Know Your Authority in Prayer

The enemy’s greatest strategy against prayer is doubt. In this episode, Stormie shares why every believer must understand the authority we have in prayer through Jesus Christ. When we know who we are in the Lord, we can silence the enemy’s lies that tell us our prayers don’t matter or that we’re not worthy to pray. Stormie explains how Jesus’ victory on the cross established our authority, and why praying in His name gives us access to God’s power. Discover how understanding your identity as God’s child transforms prayer from something uncertain into something powerful and effective.

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Stormy O'Mardian Podcast, where we explore the power of prayer to change lives, strengthen faith, and deepen relationships. In this episode, Stormy explains why understanding your authority in prayer is essential for every prayer warrior. Learn how your relationship with Jesus gives you the confidence to pray boldly and overcome the doubts the enemy tries to plant in your mind.

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Hi, I'm Stormy O'Mardian, and I'm talking to you today from my book, Prayer Warrior. This is episode four. One of the most important things you must be sure of as a prayer warrior is your authority in prayer. And if you are not absolutely 100% certain about it, the enemy will attempt to bombard you with doubt. Some of his favorite whispered words to your mind will be, you can't pray. God doesn't hear your prayers. What makes you think God will listen to you? You have no authority because you're not good enough. Your prayers won't get past the ceiling. God doesn't answer your prayers. These kinds of taunts are an attack strategy from the enemy, but they can be shut down in an instant when you know without any hesitation who you are in the Lord and where your authority in prayer comes from. We all need to know this. Otherwise, we will continually sit in judgment on ourselves and our prayers and eventually become defeated and give up praying at all. There is no need for that. It doesn't have to happen ever. That's because the basis for your authority as a prayer warrior never changes. You qualify as a prayer warrior because of what is in your heart. The foundation for your authority in prayer is that you have received Jesus and have his spirit in your heart. The Bible says Jesus is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. 2 Corinthians 13, 3. Don't you love that? It says of Jesus that though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we are also weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God. That's 2 Corinthians 13, 4. Isn't that the best? Even though we're weak, his spirit in us makes us strong. That takes the pressure off because it's not about us. It's about him. It's never about us. Everything we have, including our ability to pray in power, comes from God. We just have to pray as he leads us and he does it all. God always recognizes our authority in prayer because we are one of his kids. We have his DNA. We are members of his family. And as a result, we have certain rights and privileges. When my children were young and their father and I were in the studio recording, in other words, occupied with the family business, they knew they could call us anytime and we would always take their call immediately and without hesitation. We wouldn't take the calls of others because they weren't our kids. You are one of God's kids, and He will always take your calls because of that. The grounds for your authority in prayer as a prayer warrior are that Jesus triumphed over sin, death, hell, and all evil power when he suffered and died on the cross and rose again from the dead. Because of that, Jesus is above all principality, power, might, and dominion, which refers to the rulers and authorities in the invisible realm. That's Ephesians 1, 21. There is a hierarchy of evil powers that are not visible to us, and they advance their dark plans and strategies through these forces. But Jesus, whose power is far above that of the evil forces of darkness, said to his believers he sent out that he gave them authority over all the power of the enemy. That's Luke 10, 19. Remember that one. That power is demonstrated when we enter into spiritual warfare, and that happens when we pray. Remember that Jesus shed blood and resurrection are the grounds for your authority over all evil power when you pray. You have no need of any other. The fact that you have received Jesus means that everything he accomplished on the cross applies to you. You have been reconciled to God once and for all and sealed by the Holy Spirit in you. It is finished. To run in fear of the enemy is to discount what Jesus has done. I'm not saying to hang out with evil people. Far from it. Avoid them for sure. But you can pray for them to be brought to their knees before God and their evil influences to be evaporated like fog in the light of the shining sun. Every time you pray, you shine the light of the world on evil, and evil cannot exist in the light of the Son of God. Jesus is the source of all your authority and power. When you receive Him, He shares both of those with you. That means you have authority and power in prayer based on what He accomplished. And don't let anyone water this down in your mind and heart. This is the basic foundation of all Christianity. And if you allow for anything other than this, you will build on a weak foundation, and what you build is destined to crumble. You must build on the solid foundation that is in