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Pointers along the way #178

Power is of God
- Jacob Ninan

Sometimes in a euphoric mood that follows the recognition of the authority that God has given us as His children, some of us tend to forget what we are, where we have come from and what we will be, and imagine foolishly high thoughts about ourselves. Some preachers have proclaimed that they are 'gods' or 'little gods', and some have even gone to the extent of saying, "When I read in the Bible where he [Jesus] says, 'I Am,' I just smile and say, 'Yes, I Am, too!'

Now most of us may never say such things. We know we are not God, or even gods. We are children of God, by His sovereign choice of grace (1Jn.3:1). God has created something new in us, and we have been born again in our spirit (1Pe.1:3). However, we are created beings with plenty of limitations in every direction. We cannot create anything like God can, and we cannot do anything supernatural without God. We are not God.

Yet it is true that God has given us exceptional authority in Jesus' name. We have been given authority over all the power of Satan and his demons (Lk.10:19). We have authority to forgive sins (Jn.20:23). We may bring healing or even raise people from the dead. But in all these cases, the authority is in the name of Jesus and not in ourselves. It is as if we are cashing cheques that Jesus has signed.

Then again, while we have been given such authority, we don't have the power in ourselves to do any such thing. We are like traffic policemen who have the authority given to him by the government to stop a heavy truck on the road by putting up his hands, but has no power even to stop a car physically. In other words, our authority comes from God (the government) by being His children, but our power is only that of a frail creature.

Suppose this traffic policeman goes into a hospital and tells a surgeon how to do his job, he would not be taken seriously. That is because a hospital is outside the policeman's domain of authority. We too have our domain of authority given to us by God. That is called 'the will of God'. When we pray in Jesus' name but according to our own will, there is no authority for that prayer. Actually, to pray in Jesus' name does not mean that we just add the words "In Jesus' name" at the end of our prayer, but that we pray according to the will of God. When we pray according to God's will, then we get what we pray for (1Jn.5:14,15).

So we have no power to make anything happen, by our prayers, words of confession, fasting, or anything we do. Only God has that power. He can say, "Let there be light", and light will come. But however forcefully or positively we may speak anything, nothing will happen, unless God asks us to speak those specific words. When we speak what God tells us, then it is according to His will.

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