{"id":7821,"date":"2017-05-11T22:55:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T22:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=7821"},"modified":"2017-05-12T04:58:29","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T04:58:29","slug":"thoughts-on-the-authority-of-the-believer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=7821","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on the authority of the believer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever had questions about your authority as a believer…I mean deep<\/em> questions\u2014questions such as \u201cwhy didn\u2019t \u2018it\u2019<\/em> happen when I prayed\/declared\/confessed\/said such and so\u2026?\u201d I sure have.<\/p>\n

Last night I was minding my own business, cleaning up after dinner. Down on the inside of me that Voice I\u2019ve grown to recognize spoke directly to me about this very topic:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve not given you CONTROL on the earth; I\u2019ve given you AUTHORITY. But that authority comes at a cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had my attention. Before I could dry my hands and sit down to study this further, I heard, \u201cFor instance, when My disciples couldn\u2019t cast the demon out of that boy, I told them, \u2018This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer and fasting<\/em>.\u2019 A COST.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cost. That intrigued me. I knew that Jesus had already paid the full PRICE for my redemption\u2014I\u2019d freely received salvation through faith in Him and His sacrificial death on the cross. There was nothing else<\/em> I needed to do to secure my salvation; Jesus paid the entire price.<\/p>\n

But I realized this word \u201ccost\u201d held a different connotation. Although Jesus paid the PRICE for our salvation, He was reminding me that to walk effectively in the life and authority He purchased, I\u2026you\u2026would, indeed, incur COST. And, like the verse He pointed out to me, one such cost is prayer and fasting.<\/p>\n

I sensed, however, that He wasn\u2019t referring specifically<\/em> last night to prayer and fasting. Instead, I felt He was shining light on something even more sweeping and overarching\u2014which was\u00a0to live\u00a0a prayerful, fasted life unto Him<\/em>\u2014the kind of life that disciplines itself to listen first before acting or speaking. The kind of life that takes a measured,\u00a0prayerful approach when pursuing its own interests or asserting its own will.<\/p>\n

Then another verse came to me, Luke 14:28. \u201cFor which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Before leaping into authority mode, I could see the Lord was showing me the need to make an honest assessment of my own willingness and ability to follow through\u2014to persevere to the bitter (but preferably, victorious) end. In other words, if I couldn\u2019t stand the heat invariably generated by a pronouncement of authority, it would be better not step into the authority kitchen at all\u2014at least not yet. Many people suffer major setbacks simply by making premature authoritative declarations before counting the cost and preparing themselves for the ensuing battle. They put the cart before the horse\u2026and suffer for it. God doesn\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n

Again, another Scripture came to me. First Corinthians 9:24 states, \u201cDo you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

To win, an athlete incurs cost. Verses 25-27 following this Scripture list several of those costs:<\/p>\n