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Spiritual Authority – True or False? Part 2
This is the continuation of our discussion on spiritual authority. You can find Part 1 here.
What is spiritual authority? Who gets to decide who has it and who does not have it? Who determines the rules or boundaries of spiritual authority? Can you identify false spiritual authority?
When I was younger, I was taught that I needed to be under someone’s authority in order to be covered spiritually – like the pastor of a church. Is that true? Does spiritual authority protect you?
What other questions come to mind? Write them in the comments below and we will do our best to answer them!
In my decades of following Jesus, I have seen true and false spiritual authority. The false is much more common than the true, unfortunately. You know it in your gut, but as a young person you often don’t have the words to articulate what you are seeing. I’d like to share what I have learned – you may have a different opinion and that’s okay. This is a conversation – feel free to share your perspective in the comments. 🙂
False Authority
Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28
This is SO counter-intuitive to our natural thinking!!
Mighty men and women of power and authority often lord it over others, making sure that no one else has influence over what happens except them! They make sure that others feel small, weak or powerless around them. They expect deference in their presence – yes, sir! They are always right and they know better than you, so you better do what they want or suffer the consequences of their disfavor.
Unfortunately many leaders in the church follow this example of false authority. It’s the opposite of what Jesus taught about having authority. Why do you think that is?
When you have authority in the natural realm, it can easily go to your head and fill you with pride. That’s dangerous and foolish. Pride always leads to a fall because you are NOT all powerful. God resists the proud – He gives grace to the humble.
Jesus was trying to teach his disciples that humility and lowering yourself as a slave is the way to power in God’s Kingdom. Jesus described Himself as meek and lowly of heart (Matthew 11:29). It’s in your weakness that the power of Christ rests upon you (2 Corinthians 12:9).
One of the characteristics of true spiritual authority is humility. You can hear it in someone’s voice and see it in their actions. People with true spiritual authority inspire you to trust and follow them. You don’t feel intimidated or manipulated by them – they respect you and encourage you to make your own decisions. You feel free in their presence.
If a leader demands that you submit to them and respect their authority, chances are they are operating in false authority. Jesus never spoke that way to people and He warned His disciples from using their power and influence to lord it over others. Keep that in mind – it’s important.
When you feel weak, you look for power to protect you, to empower you to “feel strong”. People can experience a false sense of power that comes from the soul if they manipulate or intimidate people to do what they want them to do.
The authority that Jesus gives provides true power or influence and you can see it in the fruit you experience – love, joy, peace, righteousness, etc. Anything else is false authority, false power. Soulish authority may look very powerful but it is limited. When you have God’s power, your source is unlimited.
One way to protect yourself from developing false authority in your own life is to embrace your weaknesses. Become like a little child, completely dependent on your heavenly Father. Be fully aware that it’s not your power or influence that does anything. Give up any illusion you have of being in control of what God is doing in you or around you. God is in control – NOT YOU.
You are not required to submit to a spiritual leader who is using false authority to control or manipulate you to do what they want. You can treat them with respect, but you do not have to submit to their authority. You submit to Jesus and do what He shows you to do.
If they are trying to convince you to do something and you do not sense the Lord leading you to respond, say nothing. This frustrates most leaders because they know that words can bind you in agreements (that you will regret later). It is better to be silent and attentive to the Holy Spirit, rather than try and talk your way out of the situation. Being silent also means that you can’t be bullied – you are giving them nothing they can use against you, especially if you are feeling weak or overwhelmed in their presence. Jesus was silent in the face of His accusers and it was a very powerful way to respond. He did not argue with them. He simply allowed them to speak and He didn’t say anything unless the Father told Him to speak. It can be very hard to do this, but it is a very powerful strategy.
Who gets to decide who has spiritual authority over you? You do! Toxic leaders will tell you things to make you afraid to leave their church – that God will not bless you if you leave. Or that the devil will get you if you are not under someone’s spiritual covering. Whenever someone tries to motivate you by using fear, run away fast. That’s not God! God’s love casts out all fear (I John 4:18). Manipulation and Intimidation use fear to control your behavior – that’s false authority. Get away from them fast!
Spiritual Covering
One last topic I’d like to cover is the idea of spiritual covering. I have heard it taught that you must be under a local church pastor in order to be covered spiritually. There’s some merit to it, but it has been used to confuse people and cause them to be afraid of leaving bad churches. I want to help bring clarity.
