OBTAINING POWER AND AUTHORITY

David Wilkerson

When Christ prayed at Gethsemane, He was demonstrating to His people how to obtain power and authority over all satanic forces. When the disciples tried to cast out demons, those hellish spirits laughed at them. Only when Jesus came on the scene did the demons flee. The only authority they recognize is that of a contrite heart and broken spirit.

Now consider Jesus’ prayers at Gethsemane:

  • “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). Here was a declaration saying, in essence, “This is beyond My understanding, and if it goes on, it will kill Me.”
  • “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (26:39). Have you ever prayed in extreme agony, with hot tears streaking your face?

At Gethsemane, we find Jesus in a series of spiritual agonies:

  • Tears
  • Pleadings
  • Intercessions
  • Prostrations

Yet each is a spiritual episode that ultimately leads to a place of incredible revelation.

We know that as followers of Jesus we are going to experience the same things He did. He is our example in times of crisis and at such times, we are to pray as He did: with faith, knowing God bottles all our tears. Like Him, we are to pray for release and ask God for a way out.

Of course, this is not a daily experience in our walk with the Lord. Rather, it is an encounter with Him, a confrontation where we come to the end of something. In that moment, we stop looking at our circumstances and begin to pour out our soul before the Lord. And in the midst of it all, we believe, as Jesus did, that God loves us and is going to reveal something marvelous through our trial.