13. Authority in Prayer
Chapter 13 Authority in Prayer And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22).
Sometimes we cannot think of a verse on which to base a particular prayer request. That is where all encompassing promises such as this one come in. Jesus passed on His authority in prayer by the promises that He spoke. (Matthew 18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind (forbid) on earth shall be bound (forbidden) in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose (permit) on earth shall be loosed (permitted) in heaven. Should we think it dangerous for God to give such authority unto men? Not at all. Most Christians have not put enough Word in their heart to believe these promises. “Faith cometh of hearing and hearing by the word.” A person has to have a renewed mind to believe this without being double-minded. If he has the renewed mind of Christ, he is totally dependable and subservient to Christ. Also, faith is a gift of God, and you will find that your faith will not go where God does not want you. (John 15:7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. When I was a baby Christian, I loved the Word and was convinced that it was all true. Before any religious folks got to me to tell me that I could not believe these things, I started exercising them. When these people did speak to me, it was too late; I had discovered the power. So we do not have to be in the Lord for years to exercise faith. We must be convinced that what we read once is the word of a totally faithful God. Stay away from those leaders who have been “in the Lord,” so called, for many years and still don’t believe these verses. Many of these, “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,” will stay double-minded all their powerless lives.
New Testament prayer should not be confused with Old Testament prayer. In the Old Testament, David prayed “evening, and morning, and at noon” and Daniel prayed “on his knees three times a day,” facing the temple in Jerusalem. We do not have to pray towards the temple; we are the temple. We carry the Lord with us in every place and situation, which is where prayer is needed. This is also why we are told to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We need to pray when we see the need and while the burden is upon us. Much of what is taught about prayer today is an Old Testament relationship with God. We should not wait legalistically until night or morning when we are tired and trying to remember what to pray for. This is not an “effectual fervent prayer” that “availeth much”(James 5:16). This does not mean that we cannot take time out every day to concentrate only on prayer. God’s plan for spiritual men who have the Holy Spirit is to be in constant communication with Him, otherwise, we treat Him as baggage, ignoring Him without ceasing. That is not why we became His temple. Prayer without ceasing necessitates us praying in our mind sometimes. He hears us just as well. (1 Chronicles 28:9) …The Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever. In heaven thoughts are audible to the mind. We now can practice fellowship with God and pray about everything without ceasing. As the song says, “How much needless grief we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Jesus gave us authority in three different kinds of prayer. We have examples in the Scriptures of the prayer of faith, the prayer of agreement, and the prayer of importunity. The prayer of faith is the most common prayer for the mature Christian who prays without ceasing. Believing that you received is the key to the prayer of faith. (Mark 11:24) Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive (Greek: “received”) them, and ye shall have them. If possible, be convinced of God’s Word and pray the prayer of faith, believing you have received, because one day there may not be time to “pray through.” (Hebrews 11:1) Now faith is assurance (or substance) of [things] hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. All prayer must be concluded with faith, because that is the substance from which the desired need is made. We give God the substance, and He gives us the answer. The reason Jesus said, “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive (Greek: “received”) them,” is because all of our provision was accomplished at the cross. Notice in the following verses that all things have been received and that the only thing left is for us to believe it. Also notice the past tense of our sacrificial provision in the following verses: (Ephesians 2:8)for by grace have ye been saved through faith; (1 Peter 2:24) who his own self bare our sins in his body… by whose stripes we were healed; (Colossians 1:13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; (2 Corinthians 5:18)… who reconciled us to himself; (Galatians 2:20) I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me; (Galatians 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse; (1 Peter 1:3) …the Father… begat us again… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ; (Hebrews 10:10) We… have been sanctified…; (Hebrews 10:14) He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified; (Ephesians 1:3)…who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and God (2 Peter 1:3) hath granted unto us all things…. Jesus told us in His day which, of course, is also in the past that “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31); “but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33); “It is finished” (John 19:30). This is why we are to believe we have received. The devil and the curse were conquered. We were saved, healed, delivered, and provided for.
