Exercising Spiritual Authority

By Dale M. Sides

The bread and butter of Liberating Ministries for Christ International since its inception has been the class on Exercising Spiritual Authority. This is not just because the class is so great, but because this is the heart and soul of our ministry and what we are called by God to serve the Body of Christ. We thank the Lord for all ministries and what they provide to the Body of Christ, but this is our slice of the pie that the Lord has given us to serve. Since this is our field and calling, we want to remind you to exercise your spiritual authority wherever you go and whatever you do.

When you stop and think about “exercising spiritual authority,” just the words alone make you stick out your chest and claim who you are in Christ Jesus. You are a super-spirit being and a miracle waiting to happen. The world and Satan’s kingdom want to keep you from knowing this, and even if you do know it, he wants you to forget it. This is war, and predictably, stealing someone’s weapon is a clever ploy. Are you policing your spiritual domain? Are you doing more listening in the spirit realm or more proclaiming? Are you the thermometer or the thermostat?

As a reminder (for those of you who have taken ESA), God put you in charge of your spiritual sphere of influence. We are not supposed to be tiptoeing though the garden but patrolling it. We often think about how dastardly Adam and Eve behaved on their watch, but it is no different now. You have a garden and you are on duty. What goes on during your shift is your responsibility.

I often get letters from people who ask me to pray for certain things: jobs, relationships, ministries to be fulfilled, disobedient children, and even money. Let’s revisit some basic Bible. This may not be review, but regardless, it is good information. So, get ready for a good lesson on spiritual authority.

“Prayer” is the Greek word proseuche. This is the noun form; the verb is proseuchomai. This word is used so much that we have forgotten to see what it really means. The root word to which the prefix pros is attached is euche. Pros means “toward,” but the word euche is the main root that defines what prayer means. (Remember that this is an explanation of what people are asking for when they want prayer, or it is what people do when they pray.) This explanation of what prayer is will change your prayer life forever.

Euche, the root word, is the word for “vow.” It is Strong’s usage #2171 and is used in Acts 18:18; 21:23, and James 5:15. So, in actuality, a literal definition of a prayer would be “a vow directed toward someone.” (Usually, but not always, in the biblical sense, this is directed toward God.) However, we have so overused the word that we have assumed that it means “a request.” Wrong! That is a different word deisis. (For a complete listing of the words describing our communication to God, see 1 Timothy 2:1.) When the word “pray” is used, it is the overall generic word that means to direct a statement toward God. In other words, “a prayer” can also mean “a prophetic declaration as a spiritual command.”

There is an operation of exercising spiritual authority to flex your spiritual might and muscle instead of asking God to do everything for you. We also need to revisit what God has already released to us and the devil may be blocking from coming. Ask yourself this question: If Proverbs 3:27 says to withhold not good from someone when it is within your power to give it, then is God withholding His goodness from us when we ask it from Him? Obviously not! So then, why do we not have the things we need? The answer is that God gives, but the devil steals.

Many times Christians want to deny their responsibility and spiritual authority by saying that everything that happens comes from God. (These are called Calvinists.) They may sound very spiritual, but they are certainly not scriptural. The devil is on the planet and prevents the good things of God from reaching God’s people. It may sound super     spiritual to say, “Well, brother, God put this yoke on me to slow me down so that I would remember Him.” NO! The devil put the yoke on you, and God allowed him to do it so that God can see what you will do when you are under fire.

In reality, the exercise of your spiritual authority is just a part of your “SAT” (Spiritual Aptitude Test). Like the collegiate SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), we have a test that we must take to qualify for the millennial kingdom. As the collegiate SAT has math and English categories, so our Spiritual Aptitude Test has categories of authority, love, stewardship, and obedience (these can be remembered easily through the acronym ALSO). It is our cumulative score that will allow or deny our entrance. God is giving you a chance to prove yourself to Him.

God made the heavens and the earth. He threw Lucifer out of heaven to the earth (his name is now Thud). He then turned around, made mankind, and put us on the same piece of real estate as He put the devil. Why did God put mankind and the devil on the same place? The reason is for us to punish the devil (Luke 10:19; Ephesians 3:10) and for the devil to test us (Job 1–3). This is why we count it all joy when we are tried. We count it joy because it gives us a chance to show God the true metal and measure of our character.

Also, in the love category there are a few spiritual authority questions too. God wants to know what you will do when you see someone being beat up. It is like seeing a woman getting mugged or a guy being pummeled by a gang of hoodlums. Will you stand by and watch it? Will you walk away in indifference? Will you cower in fear? Will you call the police (which is not the right answer because you are the police)? Or will you personally go over and get in the fight?

Exercising spiritual authority is your opportunity to prove yourself to God. Those individuals who want to discount accountability and say that everything comes from God may say, “God knows everything, so I do not need to prove myself to God.” Again, this sounds like a very spiritual answer, but unfortunately for them, it is not scriptural. Fourteen of the twenty-five times “prove” is used in the King James Version of the Bible, it is used of God proving us, or of allowing us to prove ourselves to Him.

There is a fight going on. What are you going to do? The fight is in your garden. What will you allow? The fight is over the people in your sphere going to hell or not. What are you going to do? The fight may even be over your own children, grandchildren or parents. What are you going to do? These are not just spiritual authority questions, but love questions too.

To those individuals who prove themselves worthy by warring a good warfare (1 Timothy 1:18) and exercising the spiritual authority the Lord has given them, the Lord will grant to them a place of distinction in the coming kingdom (Revelation 2:26–27). They will rule with Him!

Remember, you were not sent here to be the thermometer, but the thermostat. You are on the earth as God’s kingdom enforcer, not to be a victim, but a victor. You were not sent here to be a passive observer, but a kingdom shaker. You were not sent here to listen to the devil, but to command him. You were not sent here to be ruled over, but to rule over.

What’s going on in your garden? Exercise spiritual authority!