When you are covered spiritually, it means that someone is looking after your spiritual growth and development. They pray for you and with you, helping you to discern God’s direction for your life. They mentor you and help you to avoid making unwise decisions or getting involved with the wrong people.
Many local pastors oversee large groups of people and they cannot possibly provide this level of covering for you. They preach sermons at church and probably pray for you in a general way. This does help protect you from the enemy if you follow what they teach you from the Bible. Their prayers can help you, in a general way.
Will the enemy still attack you? Absolutely! For some reason people feel like there’s some kind of magic about having a pastor’s covering. There is no magic. There is still spiritual warfare and you are in it whether you want to be or not.
It is better to develop a close relationship with a small group leader or spiritual mentor that can meet with you, get to know you personally and pray with you about the concerns in your life. As they get to know you, the Lord will give them insight to help you avoid making unwise decisions or getting involved in bad situations with the wrong people. You need the personal interaction. This is how Jesus interacted with his 12 disciples. He did life with them. Most pastors simply cannot do life with everybody in their congregation, it’s not humanly possible.
I encourage you to ask the Lord to bring two or three mature Christians into your life. They may not be leaders, but they know how to walk with the Lord and how to love others. Remember to look for humility. That’s key. And then just do life together. Spend time with each other. Share about what’s going on in your life and ask them to pray for you. Listen when they have things to tell you about God or the direction in your life. The Lord will bring the right people into your life. You can ask Him to do that.
To learn more about spiritual authority, check out some good books like
Authority in Prayer by Dutch Sheets
A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
What other questions come to mind regarding spiritual authority? Write them in the comments below and we will do our best to answer them!
How to Host a God Gathering
It has been on my heart recently to host a “God Gathering” – a place where people can gather to seek the Lord. In the old days, people referred to this as “tarrying in the presence of the Lord”. It’s not exactly a prayer meeting – I’m not sure what to call it so I call it a “God Gathering”. 🙂
I have hosted many of these over the years and it occurred to me last night that there may be someone who doesn’t know how to do this so here’s how I do it – in case it might inspire someone else to host a God Gathering of their own!
- Make sure you are hosting the God Gathering for the right reasons. The Holy Spirit is usually the one who initiates the invitation by putting it on my heart to host one. You do not want to do this just because you feel like it – it won’t work. I had a friend call me one time and ask me to host one for her. I had a feeling she was motivated by emotion more than by the Spirit because she seemed upset and hosting the meeting was a reaction to her emotional turmoil. She contacted a bunch of people and twelve of them said they would come. I prepared for it, but I had this sense that this was an empty endeavor. Sure enough, the day for the meeting arrived and she was the only one who showed up. We sat together, quietly talking. When it became obvious that no one else was coming (not even other spiritual leaders, pastors, etc. that had promised to come), I told her I had a sense that it just wasn’t the right time. She agreed and went home. This was a clear object lesson for me – don’t be tempted to do this on your own. Wait for His timing.
- Prepare the environment. I usually do this by cleaning the room where we will be meeting and playing some soaking music softly in the background. I often do this a few days before and just let the music keep playing. My brother used to tell me he could tell the angels liked it when he left the soaking music on. I’m not aware of that but it does help your mind to focus on the Lord every time you hear the music. Some suggestions for soaking music are here.
- Send out an invitation and make sure people are clear on why you are hosting this meeting. You want to make sure that the people who are coming are sincerely wanting to connect with the Lord. This is not just a social gathering. If parents ask, I don’t usually include young children because it’s hard for them to sit still (though I have seen some children who really like these kinds of meetings, but it is rare). You want an environment with no distractions.
- Prepare the spiritual environment. Once the people have gathered and greeted each other, I turn down the lighting to signal that it’s time to begin. Then I pray some specific prayers to prepare the spiritual environment and our hearts for an encounter with Jesus.
- Pray over the room, asking the Lord to wash it and commanding everything else to leave. For example, “Lord, thank You for meeting with us. We are here for You. Would You please wash off this room and remove anything that does not belong here? No spirits of the enemy are allowed to stay here – leave now, in Jesus’ name.”
- Pray over the people, asking the Lord to wash us off and remove any distractions from hindering our time with Him. For example, “Lord, I ask that You wash us off from all that we’ve picked up today. Would You please draw us close to You? Open our hearts and minds to hear from You. Please remove any distracting influences during our time together.”
