Authoritative Prayer

The Concept

Authoritative Prayer is not a personal prayer or a devotional prayer; it is neither petition or worship. It is a proclamation. Authoritative prayer is not asking God for something, but speaking his will into enemy territory. William Law says it is “not for getting man's will done in heaven,” but “for getting God's will done on earth.” It is kingdom advancement on a spiritual plane.

This type of prayer, directed at powers and principalities - not to God but from God - is biblical. God told Moses to stop praying and start exercising the authority he had given him (Ex. 14:15-16); Mark 11:23 instructs us to tell the mountain to move, not to pray that it will move. Throughout the gospel, Jesus prays/commands authoritatively. He directly addresses waves, demons, deaf ears, etc. and then gives that same authority to his disciples (Luke 9:1-2). In a personal story, Foster tells about a time that, after asking God repeatedly to remove his son's pain, he spoke directly to that pain and it was soothed.

Of course, this type of prayer can be dangerous. It is important to remember not wander away from God's sovereign, not to let pride and presumption pervert this God-given responsibility. We use his strength and his power, never our own. But there is also error in not exercising this authority at all, in making light of God's power and restraining it to a superficial, domesticated level. We are given the armor of God to fight spiritual battles (Eph. 6:12)!

We should actively seek and pray for discernment as a “guardrail” for Authoritative Prayer. “Discernment is the divine ability to see what is actually going on and to know what needs to be done in any given situation.” It is both wise and sensitive, seeking first and then obeying the will of God.

When we speak with authority from a transformed heart, there are beautiful results. Excesses in this type of prayer come from embracing the power of this prayer without embracing the compassion of it. In Jesus, we see power and compassion perfectly united, and in imitating him, we are in error when our power and compassion are out of balance - to either side.

The Experience

Authoritative Prayer is new territory for me. I have previously been suspicious when people pray directly to spirits. But I have also understood that prayer without activity is not God's will (Matt. 14:15-16). Surely we have been called to act - humbly, and through his power - in both the physical and the spiritual realms.... Remember, we are already seated with Christ in heavenly places! (Eph. 2:6)

Still, getting up one day and praying to "principalities" seemed beyond me. But I find Foster's chapter-closing prayer illuminating. We are not necessarily addressing demons or angels (though that is a real possibility), but we are free to directly address God's creation in his name. Foster prays:

In the strong name of Jesus Christ I stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil.... I oppose every attempt to keep me from knowing full fellowship with God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I speak directly to the thoughts, emotions, and desires of my heart and command you to find your satisfaction in the infinite variety of God's love rather than the bland diet of sin. I call upon the good, the true, and the beautiful to rise up within me, and the evil to subside.....

There is power in our words. God desires us to step into the powerful gift he has given us, that we may be co-laborers with him, his ambassadors in this world. I am not standing comfortably in this authority today, but I do want to understand it better and to obey the Lord as he calls me further into the work of his kingdom.