Praying With Authority

Devotional Reading: But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
Mark 4:38 ESV

Jesus and the disciples got into a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. As they were crossing, they ran into a storm so strong that the disciples knew they’d most likely die. They were terrified. They woke up Jesus, the Son of God, and pleaded with Him to do something to save them. They cried out just like many of us pray when we’re in the middle of a crisis: “Don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38). But Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith.

What they didn’t realize was that if Jesus was sleeping in their boat, they had divine purpose no matter the strength of the storm. Jesus was asleep because He lives from the kingdom of heaven toward earth. And in His kingdom, there is no turmoil. When the disciples cried out to Him, He woke up and commanded the wind and waves to stop. He rebuked the wind and declared peace over the waves. The chaos stopped immediately.

Many people could have stood at the bow of the boat, rebuking the storm to no avail because they were ministering out of fear. But Jesus was able to release peace because He lived in peace. Peace is a military move that overwhelms and subdues the demonic. The shalom of heaven subdues all chaos.

Jesus slept during the storm because He was a citizen of heaven in the same way that we are. Sometimes we imagine that, in prayer, we are trying to get God to intervene. In fact, God is looking for people to use the authority they’ve been given. Instead of reaching out to God, trying to get Him to invade our circumstances, we are to boldly pray from the promises of God. When we can see our circumstances from heaven’s perspective, we have the authority and anointing to address the problem. We can only release peace over a storm through which we can sleep.

Prayer and Confession
Thank you Jesus for this revelation because I now know that I can address all problems from the position of peace and rest and not out fear. Amen

Further Reading: Romans 16:20, Philippians 4:4-6