One of the most important things that the Lord ever revealed to me is about the authority that we have as believers. As I hold meetings, I will have people come up and I pray with them, I will pray with 100 people during one of my conferences. I bet you in 90% in the instances, the number one thing they need to know is the authority that they have.
People basically approach the Lord as if they are nothing, as if they have nothing. As a matter of fact, I have heard people say this before, “Father, we can do nothing, God, we are nothing. But, we know you can do all things. We ask you to stretch forth your mighty hand and to heal.” That is the way most people pray. That is not what the Word of God teaches.
For instance, in the third chapter of Acts, you can find where Peter and John were going into the temple at the hour of prayer. They saw a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb. He expected to receive something of them. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none. But such as I have, give I unto thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” They reached down and grabbed the man by the hand and lifted Him up. Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. He went walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Did you know Peter never prayed a prayer? He didn’t tell God, “I am nothing, but I know you can heal this man, would you heal him?” No, he said, “Such as I have.” I know some people think, “Well, you don’t have any healing power. It is not you – it is God.” Well, obviously. I can’t heal a gnat. But, it is God’s power in me. I have it and unless I take my authority and speak, it is not going to get done. This is the exact same thing Jesus was saying in Mark 11:23, when He says, “Whosoever will say unto this mountain, ‘Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith will come to pass – he will have whatsoever he saith.’”
The Lord there didn’t say, “Talk to God and ask God to cast the mountain into the sea.” He told you to speak to the mountain and cast the mountain into the sea. Implied in that is that you understand that God has given you authority and power. In the 10th chapter of Matthew, verse 8, He told us to go “preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead.” He did not tell us to pray for the sick, He told us to heal the sick.
God has given us His power and authority. Sure, it is not my power, but it is in me. It is God’s power in me. Jesus said in John 15:5, He says, “Without me, you can do nothing.” People will often say that and pray things like, “Oh, God, we are just waiting on you. We are impossible to do anything on our own.” You know what? That is true if you could somehow or another just take you and separate you from God. Without God I am nothing. I agree. But, I am never without God. God has given me His power and authority. God has given you power and authority. He told you to speak to your problem. Don’t talk to God about your problem. Talk to your problem about God. Take your authority and use it. This is the number one thing I believe that hinders people from seeing their manifestation of their healing and other things that they are believing for. They are passively asking God, they approach God as a beggar, not as a person who has authority and power. Because of it, they are asking God to do what He told us to do. We need to come to realize the authority, the power God has given us. Then we need to use it. If you do that, it will change your life.
This book, The Believer’s Authority, is subtitled, “What you didn’t learn in Church”. I tell you, this is one of the most important things God has shown me. This truth will set you free.