What Is Spiritual Powerlessness?

Acts 19:11-20

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

If you are interested in your destiny, your success in life and your life after this life, you should be concerned about the level of God’s power in your life
This means that you must be concerned about your prayer life. Because to be prayerless is simply to be powerless

WHAT IS PRAYERLESSNESS?

PRAYERLESSNESS is not just not praying at all
PRAYERLESSNESS is actually not praying properly
Prayerlessness is Not enjoying praying
Prayerlessness is Spending less and less time in prayer
Prayerlessness is Praying only when it’s convenient
Prayerlessness is Sleeping when you should be praying,
Prayerlessness is Drinking tea before morning prayers
Prayerlessness is when you don’t have specific prayer times.
Prayerlessness is when you only pray survival prayers instead of revival prayers
PRAYERLESSNESS is spending more time with friends, on phone, sending text messages etc when you should be praying
Prayerlessness is the commonest and the greatest sin of God’s children
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”2 Chro.7:14
It is now becoming very clear that Ice-cream bread and butter Christianity, and low energy and low appetite for prayer will not get us anywhere
A prayerless generation is a powerless generation

ACTS 4:23-31
And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Show me a prayerless Christian and I will show you a power failure
One of the greatest needs of today’s church is bringing down God’s power to silence the noise of the enemy
Goliath was a very noisy enemy till David arrived on the battle field but as soon as David killed Goliath, power changed hands immediately
- This dying and disappearing world needs to see God’s children move in signs and wonders that the world might believe in Christ and be saved
- We all need to show the world the manifestation of the Kingdom of God in order to effectively destroy the works of the devil
- We all need to turn Namibia, upside down by displaying the raw power of God
- We all need to display the supernatural power of God in order to solve humanity problems,
- We all need to display the supernatural power of God in order to make a difference and fill up our churches with Saints
- We all need to heal the sick, cleanse leapers and cast out demons, in order to bring salvation, healing and deliverance to souls in Satanic bondages
- We all need to bring down the fire of God’s power against the enemy of our souls and destiny
- God approves of the Ministry of Jesus by signs and wonders
- Acts 2: 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
- You must believe that God wants you to work and receive miracles

Demonic activities are now openly on the increase anywhere you turn and this is why we do need to bring down the power of God.
Satan and his friends are in a terrible rage, because many of God’s people are waking up and punishing them daily
Sin, sicknesses, diseases, curses and wicked programs of darkness are released daily against innocent people
Plenty of suffering, poverty and wicked bondages are raging on earth from the kingdom of darkness
Occultic and Satanic Kingdoms are nakedly displaying their powers without any shame
- It is a big insult to the Holy Spirit in us for these wicked powers to even prosper in our environment or in our lives and homes
- We must do what Apostle Peter did in Acts 8:9-25
- We must curse them and their evil powers to their face
Evil men are getting stronger and stronger in our days
Powerlessness in the church is becoming more and more a serious thing of concern
You and I need God’s power in our lives now in Jesus name
- If we must cope with the evils of this present world we need the greatness of God’s power to be manifesting daily in our lives
- If you are sitting there and you don’t feel concerned about your prayerlessness and powerlessness, the enemy has captured you already
You need to be concerned and cry out to God for help today
- The Church needs to understand that we are the reason why evil is getting more and more powerful, because we have not stood up to arrest it
When Christ’s love started in Nigeria we used to pray form 10pm – 6 a.m on our feet
We had doctors, teachers, students, etc. who would needed to go to work the following day
Now when we pray for just a few hours, people are already tired
We need to understand that seeking God’s power is not cheap at all
- You need to lay hands on your head today and command the power of prayer on your life by the fire of the Holy Spirit
I pray that your life will demonstrate the power of God in the name of Jesus Christ
- The only language the enemy understands is power and the only thing the enemy respects is violence .This is a rule that will never change

