluctant to answer it.
The purpose of the prayer is to

change his mind and get some action

CHANGING GODS MIND

This is a dangerous principle,

because changing God's mind is

just about impossible.
God is not a man, that he should

lie,
nor a son of man, that he should
change his mind (Num 23:19).

CHANGING GODS MIND

He who is the Glory of Israel does

not lie or change his mind; for he

is not a man, that he should
change his mind (1 Sam 15:29).
Humans change their minds all

the time, but God is different. He

does not need to change his
mind.

CHANGING GODS MIND

Praying to change God's mind is

generally a waste of time.

This does not mean that prayer is

a waste of time, because prayer

is about assigning authority,
not about persuading God to
act.

CHANGING GODS MIND

To understand the purpose of

prayer, we must understand the

way that authority works in this
world, and to understand that we
must go right back to the
beginning.

AUTHORITY ON EARTH
Then God said, "Let Us make man

in Our image, according to Our

likeness; let them have
dominion." (Gen 1:26).
God gave mankind authority over

every living thing upon the earth.

This was an amazing gift.
The earth became our domain

and sphere of control.

AUTHORITY ON EARTH
Psalm 115:16: The highest

heavens belong to the LORD,but

the earth he has given to man.
God has full control over the

heavens. The angels do his

bidding without resistance. He has
given authority over the earth to
us.

AUTHORITY ON EARTH
Adam and Eve soon surrendered

their authority to evil, by

disobeying God and eating from
the tree of knowledge of good and
evil.
To understand the seriousness of

this action, we need to

understand an important
principle.

AUTHORITY ON EARTH
When we agree with someone,

we give them influence in our

lives.
When we submit to another

person,
we give them authority over our
life.
By agreeing with Satan's lies about the

tree, Adam and Eve gave him influence

in over them (Gen 3:6). When Adam

AUTHORITY ON EARTH
God had the power to put things

right, but he did not have authority

to act, because he had given
authority on earth to humans.
God is trustworthy and faithful, so

he does not change his mind or go

back on his decisions.
God could not just take it back and

intervene on earth.

JESUS THE ONLY SOLUTION

Only a human has authority to sort

out the problems on earth.

So God sent his son Jesus to earth

as a man.
Because he was truly man, he was

able to take back the authority that

God had given to Adam and Eve
that they had given to Satan. His
ministry and death destroyed the

JESUS THE ONLY SOLUTION

All authority in heaven and on earth has

been given to me (Matt 28:18).

Jesus always had authority in heaven.
He now had authority on earth by

recovering the authority that God had

given to mankind and evil had stolen.
Jesus did not give this authority back to

God. He gave it to those who would

choose to follow him (Dan 7:27).

WHY PRAYER IS IMPORTANT

God will not act on earth

unless a human gives him

permission to act.
Jesus has defeated the enemy and

given God's people authority on

earth.
When we pray we are not asking him

to change his mind, we are giving

him the authority that he needs to

WHY PRAYER IS IMPORTANT

Prayer is finding out God's will

and giving him authority to do

it.
To give God permission to act, we

need to know what he wants to do.

The first part of prayer is listening to
his voice and finding out his will.
Once we know what he wants to do,

we can give him permission to do it.

WHY PRAYER IS IMPORTANT

Prayer gives the Holy Spirit

permission to do God's will.

He cannot act without getting

permission from a human with

authority on earth.
When we pray for something, we

give him the authorization that he

needs to act on earth to accomplish
God's purpose.

PARTNERSHIP
Prayer is a partnership. The Father

has many things that he wants the

Holy Spirit to do on earth.
The Holy Spirit has immense power,

but no authority.
We have authority on the earth, but

no power.

PARTNERSHIP
Without him we can do nothing.
Without our permission to act, he is

constrained.
By joining together his power with

our authority, he can do great works

on earth for the Father.

PARTNERSHIP
The birth of Samuel is a marvellous

example (1 Samuel 1:1-20).

Hannah, a faithful women of God

had cried out to God for a son for

many years, but without success.
The problem was that she did not

understand what God was doing

PARTNERSHIP
This was a critical time in Israel,

because the people would soon want

a King, so God needed a prophet to
speak to the nation.
After some years, Hannah changed

her prayers and cried out for a son

who would be a man of God. This
was what God wanted, so her
prayers were answered immediately

PARTNERSHIP
Hannah's prayer was quite vague.
This is a reminder that we do not

have to be totally precise when we

pray. God will use whatever
permission, he can get.
This pattern is repeated throughout

the scriptures. Before God acts in a

powerful way, faithful people will be
praying and giving him permission to

PARTNERSHIP
This even applies to the birth of the

Messiah. Jesus was able to born as a

baby, because people like Simeon
and Anna had been praying for God
to send his Messiah (Luke2:25-38).