- Invite the Holy Spirit to come. Yes, the Lord is already there, but there’s something about this step that prepares YOU to hear from Him. For example, “Holy Spirit, we invite You to come. You are welcome in this place. Please increase our awareness of Your presence.” There’s a difference between the omnipresence of God and the tangible manifest presence of God. We are seeking His manifest presence.
- Invite Wisdom and Revelation. For example, “Wisdom and Revelation, come. We welcome you. We invite you to speak to us and show us God’s glory and goodness.” I don’t know how this works, but I know that when I do this it shifts the atmosphere. Some say these are specific angels that are released to minister – others say these are aspects of the Spirit of the Lord. Either way, you are welcoming them to reveal the Lord’s goodness and glory. I don’t have to understand it for it to work (like electricity, right?). Childlike faith is simple and powerful.
- Wait expectantly. At this point, I often turn the music up just a little bit so we can hear it and drown out any other sounds. It helps us to focus without distraction. Often the presence of the Lord has been building with each prayer of invitation spoken so now we just enjoy Him. I often find a smile bursting on my face because He’s HERE in such a tangible way – I am so happy to be with Him. Sometimes I whisper my love and worship to Him – trying not to distract anyone, but at the same time honoring who He is to me. Others may also whisper their love and worship. 🙂 Some people sit, some lay down on the floor, some kneel – each one is free to do whatever feels comfortable for them. (I have tile floors so when I host these, I often put big cushions on the floor and some fluffy throw rugs for people to lay on, if they want to.) Sometimes people pace at the end of the room – that’s okay too. It’s important for each person to be free to be themselves. I also make sure there is paper and pens on the coffee tables in case anyone needs to write what the Lord is saying to them, especially if they wish to give it to someone else.
- Receive from His presence. Just being together in God’s presence is incredibly refreshing and healing. We often just sit quietly and soak up His presence. No one is moving or talking – just being together. Letting God be God.
- Ask people to share. After a time of waiting on God, I will often feel prompted to lower the music a little bit and then I ask, “Would anyone like to share what the Lord is showing them?” One by one people share what the Lord shared with them – it could be a Scripture verse, a new insight into His goodness and care, a word, a song or a vision. Scripture says, “When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other.” I Corinthians 14 The Message.
- Respond to each thing that is shared. This is really important and some people miss this. Pay attention to what the Lord is saying through each person who shares. Acknowledge what has been shared (thank the person) and then ask the Lord if there’s anything that needs to be done. I am often doing this internally while the person shares, asking the Lord to direct us. Sometimes it is obvious – perhaps something the person shares relates to a current event that needs to be prayed for. Ask that person to lead in prayer, others can join in after they pray. Usually the person who gets the insight or revelation has the authority to pray it out. If someone gets a word of knowledge or word of wisdom for an individual in the meeting, they should offer to minister to that person. Maybe they need prayer – but don’t force it. Ask them first. Sometimes it is not obvious right away what the Lord is saying but after 2-3 people share, you might see a theme emerging that guides you. Ask the Holy Spirit – in fact, I often just stop everything and say out loud, “Holy Spirit, what do You want us to do with this?” and we all just wait. If you don’t hear or sense anything, then just move to the next person who wants to share.
- Pray for each other. After everyone has had a chance to share what the Lord showed them, ask if anyone needs prayer. If there are many needs and time is running out, break up into pairs or groups of three and pray for each other. This is so important – we have no idea how much the people around us are in need until we ask. Asking for prayer requests tends to open people up like nothing else does – this is often the most precious part of these gatherings as people feel safe enough to be vulnerable and transparent about their pain and struggles. This is the body of Christ loving on one another – first we love God and receive His love, then we love one another. ❤
- Close in prayer. You’d think you could skip this step since so much prayer has been going on all night, right? But there’s something about “closing” that feels right. For example, “Lord, thank You so much for meeting with us tonight. We enjoy Your presence so much! Thank You for all You did tonight. We ask that You seal these prayers and all that happened here. We love You.”
I have not encountered too many church meetings that follow this format. But every time I follow it, the Lord comes powerfully and everyone leaves very happy, refreshed and blessed.
I wonder if you could do this virtually. Could you have an online God Gathering using video chat? What do you think? Would it work?
Is there anything you do that helps you and your friends connect with God? Please feel free to share it. I love new ideas!
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 