the Authority of Prayer

Authority of Prayer
8/28/06
I was praying for a woman named Chris today, and many thoughts came to mind. There were accusations against her, and thoughts of how the Lord would bring such good out of this illness for Chris. I did not agree with either train of thought, and as I submitted my mind to the Holy Spirit (see 2 Cor 10:3-5) I heard the Lord say “Isn’t the blood enough?” I remembered the scriptures in Rev. 12 about the accuser of the brethren pursuing those who had the spirit of prophecy, and that they had overcome him by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb. “Yes, the blood is enough” I answered. “But I don’t see the connection to healing”, or to the passage in Rev. 12. The Lord reminded me that Michael contended with satan over Moses’ body, and said that we should contend with satan over healing, not submitting to thoughts of what good may come from the infirmity, or of thoughts suggesting the sick person has sinned. If a person has sinned, we can stand in the gap as one who forgives them (Mt 6:14; Jn 20:23). There are scriptures about restoring the Christian who sins (1 Jn 5:16) but not all sickness comes as a result of sin.

If we are to overcome our enemy by the word of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb, praying for our sister is a good place to start. To stand in the gap for her health means to stand against accusations against her. It means that her past sins, like ours, are under the blood of Jesus. It means that our testimony lines up with the Word of God, and He is faithful to perform it. Most of all, it means that having done all, we stand in defense of God’s Word. It is living and active, and God will perform it. We are God’s defense against the accuser of the brethren, and by our love and care of each other the world will know we are His (Jn 13:35).