PROPHETIC PEOPLE
Prophetic peoplehave an important

role in supporting effective prayer.

Surely the Sovereign LORD does

nothing
without revealing his plan to his
servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7).

PROPHETIC PEOPLE
God does not speak to prophets to

make them feel good.

He reveals his plans to get faithful

people praying for his plans.

This gives him authority to

implement his plans on earth. Like

Anna, Simeon was a prophet.

PROPHETIC PEOPLE
Prayer is finding out God's will and

giving him permission to act on the

earth where we have authority.
Understanding this will strengthen

our faith.
If we know we are praying for

something that God wants to do, we

can be confident that he will do it.
This confidence should inspire us to

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

I will give you the keys of the

kingdom of heaven; whatever you

bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt
16:19).
Jesus was not giving Peter authority

over the church, but was explaining

the way that prayer and authority

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

I tell you the truth, whatever you

bind on earth will be bound in

heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven.
Again, I tell you that if two of you on

earth
agree about anything you ask for,
it will be done for you by my Father

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Two or three people on earth

agreeing on something gives the

Father in heaven authority to do it.
This is the key to the kingdom by

PRAYING CORRECTLY we can release

the powers of heaven to work on
earth.
For where two or three come

together in my name, there am I

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

When you pray, do not keep on

babbling like pagans, for they think

they will be heard because of their
many words. Do not be like them, for
your Father knows what you need
before you ask him (Matt 6:7-8).
Babbling on in prayer is a waste of

time, because God already knows

what we need. We do not have to

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

God's kingdom, Come!!

God' will, Let it be done on

earth!!
They are a declaration calling the

Kingdom of God into existence.

This is how we should pray. By

declaring God's plans, we give the

Holy Sprit permission to bring them
into being.

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

Authority is Essential
Authority is more important than

numbers for effective prayer.

We can only give God permission

to act on earth in situations

where we have authority

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

Every Christian has different levels of

authority in various spheres of

activity. This affects their authority in
prayer.
Christian parents have authority in

their family.
Employers have authority over in

their business,

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

A king has authority in his a

kingdom, so he can give God

permission to work in his kingdom.
When people ask us to pray for

them, they are giving us authority in

their lives. This gives us authority to
speak to God on their behalf.
Hannah had submitted to Eli

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

Two or three people with earthly

authority over a situation will be

more effective than hundreds who
have no authority.
This is a reason why Christians should

take up positions of authority that are

offered to them.

DECLARATION BEATS BABBLE

Being given authority in the world,

gives a Christian wider and broader

authority in prayer.
Christians should be careful about

submitting to political authorities,

We become vulnerable to the

principalities that control them.

ANGELS
Our prayers also release the angels

to do God's work.
Angels are spiritual beings who can

pass between heaven and earth.

They receive their instructions from

heaven and carry them out on earth.

ANGELS
Once they come to the earth they

can lose their connection with other

angels and become uncertain about
what to do.
In this situation, they listen to the

prayers of the saints to find out God's

will. When they hear Christians
praying God's will, they are able to
implement it.

ANGELS
We should not pray to angels. We do

not need to address them directly,

because they are listening to our
prayers and rush to do God's will
when we pray it.

DEALING WITH EVIL

Human sin gave the devil authority

on earth.
It also seemed to give him some

authority in heaven. He was able to

go into the presence of God and
make accusations against people who
sinned.
One day the angels came to present

themselves before the LORD, and

DEALING WITH EVIL

Satan did not have authority to

attack Job because he had not

sinned, but if anyone had sinned,
Satan could accuse them and
demand the right to do them harm
(his name means accuser).
Jesus death on the cross eliminated

the accuser's authority.

DEALING WITH EVIL

And there was war in heaven. Michael

and his angels fought against the

dragon, and the dragon and his
angels fought back. But he was not
strong enough, and they lost their
place in heaven. The great dragon
was hurled down-that ancient serpent
called the devil, or Satan, who leads
the whole world astray. He was
hurled to the earth, and his angels

DEALING WITH EVIL

This is not a future event. These

things happened when Jesus

ascended into heaven (Rev 12:5).
The cross destroyed Satan's power

and Jesus ascension into heaven

confirmed that victory.
He can never go into the presence of

God and accuse people again.

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY
1. When people with authority on earth
fall into sin, they surrender their
authority to him.
The more authority the person has,

the more harm they do.

