How to Pray with Power Like Jesus

I want to share a story with you today about how God completely transformed my prayers. I’ve been a prayerful Christian for over 25 years but nothing like what I’ve experienced in the last few years.

MY STORY:

For four days after my 10-year-old son had brain surgery, he was facing many challenges (you can read his whole miraculous story HERE and HERE). We were in the hospital longer than we were supposed to be, his body would not clear the toxins from surgery, and the doctors and nurses did not know why his body wasn’t working. He was rushed into a brain CT to check for a brain bleed or swelling. They tried a few procedures to get his body to flush out the toxins but to no avail. They said they would try one more method and if that didn’t work, they would have to move to something more drastic.

For days leading up to the surgery, during surgery, and afterward, we had been declaring, decreeing, and commanding things to go well and his body to heal. Those methods were not working (and we no longer practice them). My son was struggling, the medical staff didn’t know what was going on, and our decrees, declarations, and commands were not working.

So, there I found myself, on the hospital floor at 1:40 a.m., calling out to God, asking how to pray and he said,

"Pray like Jesus did."

When I asked what he meant, he flashed an image of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in my mind and led me to those passages of scripture (Mt. 26:36-46; Mk. 14:32-42; Lk. 22:39-46). He also gave me Matthew 6:9-13 which is how Jesus told people to pray, known as the Lord’s prayer.

PRAY LIKE JESUS

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was greatly distressed and feeling crushed by his impending suffering. He knew he was about to be captured, tortured, and crucified.

Jesus himself, the King of the Universe, the Creator of all, the Giver of life, the Almighty, asked his Father God to take away the cup of suffering! Oh, how he understands us!

But here is the most important part...

Matthew 26:39 "He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, 'My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.'”

Did you catch it? Jesus took a position of humility by bowing down before the Father, and he said for God's will to be done, not his own!

A HUGE REVELATION

Why was this such a drastic moment of revelation for me? Because for the last two and a half years I had been declaring, decreeing, and commanding things to happen in Jesus' name. Not with pride, but with full faith and belief that I was standing in Jesus' authority on earth. And not as part of the false “name it and claim it” movement…but too similar. Those declarations, decrees, and commands rarely happened which led to confusion, heartache, and misunderstanding of God's Word.

To give another example of what I used to do, in addition to the one above of my son’s brain surgery; I will share a story of a visit to a trampoline park. One day I took my kids to an indoor trampoline park. This is a venue that is a lot of fun but can cause some serious injuries.

So, I “prayed” over them before they started jumping, saying, “I pray the blood of Jesus over my kids for protection, and declare in the name of Jesus that they will not get injured. Thank you Jesus for your love and authority.” Then I let them run off and play.

Guess what happened?

               One of them got hurt.

This was one of many experiences over the years where I would declare or decree something in the name of Jesus and the opposite happened. Just like we saw with our son’s brain surgery and the following complications. I always declared, decreed, or commanded with a humble heart, believing Jesus’ words that I would be able to do the same things he did and even greater.

This sadly is a man-made idea that is rooted in a misinterpretation of John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

THE HARM OF BIBLICAL MISINTERPRETATION

I began practicing this type of “prayer”, of declaring, decreeing, and commanding, after our daughter was set free from spiritual strongholds, through deliverance and inner healing prayer. I began reading and listening to many faith healers and miracle workers.

Now, healing and miracles are real and still happen today. They are gifts of the Holy Spirit that God gives to some people, or he chooses to use ordinary people at his will. And healing and miracles are always by the hand of God, not man. God in his sovereignty chooses who is healed or not. But the people I was studying and learning from (I hope unintentionally) misinterpreted some Scriptures to make it seem like ALL Christians can declare, decree, and command things to happen at THEIR will.

The proper interpretation of John 14:12 is that Jesus was saying all his believers collectively as a group will be able to do everything he did and more. NOT that EVERY believer will be able to do everything he did on their own whim and fancy. It always still comes down to Jesus making the declaration or command happen.

Another verse I based my practices on was Isaiah 53:5 “By his stripes we are healed.” Many healers, miracle workers, and prosperity gospel preachers preach this to mean that God wants us to be healed now. Another misinterpretation. Don’t you think that if God wanted all of us to be healed by Jesus’ stripes we…would…be…healed here on earth?!

When we look at the original language and the context of this verse, we learn that the proper meaning of “healed” in this verse is spiritual healing from our transgressions. By Jesus’ stripes on the cross, we have been healed of our spiritual consequences for sin and are no longer headed to an eternity of suffering apart from God. Also, because of his suffering and sacrifice, we are promised complete healing in eternity, not necessarily this earthly life.

But nowhere in the Bible does he say we are supposed to live healed and perfect lives here on earth. What the Bible does promise is suffering and trials. And that Jesus will give us everything we need for those trials. And we see that God chooses who, when, and how to heal people on earth for his glory and purposes.

So, for years, I was practicing what those people preached. I would stand in the authority I believed I had in Christ and would speak the words those people suggested to bring about healing, miracles, and divine protection. I need to clarify that I was never declaring, decreeing, or commanding GOD to do something. I was declaring physical protection over people, commanding bodies to heal, or decreeing specific outcomes in someone’s life.

