Page 42 - The Importance of Prayer Student Textbook

focus is to avoid any refining process that God wants to bring into our lives, then our prayers will focus
upon our escape.

Authority in Spiritual Warfare

With these truths in mind we can conclude that spiritual warfare is won or lost at the point of response,
not attack. This then brings us to the proper use of authority in spiritual warfare. Here are a few facts
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about the authority that Jesus exhibited. 1 Authority is something that is given from God. John 5:27,30
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He has given Him authority to Judge. 2 He authority was subservient, not independent from the will of
the Father. John 12:49 I did not speak of my own accord, but the father who sent me commanded me
what to say and how to say it. 3 Jesus shared His Father’s authority as long as he did the Father’s will.
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John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to
you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing His work. Jesus went on to say
in John 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down
and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. If we closely look at the
authority which Jesus exhibited, we will find a great misunderstanding of the use of authority. Jesus did
not use authority indiscriminately but used it only when the Father prompted Him to use it as it would
accomplish the Fathers will. Paul seemed to add another reason for the use of the authority he
exhibited. 2 Corinthians 13:10 The authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you
down. Therefore, authority is given for doing the will of the Father to advance His kingdom, not for
gratifying our own desires and understanding.

Why did Jesus give authority to the disciples and the church? Three times the scriptures record that
Jesus granted authority to the disciples. Matthew 10:1, Luke 10:17, 72, Matthew 28:18-20. If you look at
the book of Acts, you will find three examples of evil spirits being cast out. Acts 8:4-8, 16:18-34, 19:11-
20. Looking at these examples you will find Jesus giving authority in the context of sending His disciples
out to proclaim the good news. The context of authority was being on a mission with God to see souls
saved. There is no doubt that there will be power encounters with the enemy especially in tribal areas
where witch doctors are using their charms and tribal dances to influence others, to believe in their
magical powers. Do you have authority that can be used in these circumstances? Yes!

The Battlefield

If we are going to be victorious in Battle, we must recognize the battlefield tactics the enemy uses and
where the primary battlefield is located at. Let me first start with the old nature. James 1:14-15 talks
about how each one of us are tempted by his own evil desires. James seems to be more concerned with
our own evil internal desires than he is with Satan. Satan recognizes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life and he will attack in these weakest areas. But how will he attack? First, he
must distort the word of God and attack its credibility. (See Matthew 4:1-11, Genesis 3:1-7) In order to
win this battle a transformation of the mind must take place. (Romans 12:1-2) I will talk about this in
greater detail in section below entitled, The Lust and Groaning of the Holy Spirit or Yielding to the Holy
Spirit. But remember that the battlefield is the mind and I cannot emphasize enough that what you do
with the Bible will determine what God will be able to do with you. Satan will use a myriad of tactics to
get us to take our focus off of God, including causing us to focus on past failures, past offenses,
busyness, pleasure, our rights, distractions, good instead of the best, and other issues to take our minds
off of Him and His promises.

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