Have you ever wondered why Christians end their prayers with, “in Jesus Name?” As a pastor, I am constantly counseling people. More often than not I find that most people do not understand the authority they have in Christ. When I think about a believer’s authority, I picture a police officer standing in the middle of a major intersection and halting traffic. How is it that a uniformed officer can simply extend his hand and cars obey his command? Does that officer have the physical strength to stop cars? No! The reason traffic will come to a halt is because of the power and authority in his badge. He has been given authority by the city government to stop traffic.
In a similar way, we are no match for Satan and his kingdom of darkness. What spiritual strength do we have to rebuke and cast out demons and to push back the gates of hell? Just as an officer does not have the physical strength to stop traffic, you nor I do not have the spiritual strength to oppose Satan. However, just as an officer has been given power and authority, so you and I have been given the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Simply put, we pray in Jesus Name because we pray in His authority. If you handed me a blank check and told me to fill it out for any amount I desire, what good would the check be if it did not have your signature? I could not sign my name to your check because I have not been granted the authority to do so. Can you see what a difference this understanding can make in your prayer life? I am not approaching God on my own, but rather I come in the Name of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been given all power and all authority (Matthew 28:18).
Just as a city delegates its authority to its police officers, so Christ has delegated power and authority to His believers. This is what he meant in Matthew 18:18, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Is Satan having a field day in your life and family? Does it seem he is doing whatever he desires to hinder and oppose you? Begin to realize the power you have as a child of God (John 1:12) and begin to walk in that authority.
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