Matt 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
When a lesser power encounters a greater power, it has to bow
I decree that before you leave today, you shall receive fresh power in Jesus name
- Jesus knew that his disciples were weak and He was not going to leave a group of powerless people behind
He therefore told them to tarry in Jerusalem so they could receive power
- But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8
He knew they needed that power
Many of us are running after what we don’t really need
Many run after money, property, healing, miracles
- Just know that the day you get the genuine power of God in your life, these things will run after you
Lack of power will lead to plenty of poverty, bondage and slavery
Fortunately God’s power has no respect for age.
Moses was 80 when he demonstrated God’s power
Samuel was 3 years old, Shedrag Meshach and Abednego were all young men
The Apostle that brought revival to Nigeria was only 26 years old
There was a time the youngest evangelist in Nigeria was a 7 year old boy
God is looking for someone today who will say Lord I am tired of my powerlessness
Someone who will say “Lord I am desperate for you”
Power is actually a difficult word to define
When the world talks about power they mean capacity and ability to conquer and rule
Sometimes people start to qualify power in the following ways
- Solar power, economic power, material power, financial power, cultural power, Academic power,,or supernatural power
But as far as we are concerned, real the power is the Spiritual one
In Christianity we talk of power to prosper, power to heal, power to deliver
- That’s why Jesus says I give you power against all the powers of the enemy
- Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19,
- And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; Mk. 6:7
Bible makes us understand that all power comes from God. Ps. 62:11.
But If you have to tell people you are powerful, you probably are not.
What is spiritual power?
Spiritual power is to have the fullness of Christ dwelling in you.
This is where the power ACTUALLY starts to flow from into your life
- Many are powerless because Christ does not dwell fully in them; flesh is the one dwelling in them
- John 14:21-24
- He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
- Jesus refers to his keeping his WORDS and SAYINGS in this scripture as condition for empowerment John14:23
- He also says that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that PROCEEDETH out of the mouth of God
- What are the instructions or words from the Lord to you that are being ignored?
- We need to study the letters of Paul to Christians and change

2 Power is ability to go the 2^nd mile. Long suffering never giving up, ability to continue when others give up Math.5:41

3 Power is ability to turn the other cheek

5 Power is ability not to react when offended

6 Power is ability for you to totally die to yourself and for Christ to reign in you

7 Power is the Lord depending on you anywhere you are

8 Power is ability to remain unpolluted in this present world

9 Power is ability to have access to the mysteries of God and remove obstacles in your way

10 Power is ability to keep your flesh under control

11 Power is ability to be silent when provoked

12 Power is ability to be filled with the Holy Spirit

13 Power is ability to put our enemy to flight

14 Power is ability to remove obstacles from your way

15 Power is ability to move in the gifts of the Spirit

16 Power is to be truly broken ,remoulded and refilled by the Holy Spirit

Conclusion of these 16 definitions is that power with men proceed from power with God when we yield to His voice and will for our lives
Powerlessness is the foundation of all kinds of slavery and bondage
Sisters if you want to be powerful, if you don’t want demons in your flesh obey the Holy Ghost and get rid of all those worldly attires
- You can tell the Lord I am going to remove these things and put them aside for a while and see what difference they will make
You cannot walk in full authority and power unless you are cleansed
- Before we pray let’s look at the clear difference between authority and power
- Many believers struggle with faith confession, power and authority
2 Kings 1:9-16
- Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
- 10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
- 11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
- 12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
- 13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
- 14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.
- 15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.
- 16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
Authority is in the name of Jesus Authority also comes from the word of God
The word says you will cast out demons, heal the sick, set the captives free
- Yes but power is the anointing from the Holy Ghost to do what the word authorizes when we yield to the leading of the Holy spirit
Remember the 7 sons of sceva?
- Acts 19:11-20
- And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
- 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
- 13 ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
- 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
- 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
- 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
- 17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
- 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
- 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
- 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Authority is given to all believers without measure but not power
Power flows when we are in true relationship with God
Authority has been given for you to pray in the name of Jesus Christ
- But if your life lacks self denial, prayerfulness consecration and faith the enemy will not respect what you say
- Paul’s life was different from the lives of the seven sons of Sceva who were vagabond believers,who lacked self -denial.
- A vagabond person is always moving from place to place without a fixed home
- Many Christians are just wandering from Church to Churcc and from Prophet to Prophet
- They are just leading an unsettled, irresponsible, or disreputable life.
- They refuse to be planted in the house of God and be mentored and disciplined unto good work.
- They hate rebukes and move around from Church to Church with itching ears
- Jude 12-21
- These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
- 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
- 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
- 15 ¶ To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
- 16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
- 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
- 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
- 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
- 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
- 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
- The sons of Sceva were carefree and careless believers who thought they could also cast out demons
- They had no time to consecrate and devote themselves to prayers and to God but they wanted to cast out demons in the name of Jesus like Paul was doing
- Your level of brokenness, obedience and self crucifixion,self denial and discipline will determine your power level
- If you are unserious, unbroken, sinful, hypocritical and prayerless you will sing and there will be no power
- Authority is given at salvation, but power is released when you walk in the Spirit and deny ungodly lusts of the flesh
Brokenness and prayerfulness will always bring you powerful results
- When you start to be prayerful and demonstrate God’s power, the 1^st yoke to break will be your own yoke of laziness and lukewarness.
- In conclusion, unbrokeness, prayelessness and powerlessness will cost us a lot of wastage and damage
It will make us uprofitable to Christ and reduce us to the fate of the five foolish virgins
We need that fire power today
Those who are hungry for God stand up on your feet now
- When praying you have to concentrate on God, don’t allow your mind to dance up and down
Be serious, be fervent, be intensive be violent
- IT’S TIME FOR GOD TO SHOW HIS POWER ON EARTH TODAY ISAIAH 64:1-4
Ps.63:1-2_The psalmist i.e David cried out to God
His soul thirsts and seeks the Lord. His soul longs for revival
His soul seeks the power of God.Many of you may be in that situation now
But God’s power is not far from us.His power is not difficult to get
- His power is ACTUALLY inside you if you are saved Lk.17:20-21
- John 3:1-7 – You must be born again!!
You must allow Jesus to rule in your heart if you want to see God’s power
The power of God simply in the name of Jesus Christ
The power of God is In his word.The power of God is in his blood
The power of God is the Holy Spirit
The main gate to all the gates of God’s power is the gate of the cross.
Apostle Paul says the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish
1 Cor.1:18 – How can there be power in the name of Jesus
- How can his blood that flowed more than 2000 years ago still be flowing powerfully
How does God’s word work?
No one wants you to ask questions you must just believe
God cannot be and should never be queried
He is to be worshiped and obeyed If you put your trust in God
- If you give your heart to Jesus If your study the Bible and obey God’s word
You will be very, very, very, and extremely very powerful.
John 14:1,6,12-14,18-23
God gives power to his people Ps.62:11
Jesus says if you obey Him God the father God the son Holy Spirit
All 3 will dwell in you
- One way of understanding the power of God within you is to preach the Gospel Lk.10:19; Mark 16:14-20
As the disciples went, Christ went everywhere with them
Christ in you the hope of glory
- If you are a child of God and are playing with Lying, stealing, drunkenness, cleaning, violence, fighting, fraud, murder etc.
You need to confess these sins and be free to reign with Christ
The Holy Spirit does not dwell in dirty places,You are God’s temple