Kings and politicians are releasing

authority to evil all over the earth.

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY
2. If Satan can deceive Christians into
believing that he has not been
defeated, he gains huge authority in
their lives and spheres of influence.
This has been a very successful

tactic, as many Christians believe

that the devil still rules on earth. This
terrible lie has paralysed the church.

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY
3. Satan will often just squat in a place
where he has no legitimate authority,
and wait until someone with legitimate
authority in that sphere forces him out.
This has been a very successful tactic

too.

SOLUTIONS
The solution is to pray for them to

come to faith in Christ.

When they believe in Jesus, they will

have authority to release God's

power in their sphere of influence and
Satan will have lost his ground.

SOLUTIONS
Until that happens, a lot of praying

for cities and nations will fail,

because the people with the real
authority in these places invite the
forces of evil back in by default,
quicker than we can boot them out.

SOLUTIONS
The solution to second problem is for

Christians to have their eyes opened.

When the church understands that

the devil has been truly defeated, his

ability to operate on earth will
collapse. Great things will happen.

SOLUTIONS
Prayer is the solution to the third

problem. Since the cross, Satan has

been a trespasser with no legitimate
authority on earth.
Prayer is standing together with other

believers to force him to flee from

places of authority where he is
squatting as a trespasser.

RESISTING EVIL
Submit yourselves, then, to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from

you (James 4:7).
Your enemy the devil prowls around

like a roaring lion looking for

someone to devour. Resist him,
standing firm in the faith (1 Pet 5:89).

RESISTING EVIL
The Greek word for resist is the word

"stand" with a prefix meaning

"against" attached.
When we resist the enemy in prayer,

we are standing on ground that

legally belongs to us and forcing him
to leave it.
When we resist evil, the Holy Spirit

comes in beside us like a sheriff, and

RESISTING EVIL
Our resistance give the Spirit

authority to apply his power against

the powers that oppose us.
The forces of evil have no authority

on earth, but they will refuse to give

up their ground as long as they can
get away with it.
The role of the church is to enforce

the victory of Jesus against the

RESISTING EVIL
His intent was that now, through the

church, the manifold wisdom of God

should be made known to the rulers
and authorities in the heavenly
realms, according to his eternal
purpose which he accomplished in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (Eph 3:10).
This promise is for "now". A key task

of the church is to put the victory of

RESIST WITH WORDS

We resist the enemy by speaking

words of truth. Jesus demonstrated

the correct method when he was
being tempted by Satan.
He has to persuade us to submit to

him. He plants false ideas in our

minds, and if he can get us to agree
with his thoughts, he has power in
our life to do what he proposed. The

RESIST WITH WORDS

Jesus did not address Satan or bind

him. He just declared the truth. We

may sometimes need to command a
spirit to leave a person who needs to
be set free, but mostly we just need
to declare the truth and of evil has to
flee.

PERSISTENCE
Listen to what the unjust judge says. And

will not God bring about justice for his

chosen ones, who cry out to him day and
night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell
you, he will see that they get justice, and
quickly (Luke 18:6-9).
God is quick to bring justice. The unjust

judge is slow. Jesus promised that God will

bring just to his people quickly. He is the
very opposite of the unjust judge, so he
does not need to be nagged.

PERSISTENCE
Persistence is the key to

successful resistance
Persistence will never persuade God

to change his mind, but it will wear

the enemy down and force him to
surrender.
When we reject the enemy's first

attack, he will come back with

another. If his first suggestion does

PERSISTENCE
We do not need persist to change

God's mind, but we will have to

persist in the truth to wear down the
enemy.
Authority is essential for resisting evil

PERSISTENCE
We can only resist the forces of

evil effectively in situations

where we have authority
We should choose our targets

carefully. We can only resist evil

powers effectively in places where we
have legitimate authority.
Praying against big spirits in places

where we do not have authority can

SUBMISSION IS ESSENTIAL
When we submit to our elders, we

give them authority in our lives. This

enables them to pray to God on our
behalf and release the Holy Spirit to
work in our lives. It also allows them
to resist evil on our behalf.
The more I submit to Christian friends

or elders, the greater spiritual

authority they will have to resist any

SUBMISSION IS ESSENTIAL
Modern Christians want to be independent,

so they are ambivalent about the concept

of submission. This leaves them vulnerable
in spiritual warfare, because no one has
authority to stand with them to resist the
attacks of the enemy.
If people with authority speak negative

words, about a person who has submitted

to, they give evil powers permission to
attack the person.