In our daily Group Bible Study devotionals, we are focusing on How to Exercise Our Faith and Prayer: Exercising God’s Authority. Let’s get to it:
In 1956, Doris Day popularized the famous phrase "Que Sera, Sera — whatever will be, will be." While it makes for a catchy melody, it represents a spiritual mindset that has quietly paralyzed millions of Christians.
Too often, we look at tragic world events, broken homes, or spiritual decay and passively sigh, "Well, God is in control, so this must be His will." But is every event on Earth a direct reflection of God’s intentional design?
Scripture gives us a resounding no. While God is completely sovereign, His revealed will is not automatically done on Earth. If everything that happened were automatically God’s direct will, Jesus would never have taught us to pray, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). We live in a world embroiled in an active spiritual conflict. When humanity fell in the Garden of Eden, Satan gained a temporary foothold, leading Jesus to call him "the prince of this world" (John 14:30) and Paul to call him "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Fatalism tells us to sit back and accept whatever happens, to retreat before our foe and yield ground to the enemy. Faith tells us to step up and enforce the victory of Jesus Christ.
Understanding Your Delegated Authority in Prayer
When Jesus stood before His disciples before ascending to heaven, He made an earth-shattering declaration: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go..." (Matthew 28:18–19).
Notice the sequence: Jesus claims all authority, and then immediately delegates the mission to His followers. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus broke the devil's power (Hebrews 2:14–15). He didn't leave us as helpless bystanders to dark circumstances; He left us as authorized ambassadors equipped with His name and His word.
Consider how the apostle Paul describes the spiritual climate around us: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan uses thoughts of doubt, fear, rejection, and ridicule to keep people bound. But we—the Church, the "called-out ones"—are given the authority to break those spiritual blinds through active, persistent prayer.
If we hold a passive, "whatever will be, will be" mindset, we abandon our God-given post. Prayer is not a religious routine we perform to appease God; it is the primary instrument by which we exercise Christ's delegated authority to push back darkness and pull-down God’s heavenly will into our earthly reality. Keith Thomas
How to Exercise Our Faith: Practical Steps for Daily Life
Conduct a "Fatalism Check" in Your Thoughts: Identify one area in your life, family, or city where you have quietly accepted a painful or chaotic situation with the thought, "That's just the way it is." Replace that passive attitude with explicit Scripture. Declare out loud: "God's will for this situation is peace, truth, and freedom. I refuse to sit back in passivity."
Adopt the 60-Second First-Response Rule: Make a personal commitment that whenever you hear distressing news or face an unexpected crisis this week, your immediate first reaction will be a 60-second prayer of spiritual authority—speaking Christ’s peace and truth over the crisis before you react in anxiety or gossip.
Closing Prayer:
Father, forgive me for the times I have slipped into a passive, fatalistic mindset. Wake me up to the reality of the spiritual conflict around me. Thank You for defeating the enemy at the cross and giving me authority in Jesus' name. Teach me to pray with bold, active faith that shifts circumstances and brings Your will to Earth. Amen.
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Deepen Your Faith & Group Bible Study Resources
Are you ready to stop praying passive prayers and start operating with real spiritual authority? Watch the full teaching video, "How to Pray with Authority: Exercising Your Spiritual Rights," on YouTube, available with subtitles in 70 languages. Click the following link:
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· Read the full study online: Prayer-Exercising God’s Authority
· Series: This excerpt is taken from the series Growing Faith in God
· Visit the Keith Thomas YouTube Channel for more teachings.