“That day when evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they all got in the boat. There were also other boats with them. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and was completely calm. He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:35-41).
One night many years ago, after reading this passage, I went to bed during a ferocious storm that was dominating the night sky. Perhaps it was sort of like the one the disciples experienced with Jesus. But like Him, that night I was able to lie down and fall asleep.
At 3:30 a.m. I was awakened by my dog, Suzi, whose wet nose was pressing hard against my neck. She had gotten on the bed and was shaking like a leaf, exceedingly terrified by the pounding rain and accompanying thunder crashing outside the bedroom window. As I embraced my trembling doggy, without thinking, I spoke to the storm and said, “Peace, be still.” Those words came out with authority and conviction, springing from the kind of faith spoken about in Galatians 5:6: faith working through love (fueled by caring for my helpless, fearful dog).
Just as I spoke, all the rain, thunder, and lightning… stopped. In an instant, it disappeared. There was no more noise or light show or thunderous shower. All that remained was peace and calm.
Having never experienced this before, I thought perhaps it was a coincidence. Could it be that the storm would have stopped anyway? Maybe I just happened to speak those words in the same exact moment it was dissipating? I looked at the clock and noted it was 3:31 a.m.. Then I comforted Suzi and went back to sleep, not totally sure what to make of this.
The next evening at my weekly Bible Study, one couple inquired of the group: “Hey, did anyone see the thunder and lightning storm last night? It was raining so hard and thundering so loudly, we couldn’t sleep, so we got up and watched the most extraordinary light show taking place. It was ferocious yet beautiful. Then, in a moment, it all stopped! Poof. The sky was clear, and the storm was completely gone. Did anyone else see that? We could hardly believe our eyes!”
Another friend confirmed that they, too, had witnessed this event. Then I asked if anyone noticed what time it was when the storm stopped. One person said, “Yeah, it was just after 3:30 this morning.” With that, the hair on my arms stood straight up. Maybe what I thought happened did indeed happen. Reluctantly, I told the group that I’d been reading in the gospels the night before about Jesus calming the storm; then, when my dog woke me up trembling, I instantaneously commanded the storm to be still just like Jesus did. I noticed the storm abruptly cease, almost as if it was obeying my words. And this all happened at precisely 3:31 a.m.! The group was excited to hear my story, and no one discounted it—except me. I wasn’t sure what to think, and truthfully, I was astonished by the whole thing. Yet, it happened. Of that, I was quite sure.
Fast forward a few years to the time I was in Russia sitting on a bus ready to get on a chartered airline with 50 other Americans. We were hosting a conference for pre-believing Russian educators, showing them the Jesus film, giving them Bibles, then training them how to use these and some evangelistic curriculum with their students. We were supposed to go to Petrozavodsk in northwestern Russia near the border of Finland. But because of a massive fog bank shrouding that city’s airport, we’d been sitting in a bus on the tarmac in Moscow for nearly an hour. Apparently, Petrozavodsk wasn’t allowing any planes to land that afternoon.
As we sat and waited, someone eventually suggested we pray. People all around me began to talk to Jesus one by one, and I kept hearing the same phrase over and over: “Lord, if it be Your will, would You lift the fog?” Now I know the Bible says love is patient, but eventually, I lost patience with the disclaimer, “If it be Your will.” I was relatively sure that God had not brought 50 people several thousand miles to do evangelism in Russia, and now He’d changed His mind and wanted us to sit on a tarmac while a planeload of Bibles and evangelistic materials lay waiting to be distributed to folks who were hungry for Jesus! So I decided to pray (as it turned out, I went last). I spoke with intent when I said, “Russian fog bank, I command you in the name of Jesus to leave Petrozavodsk—NOW!”
Everyone was quiet. No one else prayed.
We sat there in silence for one or two minutes until a Russian airport official came running out to announce we could now board the plane and fly out! Evidently, the weather in Petrozavodsk had suddenly cleared and the fog bank was gone. As we got on the plane, we were full of joy and gratitude, anticipating the wonderful time we’d have telling these Russians about the living Christ. After all, He’s the One who said, “If you live in Me [abide and stay vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. … I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing” (John 15:7, 11, Amplified Bible). Yes, indeed!
That day, I realized in a more profound way that when Jesus’s words and ways live in our hearts—when we’re following Him and making disciples as He commanded (Matt. 28:19–20)—we have total access to Christ's authority in us to see history affected… no matter what we encounter. And because the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead abides in us (Romans 8:11), we are moved by God’s Spirit to release our faith—even if it’s as small as a mustard seed!—in accordance with His love. That’s how He grows our capacity to sense His heart and move in rhythm with Him for the benefit of others, causing us to become the influencers He intended, no matter what the outcome of our prayers may be.
When Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19), He was revealing His will to us. And when He said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12–13), I think Jesus meant just what He said. If we take the Bible seriously and are convinced it’s God’s revealed word, we can be confident that Jesus will see to it that His works are accomplished and His Father is glorified when we pray.
Yes, there’s exceedingly more at our disposal than we often access, and when we walk with Jesus, He predictably invites us to follow Him into situations that require us to use all the faith and authority He’s given to us. When we truly start to draw from our rich spiritual storehouse, the real fun begins!
If you’d like to learn more about walking in Christ’s delegated spiritual authority, Charles Kraft’s book, I Give you Authority: Practicing the Authority Jesus Gave Us, is a great place to start. And if you’d like to attend one of Novo’s spiritual authority cohorts and learn along with others, here’s a link that will give you additional information: https://www.novo.org/sacohort. Cohorts will start up again in the fall in multiple locations throughout the US. I hope you'll consider joining us!
Questions for Application and Action
1. What do you think it is about abiding in Christ and living vitally connected to Him that makes our prayers more effective? This might seem like an obvious question, but think about it and ask Jesus to reveal more about how He works.
2. Imagine what it must have been like to go places with Jesus and feel constantly unprepared, repeatedly taken off guard, and frequently undone by His tendency to say and do the unexpected, especially when He was confronted by the kingdom of darkness. How do you think you would have responded if you’d have been with Him during a real storm with real water coming into a real boat? Perhaps this was a typical storm, or maybe it was one brought on by the enemy who wanted to wipe out the Son of God. Why do you think Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Consider what the Lord might have been expecting them to do in that situation—other than waking Him up. What do you think kept them from using the spiritual authority Jesus had given them to take care of the storm themselves? What keeps you from using the authority Jesus has given you?
3. In Mark 4:35–41, consider why Jesus was able to sleep during the storm. Then read Psalm 121, a passage Jesus undoubtedly knew:
“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
Maybe God the Son was able to sleep because He knew God the Father wasn’t? Isn’t it nice to know that our Sovereign Lord is never sleeping on the job? If you had Jesus’s perspective, how might that alter your peace in the storms you are facing?
4. Think about your situation and the areas where God’s authority needs to be exercised over the enemy and elements in your life. How might you partner with Jesus and speak to the “storms” around you today, using your delegated authority to bring change?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This was written by a long-time Novo staff member who has worked on several teams over the years, and currently serves on the Prime Team.