It Is For Freedom

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

Recently, I have been called to pray for situations that are beyond my comprehension. I’ve tried to make sense of the news reports but I simply cannot. All I can do, having very little knowledge of the situation, is pray as God leads. Sometimes through Bible verses, sometimes through my own words. Often wondering if I’ve even heard God’s call right. Most of the times wondering why a mom in Florida would be called to pray for situations she can’t even figure out.

Although I don’t understand, I am stepping out anyway.

We are often called to do things that make no sense. Our human eyes only see a small part of the picture. But if you’re anything like me, sometimes what you feel threatens to trump what God is saying.

I read about a prayer warrior who was being trained by another prayer warrior. The mentor asked the trainee to pray and declare certain things over the state they were visiting. The trainee was horrified and told his mentor, Me? YOU know what you’re doing! YOU declare it! He did not feel ready, not to mention the mentor was a well known man of prayer. It made all the sense in the world for him to be declaring things over a state! The mentor then explained the authority to speak those words over the state had been given to the trainee, not to him. The mentor could and would pray, however he sensed God was saying the trainee was the one divinely commissioned to speak forth the message. The trainee, not fully understanding why he had been given such authority but trusting, began to pray.

Something shifted in me when I read those words. The idea of God granting authority began to grip me. Authority.

“He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’ ” Luke 10:18-20 (NIV)

If Jesus has given us authority who are we to argue and say we’re not enough? (Click to tweet) What if we are indeed given authority to speak, to write, to pray, into broken areas that will not change unless we trust enough to accept that authority? What would our lives look like if we lived that out? What would we do differently? Would we rise up, and truly accept the freedom we’ve been granted?

Reading that story depersonalized things for me. It’s about Him, not me! About what He says I can do…not what it feels like I can do. My ears may hear my mouth saying a fumbling prayer for a people far away. My mind may be thinking, “I am terrible at this!” But my spirit knows this is why I have been set free. I’ve been given authority for something beyond what I can even imagine. But it’s up to me to walk out that calling. Because what is authority if it is not used?

In doing what God has called me to do, whether I believe I am good at it or comfortable with it or even effective, Jesus is increasing and I am decreasing. As that happens, I am embracing the freedom Christ died to give us.

What is it that God is calling you to?
If you don’t yet know, ask for God’s vision, as the song in the link below says, “to see things like You do”.

God I Look to You song by Jenn Johnson, Bethel Church

Shared by: Christine Wright