CONDITIONS TO ANSWERED PRAYER
PART 5. USING BELIEVER’S AUTHORITY
I want to mention some Scriptures, so that we can have a clear picture of man’s position on the earth.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
“I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (Jn. 14:30).
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12).
These Scriptures clearly show that man, while on the earth, is under the influence of the ruler of this world, the devil. The devil is not just an opponent; he is the adversary (in the Armenian translation, “the worst enemy”), who is ready to devour us at any moment. He sets people against one another. Each person must understand that their battle is not against people, but the devil, who stirs up hostility using bodies and minds of people.
Sometimes people do not understand that the reason of their troubles is the wiles of the devil. Day and night, they weep before the Lord and plead, “Oh Lord, have mercy; Lord, save me!” However, it is not that the Lord does not want to interfere in their situation; He simply cannot interfere in a situation in which He has already given the authority to man. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Lk. 10:19).
Kenneth Hagin, a famous American preacher, wrote in his book “The Believer’s Authority”: “In 1952, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me in a vision and talked to me for about an hour and a half about the devil, demons, and demon possession. At the end of that vision, an evil spirit that looked like a little monkey or elf ran between Jesus and me and spread something like a smoke screen or dark cloud. Then this demon began jumping up and down, crying in a shrill voice, ‘Yakety-yak, yakety-yak, yakety-yak.’ I couldn’t see Jesus or understand what He was saying. (Through this entire experience, Jesus was teaching me something. And if you’ll be attentive, you’ll find the answer here to many things that have troubled you.) I couldn’t understand why Jesus allowed the demon to make such a racket. I wondered why Jesus didn’t rebuke the demon so I could hear what He was saying. I waited a few moments, but Jesus didn’t take any action against the demon. Jesus was still talking, but I couldn’t understand a word He was saying—and I needed to, because He was giving instructions concerning the devil, demons, and how to exercise authority. I thought to myself, Doesn’t the Lord know I’m not hearing what He wanted me to? I need to hear that. I’m missing it! I almost panicked. I became so desperate I cried out, ‘In the Name of Jesus, you foul spirit, I command you to stop!’ The minute I said that, the little demon hit the floor like a sack of salt, and the black cloud disappeared. The demon lay there trembling, whimpering, and whining like a whipped pup. He wouldn’t look at me. ‘Not only shut up, but get out of here in Jesus’ Name!’ I commanded. He ran off.”
Hagin was amazed that Jesus did nothing to drive the demon away. Jesus the Savior answered him from the Scriptures. It is not that He did not want to help Hagin; He simply could not do it. According to the New Testament, He already gave this authority to the Church. Jesus is the head of the Church, and the Church is His Body. Jesus explained to Hagin: “Not one single time in the New Testament is the Church ever told to pray that God the Father or Jesus would do anything against the devil. In fact, to do so is to waste your time. The believer is told to do something about the devil. … unless believers do something about the devil, nothing will be done in a lot of areas.”
Years ago, I was in a very strange situation. Every time I was going to sleep, I clearly felt the presence of the devil in my bedroom. It manifested in different ways: my bed was shaking, I felt a slimy touch on my arm, I heard someone breathing… it was horrible! I prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help me and to remove the demonic presence from my room. However, my prayers remained unanswered. The same situation recurred every day for two months.
Finally, I decided to ask advice from a person who had brilliant knowledge of the Word of God. I wanted to know how that person would explain my situation according to the Word of God. After she listened to me with attention, she concluded that I was in a horrible spiritual state, because instead of having communion with the Lord and living in His presence, I was horrified by the presence of the devil each night. I believed the words of that person as I deeply respected her.
When I returned home, I stood on my knees and prayed. I asked the Lord why the Holy Spirit had not shown my mistakes and why my spiritual state was so grave that the devil had boldness to torment me with his constant presence. I told God that I would go to my pastor and leave my ministry in the church, as I could not serve God and people in such a state.
I prayed and did not even expect the Lord to answer, thinking that a sinner like me had another fate awaiting for her. I was still on my knees, bowed to the floor, when the Holy Spirit started to speak. He explained that the real reason was that I had not used the authority in the name of Jesus, which was given to me. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (Jn. 10:10). The Holy Spirit told me that I was to forbid the devil in the name of Jesus Christ each time he attempted to disturb me with his presence or to do something in my life. He said that instead of refusing to serve God, I was to teach people how to use the authority given to each believer in Jesus Christ.
I stood up; I was both amazed and happy. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32). By the leading of the Holy Spirit, I learned the truth. Now I was free from my fear and the danger of losing my ministry.
The night came, and I was getting ready to sleep. When I entered my bedroom, I felt the devil’s presence again. The bed I was sitting on started to shake, the slick body touched my arm again… but now I knew the truth, and I boldly said, “Devil, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, get out of my room! And I forbid you to carry out any plan in my life, I forbid you in the name of Jesus Christ!” I was full of boldness and resolve, and I was sure that each word said in the name of Jesus Christ had authority to destroy the demonic bondage.
The presence of the devil disappeared from my bedroom right away. During several months after that day, the devil attempted to disturb me with his presence a couple of times, and each time I forbade his actions in my life by the authority in the name of Jesus Christ.
The name of Jesus Christ is at the foundation of God’s miracles. However, simply pronouncing the name of Jesus Christ will avail nothing to a person if they do not understand to the depth that they need to have complete trust toward the omnipotence of the Bearer of this name. The Lord of lords works miracles FOR THE SAKE OF this NAME. The Bible itself says it: “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:23-24).
Only those who accepted Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior of their lives and repented of all their knowingly and unknowingly committed sins can exercise the authority of the name of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, the devil will not submit to them and will continue to ruin their lives.
It is written in Acts 19:13-16 that when the sons of Sceva saw the miracles of Jesus and His disciples, they tried to use the name of Jesus themselves. They did not want to follow Jesus or advance the Kingdom of God with the disciples; they simply sought their own benefit: “Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
The name of Jesus has absolute authority over everything, and the goal of this authority is to destroy the works of the devil and to fulfill the will of God.
“But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, ‘RESTORE!’ (in the Armenian translation: ‘GIVE BACK!’)” (Is. 42:22).
You must say: “Devil, restore! By the power of the Cross of Calvary, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to give back everything that belongs to me! In the name of Jesus Christ, I demand you to restore… (each can list all the things the devil has stolen from them, their finances, house, happiness, etc.).”
Each person must realize that the reason of their misfortune is hidden in their own character, in ignorance of the Word of God and in improper use of believer’s authority given to us through the victory of Jesus Christ on the Cross.