Redemption from the curse is truly finished! In fact, God’s “works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3), when He spoke the plan into existence. The only thing left is for the true sons of God to enter into those works by faith, believing they have received. Since the works are finished, we should believe and rest from our own works to save, heal, and deliver ourselves. (Hebrews 4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest. That is a spiritual Sabbath rest. (Hebrews 4:9) There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest (Greek: sabbatismos, “keeping of rest”) for the people of God. This constant “keeping of rest” every day through the past tense promises is our New Testament spiritual Sabbath. (Hebrews 4:10) For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. This rest is to believe these past tense promises.
(Hebrews 4:1-2) Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. (2) For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. Our faith in each of these promises brings us into more of the rest. For example, if we believe that “by his stripes you were healed,” then we will not keep seeking a healing but will rest accepting that it was accomplished at the cross. This is true faith and always brings the answer. Through believing the promises, we enter into rest from our own works. For a child of God to say that they believe they have received and yet continue seeking to receive, usually through worldly methods, is to be double-minded. (James 1:6-8) But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed. (7) For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; (8) a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. Those who continue to work for what God has freely given believe in salvation by works. (Hebrews 4:10) For he that is entered into his rest, hath himself also rested from his works. (Hebrews 3:19) And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.
Since the promises of deliverance from the curse are past tense, when we believe them, we must stop working. It is an evil heart of unbelief to not rest. God was angry with Israel because they would not believe His Word in their trial in the wilderness (Hebrews 3:8-10). (Hebrews 3:11-12) As I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. (12) Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God…. (Hebrews 3:14) We are become partakers of Christ (His health, holiness, and blessing) if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end. When we believe we have received, we are put in a position of weakness because we cannot do anything to bring the desired result to pass. This weakness is our wilderness experience because there is no help from Egypt or the world. Only God’s power saves in the wilderness. God says, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our weapon against our enemies who try to talk us out of our covenant rights is the two-edged sword of these past tense promises (Hebrews 4:11-12).
Let me share with you a good example of the power of the true Gospel through our past provision. A few years ago, I ran across a lady who had two large, inoperable tumors. She listed for me several famous preachers she had been to, who had prayed for her to be healed. She said to me, “David, I just don’t understand why I have not been healed.” I said, “You just told me why you have not been healed. You are looking in the wrong direction. Turn around and look behind you for ‘by whose stripes yewere healed’ (1 Peter 2:24). You are looking forward to a healing that happened behind you. You have little hope, but no faith. Faith ‘calleth the things that are not, (in this case healing) as though they were’ (Romans 4:17). Faith looks back at what was accomplished at the cross, but hope looks forward to what will be accomplished. Jesus said, ‘All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for believe that ye receive (Greek: “received”) them, and ye shall have them’ (Mark 11:24). That is the Gospel, sister, that you must believe.” With these few words, I saw the light come on in her eyes, and her face brightened. I said, “Now we are going to pray one more time, but this time believe the Scriptures, and believe you have received whether you see an instant manifestation, or not.” She agreed, so I rebuked the infirmity and commanded her to be healed in the Name of Jesus. She instantly felt the tumors leave. We rejoiced and thanked God together. I said, “Sister, that is the first time you believed the true Gospel concerning your healing. If you would have done that when those other preachers prayed, you would have been healed.”
Jesus guaranteed the Father’s answer to the prayer of agreement. (Matthew 18:19) Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching (Greek: “around”) anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. The prayer of agreement is the most powerful prayer. (Deuteronomy 32:30) How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. Combining our faith multiplies its power. For example, calling for the elders of the Church to pray the prayer of faith and to anoint with oil for healing (James 5:14-15) should always be a prayer of agreement. The one prayed for should be in agreement with the elders’ faith that by the stripes of Jesus they were healed (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus gave us this example of seeking agreement when He tried to get words or actions of faith out of those that He then prayed for.
