By Dick VanHuss

Imagine being present when a group of people begin praying over a demon possessed man and everything begins to go crazy.  Instead of casting out the demon, the demon gives supernatural strength to the man and he beats up those praying for him and rips their clothes off them as they run away screaming and injured. That happened to seven young men whose dad, Sceva, was a temple priest.   They invoked the name of Jesus without actually knowing him.  Obviously, that didn’t work very well.

How do we know if we can pray for others with authority and not have fear?  After all, I don’t want to experience what those guys went through.

First, Jesus declared that ALL authority or power in heaven and earth has been given to him in Matthew 28 ¹⁸ Jesus came and said to them, “All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make followers of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to do all the things I have told you. And I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

It is also important to recognize that Paul (and other believers) used that authority to drive out demons. See Acts 16:16-18. Notice the difference between the two examples. Paul was a servant (believer) of Jesus Christ. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and thus was empowered to operate in spiritual matters. The seven in Acts 19 operated on their own ability.  They called on the name of Jesus that Paul preaches.

I want to encourage you to seek the power of the Holy Spirit.  We need to receive the experience of Acts 2 Spirit Baptism in our lives.  Having that enduement of power allows us to minister in ways that are far beyond our strength and authority.  When we don’t have the ability, the Spirit intercedes for us to help us know how to pray, and gives us the authority in the Spirit.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for the authority you have given to us as believers to face things spiritually we wouldn’t normally be able to confront. Will you fill me with your Holy Spirit with the evidence that points to your authority working in and through me. Let me then see others set free as you work.

Questions to think about.

• Have you ever encountered a situation where you felt you didn’t have the spiritual authority to deal with it? What did you do?
• Have you experienced the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?  If so, what have you done with the spiritual authority that comes with it?
• Will you seek the Acts 2 experience, or if you have already experienced it ask God to refresh that experience in your life and to encourage others to seek this experience as well?