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God gave dominion to man – Gen. 1:26
Man sinned – Gen. 3
So man lost his dominion.
But Jesus came as a man, suffered, died on the cross, and rose again on the third day.
JESUS was victorious at the cross and HE recovered the dominion that man lost – Col. 2:12-15; Rev. 1:18; Matt. 28:18
This victory and dominion that JESUS won at the cross is given to very believer – I Cor. 15:57
The believer, therefore, has dominion over his world because JESUS lives in his heart – Eph. 3:17
Exercise This Dominion Thru Prayer.
The believer enforces the will of GOD in his world by prayer.
The example of Moses – Exodus 17:8-14
As Moses prayed, Israel won over the enemy. But when Moses stopped praying, the enemy was winning.
Moses, supported by Aaron and Hur, prayed “until the going down of the sun” (v.12). This prayer caused the defeat of the enemy. (v.13)
God’s will in verse 14 could be enforced only through the prayers of Moses. Why? Because GOD gave the dominion to Moses. Moses enforced GOD’s will by prayer.
The example of Daniel – Daniel 9:1-13, 19
Daniel knew the will of God from reading the book of Jeremiah.
Daniel enforced the will of GOD by praying and fasting.
Daniel was very bold in praying (see v.19) because he knew GOD’s will.
Boldness in prayer comes from knowing GOD’s will.
GOD HIMSELF told us to command HIM “concerning the work if My hands.” – Isaiah 45:11
Praying according to GOD’s will – this will certainly assure us of HIS answer. 1 John 5:14 –15
God’s will is that “all men be save”. I Tim. 2:3-4
Prayer from a Position of Victory
Our position in CHRIST – Eph. 2:4-6
made alive together with Christ;
Raised up to a new life together with CHRIST; and
Made to sit together in the heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS.
The believer is seated with the LORD JESUS CHRIST in the position of authority and victory in the heavenly places. Therefore, the believer prays from this position of victory.
The believer is responsible for his particular world. Why? Because the LORD has given to him the dominion over that world.
The believer exercises that dominion by prayer.
LESSON VII - PRAYER
GOD GAVE DOMINION TO MAN
Why do we have to pray? God is all-powerful. He loves me and knows my needs. Even before I open my mouth God knows what I want. So why do I have to pray?
In Genesis 1:26, God gave dominion to man:
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
What is the meaning of dominion? Let me illustrate. Suppose I own a shoe factory. One day I called Juan and said to him: “Juan I am giving you dominion over this factory. This means that from now on, in this factory, you can do all the things that I can do myself. You can therefore, hire workers, dismiss those you don’t like, buy raw materials, and sell the shoes that are made. Everything that is necessary to be done in the factory you can decide to do them. In other words you have all the power that is necessary in running the factory.”
That is the meaning of dominion. God is the owner of the earth. But God has given the dominion to man, which means that man can exercise all power that is needed. But man lost this dominion when he sinned.
Jesus came down from heaven and became a man, suffered and died on the cross and rose again from the dead on the third day. Jesus defeated the enemy on the cross (Colossians 2:14-15). Jesus was victorious on the cross. He said:
“I Am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I Am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Revelation 1:18
and “… All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18
Because of this victory on the cross, Jesus recovered the dominion that man lost. Dominion over all the earth is now in Jesus. Hallelujah! This victory that Jesus won on the cross was given to every believer. The word of God says:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
The victory that Jesus won was not really for Him. That victory was for us. When do you receive the victory that Jesus won on the cross? At the moment you received Jesus as your Lord, you also received the victory that Jesus won on the cross. In other words the moment you became a believer or a Christian, you received the victory of Jesus. That victory brought dominion. You also received the dominion.
The believer therefore has received the dominion over his world because Jesus lives in his heart.
EXERCISE THIS DOMINIONS THRU PRAYERS
How does the believer exercise this dominions>
THROUGH PRAYER
Every believer has his own world. In this world belongs his family, his neighbors, his relatives, and all the people that God places in his environment. The believer seeks to know the will of God in his world. Upon knowing God’s will, the believer enforces the will of God in his world by prayer. Prayer, therefore, is enforcing the will of God in our world.
ENFORCING GOD’S WILL
Let us have an example in the story of Moses in Exodus 17:8-14:
“Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand Amalek prevailed.
