walking in authority

Yesterday the Lord kept saying “I wrote your name in heaven . . . all the angels know you.” After a few times it dawned on me that He didn’t need to write our names down to remember us; He always knows we are His (Luke 12:6-7). God values us highly and our names are not forgotten by Him.

When Jesus sent his 72 disciples out He referred to their value, saying that those who received them were as if they were receiving Him, and those who rejected them were as if they were rejecting Jesus (Lk 10:16). He was teaching them the authority of walking in His name. When they returned Jesus rejoiced. He had seen that the works of these 72 men caused satan to fall like lightning (vs 18). Yet He told them that there was something of more importance than their victory over satan; it was that their names were written in heaven (vs 20). Looking at this statement in context we see that satan’s power was defeated because of men whose names were written in heaven. Jesus was not rebuking the men for their joy in victory, neither was he negating the importance of their triumph, as if having their names written in heaven was the only thing of importance. He was showing us that our names carry power in the heavenlies.

Jesus again tells His disciples that they are of great worth, (Lk 12:6-8) when he tells them not to fear what men can do to them. He backs them up with His power, by confessing their names before God and His angels. Jesus makes our names known in heaven. Our names become a recorded testimony to the angels of our stand for Jesus, and against evil. If this wasn’t important, God wouldn’t record them there. But God values us, and He backs us up in our battles with the evil one.

Those whose names are not written in heaven have no authority over satan, and indeed, are deceived by him in the end (Rev 13:8; 17:8; and 20:15). Jesus meant for us to walk in authority over our enemy, and this begins with our confession here on earth. We do not see God’s angels coming to our assistance when we have struggles, nor do we often hear the conversations of the Father and Son in heaven concerning our lives. But there is a heavenly realm where power is released on our behalf, and our names carry authority that trumps the minions of evil. Let us rejoice also that our names are written there, in heaven. Amen.