Christ. It is extremely important that you are always aware of where your authority in prayer comes from. But not only aware of it, you must be absolutely convinced of it without a doubt. Because if you don't know for certain where your authority lies, you will either be deceived into thinking that you are praying under your own power, or you will become afraid that you don't have what it takes to be a prayer warrior at all. The freedom and security of being a prayer warrior is knowing that only Jesus has what it takes. There must be no doubt about that. Having the proper authority is extremely important. Even Jesus did not speak on his own authority before he was crucified and resurrected from the dead. He said, I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me gave me a command, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told me, so I speak. John 12, 49 and 50. We don't pray on our own authority either, but on the authority given to us by the Lord. Now this is something you must be sure of at all times, because that certainty of your authority in the spirit realm means you are instantly ready as a prayer warrior whenever the Holy Spirit prompts your heart. Keep your mind focused on the Lord and not the enemy. Jesus said, Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10, 20. This is extremely important. Your name written in heaven is a record of your authority in prayer. Take possession of what Jesus has taken possession of for you. Paul said, I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Philippians 3.12. Laying hold of all that Jesus did helps you understand your authority in prayer. You can't win the battles you face if you're not convinced you have authority as a prayer warrior. And I assure you, those battles will come whether you are a prayer warrior or not. But if you are a prayer warrior, you can be confident that your authority is established because of what Jesus has accomplished. The name of Jesus alone gives you authority you cannot possibly have without legitimate identification with Him. Not just anyone can use the name of Jesus and be heard by Him. Jesus has only given those of us who have established a relationship with Him the authority and power to use His name. Jesus said, if you ask anything in my name, I will do it. That's from John 14, 14. He has given you the right to use his name as authorization to take your prayers before God's throne. He said, Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Ask, you shall receive, that your joy may be full. That's John 16, 23 and 24. That is an amazing promise, and its full significance must be anchored in our minds and hearts. Jesus' name is greater than all other names. God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That's Philippians 2, 9 through 11. You must have this truth etched in your heart and mind so it cannot be stolen away. Don't minimize what Jesus did for you by questioning the authority He has given you to pray in His name. Also, you have authority because Jesus already rescued you from the tyranny of evil. God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. That's from Colossians 1, 13 and 14. Now the word conveyed in terms of war has to do with an army that has been captured and sent to another place, often from one country to another. Jesus captured us from the kingdom of darkness and conveyed us to his kingdom of light. We have been transferred out of enemy territory and into God's kingdom. This adds to the authority we have been given to stand in prayer against evil powers of darkness that want to wage war against the kingdom of God and his people and bring us back into darkness. You have been given a place of rulership over evil because you have received Christ Jesus the Lord. So walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith. That's from Colossians 2, 6 and 7. The Bible says we are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2.10. That means you have everything you need in Him, because Jesus has overcome the world, you can too. He said, In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. John 16.33. You have authority because you are called. When a soldier is called up for duty, he is given a specific assignment. He has authority to do what is necessary in order to carry out that assignment. When you are called to pray, you have full authority to carry out that assignment from God. The problem is that many are called, but not many are listening. You are listening. You must get over any doubts you have about yourself as a prayer warrior. You have the heart. You have the God-given authority. You have the desire to please God. And you have something else as well. You have the call of God on your life. You are called to many things, and being a prayer warrior is one of them. Being a prayer warrior is about intercession. Now don't let that word become as dry to you as it sounds. It may seem like a boring word, but it is about something very exciting. I have a good analogy that I wrote about in another book on the subject of praying with other people, but it so clearly illustrates what intercession is that it's worth repeating briefly here. In the game of football, the quarterback throws the ball to the wide receiver down the field who is in a position to catch it and run toward his team's goal line for a touchdown. And it looks as if nothing can stop him. That is, until someone from the opposing team leaps in front of the wide receiver and catches the ball instead. He intercepts the ball and runs it in the opposite direction to his team's goal line and