I often use the prayer of agreement to minister because it keeps faith in the mind of the person in need. There was a grieving man in a small congregation whose wife had left him and gone to live with another man. I called him to the front and asked him if he would agree with me according to Matthew 18:19 that his wife would be sitting right next to him the next time he assembled with the church. He was eager to do so, and we agreed. Sure enough, at the next assembly she was sitting next to him, and they were at peace. The man she was living with beat her up and threw her out with her belongings. God is bigger than our need and faithful to His Word!
(Matthew 18:20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Small groups of Christians will see consistent, powerful answers to prayer no matter what they pray for with this method. Years ago, when I worked for the Exxon Refinery, men from many Christian backgrounds came together at noon, from all over the plant, to pray and study the Word. We did not have much time to dwell on prayer if we were to get into the Word and come to some agreement and maturity of understanding. One of the first things I taught was the prayer of agreement. We would share our prayer request in the simplest, shortest form possible. Then we would all agree that these needs were met, sometimes commanding them done but always thanking God and going on to study the Word. We certainly were not heard for our “much speaking,” but we were heard. At first, most of these brethren had never seen God answer prayer and did not have faith to ask. They were encouraged as they saw the power of combined faith and soon were eager to pray. We saw blind eyes opened, tumors and cancers disappear, all kinds of sicknesses healed, demons cast out, funds supplied, equipment repaired, marriages restored, souls saved, souls filled with the Spirit, etc. Even the lost passed requests to us for prayer. One of the biggest miracles was that many who attended began to believe on Jesus “as the scripture hath said” and were no longer nominal Christians. Many repented of dishonest practices such as taking tools home, exaggerating overtime hours, or cheating on taxes. My boss called me in one day very happy with the change in some of his employees who attended these meetings and tried to give me credit. I witnessed to him of our sovereign God.
Through the prayer of agreement, God changes hearts in our behalf. (Proverbs 21:1) The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will. I cannot tell you how many times that we have asked God to change the minds of men in order to give favor to His people in need. A brother in our assembly, Tony Nassef, has an environmental engineering firm. The owner of a large mall hired Tony’s firm for a $1.9 million job. However, he was not satisfied with the time the job was taking, even though the tasks were being performed in record time. The owner, president, and vice-president had a conference call with Tony for an hour-and-a-half where they berated Tony, cursed, and threatened lawsuits if the work was not performed faster. During and after this conference, Tony prayed to God for favor and to help him control his anger with these men. Tony then contacted me, and we prayed the prayer of agreement that God would give Tony His favor and the favor of these men. We agreed that God would open these men’s eyes to appreciate the speed and professionalism that God had provided through Tony’s firm. Just 17 hours later, the vice-president called and said that the owner had asked him to contact Tony and apologize for him for what he had said and to ask if Tony would continue to work for them. He also related that the work performed was of a high caliber and that he had the utmost confidence in the work of Tony and his firm. He asked that Tony continue the work as he saw fit and not as he had directed. By God’s grace the work was completed in a quarter of the typical time and saved the owner an additional $1.5 million. This is one of many times that God has given favor through men in answer to the prayer of agreement for Tony. He is no respecter of persons; He will do it for you, too.
Once when the family needed a break, we headed out toward Pensacola Beach. On the way I got their attention and we prayed the prayer of agreement. I said, “Father, we don’t get to do this often, and we ask You to make the best of this day. We ask that You give us a nice sun-shiny day, but not too hot. We ask that You give us a place on the beach without a lot of naked people around (meaning people in colored underwear, normally called swimsuits). We thank You for this in Jesus’ name.” Driving down the beach road, you cannot see the beach except sporadically because of the dunes, but we saw cars everywhere on the side of the road, which did not bode well for seclusion. We picked a spot and crossed the dunes to the beach. Looking in either direction for several miles there was nothing but people. I thought, “Lord, this is not what we asked for.” After being there only a short time, we noticed a large black thunderstorm coming toward the beach from the direction of the mainland. For those who do not know, the beach is a very long island running parallel to the mainland but several miles from it. Again I thought, “Lord, this is not what we asked for.” Little did we know that there were tornados jumping around in that storm. The closer it got, the more people left the beach.
