When it comes to prayer, we must realize that there are ways to pray powerless prayers and there are ways to pray powerful prayers. It all depends on our heart posture before God, and whether or not we are praying in alignment with Him.
It is crucial for us to recognize that when we pray, we are not talking to the universe, the air, or the wall, as some may say. When we pray, we are speaking to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the One True God.
Praying a powerless prayer is asking God to do things he has already told us to do, or asking him to give us things he has already given to us. He can’t answer these kinds of prayers the way we think he should because he’s already taken care of the request in Christ Jesus. We must simply apply the truths of the his Word and walk in our identity in Christ, understanding our authority and the dominion God has given us as his children.
In light of this, it is crucial that we come to him with the proper heart attitude, which we talked about a couple weeks ago in this post, ‘Prayer: An Introduction.’
What we say matters, especially when we pray.
In Christ Jesus, we have received authority. Boldness comes from a strong sense of identity in Christ. Aspects of our identity in Christ that increase awareness of our power (always in alignment and submitted to the Holy Spirit) are: priesthood, child of God, hidden in Christ:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Let’s consider how this verse describes believers. Chosen People, God has chosen you to be his people. Being a part of God’s people means something. It’s a special place to be, in the family of God. A Royal Priesthood, King-Priests – we are both royalty and clergy. Ministering to God and ruling as his servants on the earth. A Holy Nation, again this is referring to the whole people of God, holiness is a reflection of who God is; perfect, complete, harmony, beauty. We are a Holy Nation when we are in alignment with God and in submission to his Spirit. God’s special possession, God chose us, he chose you and he chose me – Jesus paid the price for us, we now belong to God. 1 Corinthians 6 tells us that we “are not our own, for you’ve been bought with a price…” Belonging to God means that he instructs and we obey. He is our master.
Lordship is ownership.
Now, this verse could definitely be unpacked much further, but this simple explanation is sufficient for our purposes here. But I do encourage you to do a word study on this verse. You will glean much more insight when you take the time to study it in more depth.
John 1:12 states, “ But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
When we believe in Christ – we are now the children of God – it is our right. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary describes right as, “something to which one has a just claim; the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled.” In Christ, it is our privilege to be God’s children, we are entitled to it because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. He paid for it for us. Being God’s child comes with rights, privileges and responsibilities. It means something to be a child of the King!
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3
Hidden with Christ in God – our lives no longer are ours to live in the flesh – we get to live a God-life – which is a life lived for God alone – submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
So far we’ve covered the importance of some aspects of our identity in Christ. Now in part two of this post, we’ll take a deeper look at the power and authority we have because we are a part of God’s family.
Also check out this post to see six practical tools to increase your intimacy with Jesus through a daily practice of prayer.
Sarah Louise 