When what I declared, decreed, or commanded did not happen, I was left feeling confused and questioning why not. And looking back, I’m sure it was confusing for my kids to have something declared over them in Jesus’ name and then it doesn’t happen. And confusing for the person I was praying for! Sheesh. God is not a God of confusion.

Supporters of these beliefs would say I did not have enough faith, and that’s why the healing or command did not work. But I must strongly disagree. Every time I declared, decreed, or commanded something to happen, I 100% believed it would. That’s why I was so surprised and discouraged when the healing did not happen.

GOD’S PLANS PREVAIL

For the week before our son’s brain surgery, we were doing everything we knew how to do in prayer for him to be healed. We anointed him with oil, took him to prayer meetings, declared healing, decreed wholeness, and commanded his body to heal. As Inner Healing and Deliverance Ministers, my husband and I broke generational curses, cast off all evil spirits that could be causing his disease, addressed any unforgiveness or bitterness, and repented for any sin that could have caused the cancerous growth.

But even with all our efforts, he was not healed before the surgery…

          so then we began declaring, decreeing, and commanding a smooth and fast  

           surgery with no complications and an easy and fast recovery.

God had other plans.

Our son’s surgery did go well but it took longer, was more invasive, and the cyst was larger and caused more damage than the neurosurgeon expected. And the recovery was anything but easy. I was hit in the face over and over again with my declarations, decrees, and commands not coming true. What was going on? Why weren’t the things we were declaring coming to fruition?

“YOU ARE NOT JESUS.”

God very clearly said in my heart that the declarations and commands were not happening because “You are not Jesus. And I have a plan in this suffering.” Well, Ok then. What we were declaring, decreeing, and commanding was not in line with God’s will, so he wasn’t going to make it happen. No amount of my declaring or commanding was going to change his will. And praise God for that!!!

I have been so transformed through this process of my son not being healed miraculously that I wouldn’t trade it for a physical healing miracle. Also, people who follow our story have come to Christ, returned to Christ, or had their hope in God restored. None of that would have happened if our healing declarations worked at the beginning.

God knows what he is doing!!!!!!!!

So, let’s go back to a heartache moment in the hospital where my son’s body was not responding the way it should have been. None of my declaring, decreeing, or commanding had come to pass by now. Everything was flip-flopped.

• He wasn’t healed miraculously,

• He didn’t get to go home after one night,

• He wasn’t able to sit up or walk without throwing up,

• He had several complications from the surgery and medications,

• His body wasn’t working right,

• and the recovery was not easy.

So much for my efforts to chart the course of his life with declarations, decrees, and commands!

“YOUR WILL BE DONE.”

In that instant in the hospital, where my son was facing a giant challenge after brain surgery, I got on my knees in humility before God's throne and practiced what Jesus modeled for us on how to pray. I did ask God to heal my son and make his body work right again BUT I made sure to add, "Not my will, but yours be done."

   No declaring healing.

        No decreeing healing.

               No commanding healing.

And guess what? The one physical complication I prayed for was healed!!! And, my heart was in a better place, so even if he wasn't healed, it would have been OK.

Do you see the shift in prayer? I went from a life of declaring, decreeing, and commanding to a prayer strategy of asking for what I would like most BUT THEN making sure my heart is set on God doing HIS WILL not mine.

There is so much POWER and PEACE in this strategy.

So, pray like Jesus!! Humbly approach the throne of God with a servant’s and child’s heart. We are not the ones that make things happen!! It is all God. His power, his plan, and his will. We may ask, but NOTHING happens without God allowing it.

Declaring, decreeing, and commanding put our hearts in a place of believing we play a role in the outcome. We don’t. And when what we say will happen, doesn’t happen, we are left with confusion, heartache, and doubt.

Since that moment in the hospital where God shifted my prayer life, I have continued to pray that HIS WILL BE DONE. I have seen more healings, miracles, and breakthroughs with that strategy than I ever saw with declaring, decreeing, and commanding! And my heart condition is so much better because I take the humble place of his servant and child.

For example, our son ended up needing a second surgery to fix the bone plate that got dislodged in his skull (he has a 3” hole in his skull with titanium mesh and a bone plate). We did not declare, decree, or command that the surgery would go well and that recovery would be smooth. We asked God for those things but added, “But your will be done in this.”

His second surgery was sssooo smooth and we got to leave the hospital in two hours…not four days! He was up and walking, talking, eating, and his body was working perfectly. It was amazing. All because we humbly approached God’s throne and asked for his will to be done.

Although I strongly encourage you to pray that God’s will be done, I am not saying it is some magic formula to get whatever you want. We must remember that God is sovereign and he will do as he wills. We approach his throne with a humble heart, asking for things in prayer, and always recognizing his will prevails.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYERS

I still use powerful and commanding spiritual warfare prayers when battling evil forces in people’s lives. But the Bible says we DO have the power and authority because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit over evil spiritual forces. So, when doing spiritual warfare, I DO command the evil forces to leave the person alone. But that is different than my normal prayers asking for healing and protection.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do you find yourself declaring, decreeing, or commanding things to happen in prayer? Do you ever question or struggle with why they don’t happen? I strongly suggest you practice prayer the way Jesus modeled for us and told us to. By humbly approaching God and asking that his will be done not ours. His plans are always so much better!

God bless you!