But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
THE EXAMPLE OF MOSES
While Joshua and the army of Israel were fighting the Amalekites, Moses was on the top of the hill holding up the rod of God in his hand (v. 9-10). While Moses was holding up his hands, Israel was winning against the enemy (Amalekites). But as Moses let down his hand, the enemy was winning. (v. 11). What was Moses doing when he raised his hands holding the rod of God? Moses was praying. So when Moses prayed, Israel won over the enemy; but when Moses stopped praying, then the enemy prevailed. There was therefore a connection between prayer and winning. Moses’ companions, Aaron and Hur, noticed the connection between prayer and winning the battle. So they took a stone and asked Moses to sit on it and Aaron held up one hand of Moses and Hur supported the other. In other words the three of them prayed together. They had a prayer meeting.
What was the result of prayer? We find the result in verse 13: “So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” Victory was the result of prayer.
Notice in verse 14 that it is the will of God to “utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” God is all-powerful. He Himself can utterly blot out the Amalekites by sending plague against them or by some other means. But why did God have to ask Moses to do the work? Because God has given the dominion to Moses. The rod of God is the symbol of Moses authority. How did Moses enforce the will of God to totally blot out the Amalekites? By prayer. Moses prayed and the will of God was enforced. Moses prayer and the enemy was defeated. So prayer is enforcing the will of God.
THE EXAMPLE OF DANIEL
Let us see another example in Daniel 9:1-3:
“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans – in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the Word of the Lord, given through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”
Daniel was captured and brought to Babylon together with the other Israelite captives. Daniel grew in Babylon. Then one day, Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah and he found out that their captivity would end after seventy years and they would be returned by the Lord to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 29:4 & 10). At the time Daniel was reading the book of Jeremiah, the seventy years of captivity were almost complete. What did Daniel do? He knew that it is the Lord’s will for them to be set free and return to Jerusalem. Did Daniel simply wait for the will of God to happen? No, Daniel prayed and fasted. Why? Because Daniel knew that prayer is enforcing God’s will. So Daniel had to pray in order to enforce God’s will for them to be released and to return in Jerusalem. The prayer of Daniel is found from verse 4-19 of the same Daniel 9. We will just read verse 19:
“O Lord, Hear! O Lord forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your City and Your people are called by Your Name.”
Notice that Daniel is very bold. He is asking God to act and not to delay their release and return to Jerusalem. Why can Daniel be so bold ask God to act? Because Daniel knows the will of God. Asking God to fulfill His particular will about a particular matter shows faith in the Word of God, and faith please God (Hebrews 11:6). In fact, God Himself tell us that we command Him “concerning the work of My hands” (Isaiah 45:11). So we can command God to do what He says in a particular matter the moment we know His will.
The key, therefore, in getting answers to prayers is to pray according to God’s will (1 John 5;14-15). What is the will of God in a particular matter? Here is the will of God in the matter of salvation.
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
It is therefore the will of God that all men be saved. So, we can pray with confidence and with boldness for anyone’s salvation because it is God’s will to save. I prayed for my father for seven years until he was saved. I prayed for my mother for four years until she was saved.
PRAYER FROM A POSITION OF VICTORY:
What is our position as Christians? The Word of God tells us that:
We were made alive together with Christ;
We were raised up to a new life together with Christ;
We were made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6)
The believer, therefore, is seated with the Lord Jesus in that position of authority and victory in the heavenly places. The believer is victorious in Christ. So when the believer prays, he prays from that position of victory. The enemy is below and the believer is above. The enemy is defeated, and the believer enforces the victory of Christ. Therefore, the believer prays from a position of victory and enforces the will of God.
The believer is responsible for his particular world because the Lord has given him dominion over his world. The believer exercises this God-given dominion by prayer. When the believer prays, he enforces God’s will over his world.
PRAYER: GUIDE GUIDANCE
What is prayer?
Why do we pray?
What is our position when we pray?
ANSWERS:
It is enforcing God’s will.
God has given every Christian the DOMINION over his world. As he prays, he can enforce God’s will on his respective territory or word.
We pray from the position of VICTORY in Christ because we are seated together with Christ in His throne of power and authority.