Mary was saying to me that we had better go, but I was seeking to hold fast to our prayer and felt reluctance to leave. The leading edge of the storm was about to reach us and Mary was again saying that we had better leave. I looked up and down the beach for several miles in either direction, and there was not a single soul to be seen but us. It was then that the Lord spoke in my spirit and said, “Why don’t you blow that storm back?” Being a little introverted, I did not want Mary and the children to see me blowing into the wind, so I walked down the beach a few yards and started blowing. The storm stopped very quickly and then started backing up. It backed up several miles and stayed there. I was awed at the Lord! Here we were having a beautiful sunshiny day, not too hot, and without any semi-naked people around just as we asked for the next two hours that we were there. On the way back, we came into the rain again in the middle of the first bridge so we knew that the people on Gulf Breeze and in Pensacola did not know the sun was shining on Pensacola Beach, which kept them away. God thinks of everything! As we returned to our house, we saw store awnings ripped off, trees down, and other obvious signs of a tornado. The children questioned what happened. I said that I must have blown too hard and they got a kick out of that. God was interested in blessing our day and giving us a testimony of His omnipotence to answer our prayers of faith and agreement.
Jesus gave us another guarantee for the prayer of importunity. (Luke 11:8-10) I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (persistence) he will arise and give him as many as he needeth. (9) And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (10) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Jesus was adamant that we would receive an answer for persistent asking, seeking, and knocking. However there is a difference between importunity and vain repetition. (Matthew 6:7) And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Vain repetitions are attempts at salvation by works and do not end up believing that God will answer. Importunity should be used when we lack the faith to pray the prayer of faith. Importunity is a way to receive faith. Faith is His gift to give, and without it we do not have access to grace. (Ephesians 2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God. The prayer of importunity cannot circumvent faith, for it must end up there. We must ultimately exercise faith to receive. (Hebrews 11:6) And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing [unto him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. Every true believer has been given “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3), but we must learn to exercise it.
I share with you this example to compare the prayers of faith, agreement, and importunity. In 1984, I had plowed up the ground around our home to plant grass. Since it had been rainy, we had placed planks on blocks to make a walk to the house. My second son Nathan, who was then about three, and I were on this walk. Nathan stumbled, falling into the mud, when I caught his arm. His full weight was being thrown against his forearm at a right angle. I felt his arm snap in my hand, and he cried out. I knew his arm was broken as I gathered him into my arms. He was crying and holding his arm. I commanded his arm to be healed as I carried him to the door. I thought to myself, “I won’t alarm Mary by telling her that he broke his arm.” I believe God put that thought in me at that moment. As I handed him to her, I said, “He hurt his arm falling from the walk.” She rocked him and prayed, as he cried. Soon he fell asleep, and she began to examine his arm. He cried out when she touched the break. She said to me “David, his arm is not hurt, it is broken!” I said, “Yes, I know, but God has always healed us before and He will heal us this time, too, won’t He?” She agreed. When Nathan fell asleep, we put him in bed with us. I had prayed the prayer of faith, believing I had received and soon fell asleep. Mary, not yet at peace, prayed the prayer of importunity until about four a.m. Nathan cried several times during the night. In the morning, we slipped quietly into the kitchen for coffee. Soon we heard Nathan so we took a peek. He saw us, grinned and scurried across the bed on all fours. I picked him up by his arms, tossing him in the air, as he laughed. He was totally healed! Praise God! Even though we had attacked the problem differently, we arrived at the same faith, essentially the prayer of agreement at four a.m. Friend, God will not fail you, but prayer must end at faith; the double-minded will not receive (James 1:6-8).