Prayer and Authority (11) Dealing to Evil

Dealing with the spiritual forces of evil is another aspect of prayer and authority. Human sin gave the devil authority on earth. It also seemed to give him some authority in heaven. He was able to go into the presence of God and make accusations against people who sinned.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them (Job 1:6).

Satan did not have authority to attack Job because he had not sinned, but if anyone had sinned, Satan could accuse them and demand the right to do them harm (his name means accuser).

Jesus death on the cross eliminated the accuser’s authority. If he accused any of God’s people, Jesus can say, “My blood covered that sin, so it does not count”. Satan lost his authority and was thrown out of heaven.

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him (Rev 12:7-9).

This is not a future event. These things happened when Jesus ascended into heaven (Rev 12:5). The cross destroyed Satan’s power and Jesus ascension into heaven confirmed that victory. He can never go into the presence of God and accuse people again.

The devil was thrown down upon the earth, but he has no legitimate authority there. Unfortunately, Satan is a cheat. Whereas God respects human authority, Satan has none and will seize power, even if he has no authority.