The Power of Prayer.
It is all based on scriptures in the Word of God.

1. Dependent on faith.
   Matthew 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." John 14:13 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son".
   
   

2. Unlimited if you abide.
   John 15:7 "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you".
   
   

3. Accompanied by praise.
   Acts 16:26 "Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose".
   
   

4. Power display.
   Acts 4:31 "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly".

Ambassadors for Christ.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:19-20 "Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should".

1. Paul remains focused on his calling. (v. 19)
   Paul submitted his request - Pray for me and my church. As Paul wraps up this letter to the Ephesians, it is interesting to see his focus as he requests prayer from this church. Paul as a leader himself and he knows the spiritual battle in his life. So he needs prayer of fellow Christians.
   
   Paul has a desire that God would give him the words to speak so that he could boldly share the gospel.
   
   He also asked for boldness in preaching of the Word and specifically the Gospel. Paul makes it clear he wants to be bold as he accomplishes the purpose God has for him.
   
   In our day we need to pray for leaders as they also face a spiritual battle from the enemy. The enemy's focus is still on leaders. In spiritual warfare pastors, ministers or preachers of the Word of God need the prayer support of the people in the church or group.
   
   Believers in a church must be praying for their pastor or leader to preach the Gospel clearly, accurately and boldly. Boldness allows us to look past our fears and distractions, and remain determined and committed to accomplishing our mission. The church can grow in numbers and also grow in maturity.
   
   

2. Ambassador. (v 20)
   Paul us an interesting word here - Ambassador. An ambassador is a respected official acting as a representative of a nation, sent to a foreign land and who is officially accepted in that position by that country. His role is to reflect the official position of the sovereign body that gave him authority. Paul represented Christ by sharing the gospel every where he went.
   
   1 Corinthians 1:17 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power".
   
   In Corinthians, Paul urges all Christians to consider themselves as ambassadors for Christ. Christians are God's ambassadors in that they have been "approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel".
   
   1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.
   
   

3. Preaching the Gospel.

   
   

   1. The people's responsibility. (19a)
      Believers must pray for their leaders as the spiritual leaders frequently come under spiritual attacks than the rest of the Christians. Satan knows if he can get a leader to fall in sin, he can keep people away sometimes even destroy the church.
      
      Preaching is a warfare activity and if leaders let go of preaching they are losing a battle to Satan. So believers must pray that their leaders preaches the Word of God, preach it accurately and boldly.
      
      

   2. The Leaders Responsibility. (19b-20)

      
      

      1. Preach the Word. (19b)
         In Greek it is the word logos. When Paul preaches he first and foremost wants to speak a word from God. Paul wants to preach the Word and nothing but the Word, and so should any leader or pastor who attempts to lead a church today. If they are not preaching the Word they might well sit down and be quiet for they have nothing of substance to say. But beyond preaching the Word, Paul also wants to preach boldly.
         
         

      2. Preach Boldly. (19c)
         The Apostles were given boldness after their prayer in Acts 4:29-31 and as a result the church began to live as the church should. Paul knows he needs to trust God and speak with boldness.
         
         

      3. Preach the Gospel. (19d)
         "Know the mystery of the gospel" - This is crucial. In spiritual warfare the gospel is crucial to understand and it is critical to know why Paul focused on preaching the Gospel.
         
         When they preach the truths, that Jesus Christ has defeated sin, death and satan, it is a reminder to our enemy the devil that he has lost this war. So not only is the gospel an encouragement to us and a reminder to satan of his defeat but preaching the gospel also persuade unbelievers to believe in Jesus. Every person that believes in Jesus is another blow to satan and a victory for Jesus Christ.
         
         

      4. Preach wherever. (20)
         "I am an ambassador . . ." - Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. He is in prison because of the Gospel and his believes. He must use every opportunity to preach the gospel and should be boldly. It is the power of salvation and should be proclaimed with power, conviction, passion and boldness. Paul is a prisoner for Christ. He is doing everything he can to continue to proclaim the gospel. Jesus said we were to go into the entire world and preach the good news. Mark 16:15 "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
         
         As spiritual leaders we go through this world, we represent another Kingdom, it is our responsibility to reflect the "official position" of heaven. We are in this world, but not of it. God's ambassadors are to be "as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves". Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must take the message of our King to the "ends of the earth", imploring men and women everywhere to be reconciled to God.

      
      
      

      D. Summary.
      I have posted several parts on the "Authority of the believer." We looked into it intensively. This is the last post in this series. My aim was to make us aware what we have received and what we can do with this gift which Jesus gave us. I hope that I made it clear what it is for believers.
      
      It is time that we use this authority which we received. This authority is very powerful. Too many Christians walk around defeated by the enemy. This is mainly because they do not know the Word of God. The Word says that he is under your feet. Do you believe this?
      
      It is time that Church leaders teach about important subjects which matter and is important for believers and young believers to know in these days. There are also many believers who are sick. It should not be like that. Jesus gave us already the healing through what happened on the Cross. So if you believe in Him and have the faith then you should also receive healing. The Church should be the example and should stand out and be the answer.
      
      Jesus did already the important task and took the authority away from Satan and defeated him. So Satan is defeated. But Satan managed to deceive us in many ways. Satan pretends to have power but he is powerless. He is defeated and we need to remind him that he is defeated.