makes the touchdown score for his team's side. Well, that is exactly what intercessory prayer does. And that's what you're doing as a prayer warrior. You see a situation that's headed in the wrong direction, and you leap in and intercept that situation in prayer and take it the opposite direction for a victory on God's side. There are many things God wants to do on earth and in people's lives. But if someone doesn't leap in and answer the call to prayer, it won't happen. The enemy wants to break down the protective walls in every part of our lives and in the lives of others, but we can restore any breach the enemy has caused when we intercept that situation in prayer. Every prayer warrior is an intercessor. And we who have received Jesus are considered the called. We are not called because we are great. We are called because He is great. God has not called worldly wise and powerful people, it says in 1 Corinthians 1.26. God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. That's 1 Corinthians 1.27. God has chosen the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are. 1 Corinthians 1.28. Do you see what that means? It means we can tell him all the reasons we aren't enough. And he says, That's exactly why I chose you. In other words, we can't take credit for something God does. So if you feel weak and you see all the reasons you don't think you can be a powerful prayer warrior, then be glad. Because you will have to depend on the power of God working through you. And that is exactly where God wants you. Unable to be prideful or think you've done it. Rather, he wants us all fully convinced that we can do nothing without him. That's because he can do far more through us than we can ever do without him. Why does God want all the glory? It's not that he is an egomaniac. It's because he is God and we're not. And he wants us to be absolutely clear about that fact. We've seen from previous examples how pride will cause us to stumble and makes us fall farther than anything else can. When you understand your authority in prayer, you will go from simply having a prayer life to enjoying a dynamic and exciting life of prayer. And that's always a good thing. God knows our efforts in prayer. He says in the book of Revelation that in heaven are golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Says that in Revelation 5.8. Can it be that when we pray, our prayers don't just evaporate into thin air, they last? That means when we pray, our prayers don't just have a shelf life of a few seconds. They live on. They exist before God and continue to accomplish His will. How great is that? What we do as prayer warriors lasts even beyond our own lifetime. Know that we are not in danger by engaging in the spiritual war. We are in danger by not engaging in the war. Would you pray about this with me? Oh Lord, thank you, Jesus, that because I have received you, I am now an heir with you of all that our Heavenly Father has for his children. Thank you for giving me authority in prayer in your name and to know that you hear and will answer my prayers according to your will and your time. Lord, help me to be the most effective prayer warrior possible. Teach me to understand the authority you have given me in prayer. Enable me to use that authority to break down strongholds the enemy would attempt to erect in my life and in the lives of others whom you put on my heart. Keep me from doubt that I am qualified to do this because you supply me with everything I need in order to pray in power. I have authority because I have you. Teach me to rest fully on the authority you've given me as your prayer warrior. Help me to stand strong in the simplicity that is in Christ. Teach me to identify true spiritual power and not feigned spirituality. Help me not to succumb to spiritual or theological quarreling with people because your word says it is never productive. Enable me to always hear your call to pray. Give me your heart for people and the struggles therein. Help me to pray right on target every time. I engage in the spiritual war because I am engaged completely with you and I want to serve you well. In Jesus' name I pray. You know it's not good enough to think about prayer or talk about prayer or read about prayer. You actually have to pray. Soldiers can prepare for the battle, learn about the battle, train for the battle, and have the best equipment in the world, but if they never go to battle against the enemy, the enemy wins. Each one of us has to get the vision about being a prayer warrior. We are a large and mighty group, but not near as large and mighty as God wants us to be. God calls us all to pray. Jesus taught us about prayer. He told us what to do when we pray and how to pray. We can memorize everything the Bible says about prayer, but if we are not praying, God's will is not being done, and the enemy is advancing instead of the kingdom of God. We can't let that happen. Remember, as heirs of Jesus, you have the power.

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Thank you for joining us on this series about becoming a prayer warrior. Over the past four episodes, Stormy has reminded us that we are in a spiritual war, and that we must choose to stand on God's side, put on the armor he provides, and walk confidently in the authority we have through Jesus. Prayer is how we stand strong, resist the enemy, and partner with God in what he wants to do in the world. If you'd like to go deeper in building a powerful and consistent prayer life, consider picking up a copy of Prayer Warrior, available wherever books are sold.