THIRSTING FOR GOD AND HIS POWER is important
Ps.63:1-2 – David cries out to God for His power in His life
Jesus promises that if you hunger and thirst after righteousness you will be filled
Math.5:6 If you hunger and thirst for God and his power I congratulate you
You will surely be filled
But God’s power is not difficult to have at all
His kingdom, his power is already within you Lk17:20-21
Jesus says and also remember you are made in his Image
But you have to believe and see yourself as God sees you
This is only possible in Christ Jesus.
To receive Jesus is to receive God’s Power
Mark 16:14-20
Lk 10:19
Acts 1:8
Many can’t walk in the real power because they think God’s power is cheap
They think that there is no need to repent from all known and unknown sin.
God is light and there is no unrighteousness or sin in Him at all
He hates sin. What is sin? Sin is missing the mark James 4:17
Sin is what you yourself know is sinful
Your sin is that your darkest secret in your conscience
Confess it and ask Holy Spirit. to fill you with the power of God
THIRSTING FOR GOD’S POWER is a good thing Ps.63:1-2
The Lord shows me that many people are longing for His presence and power
But you need to know and understand 2 things about the power of God

God does not just empower people for the fun of it, He empowers for ministry
God is a God of plan and purpose
- If He empowers you, you have to use the power for winning souls. Is.61:1-3; Mark 16:14-20
You must not be a lazy carrier of God’s anointing and authority.
- You must be willing to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead and set the captives free from a heart of compassion Math 9:35-38
- If you have compassion and concern yourself with what concerns the Lord, you will always be powerful
Jesus showed compassion when he raised Lazarus, he wept
The second thing is that power of God does not just flow in words alone
You have to have the right relationship with God. Ps.24 , Ps26:11 Clean up your hands_ Josh 7:1-13 ; Acts 2:38Ps.19:10-14
- Let us pray acts 2:22; 2 Tim.3:1-5;Mark 6 2-5

Gates of death reject me by fire in Jesus name
Any problem assigned to destroy my destiny die in Jesus name
Every power mocking God in my life die in Jesus name
Opportunity wasters my life is not your candidate therefore, die in Jesus name
Every owner of evil load in my life carry your load in Jesus name
- By fire by thunder I take back everything the enemy stole from me in Jesus name
- Oh Lord God of Elijah arise, change my story to glory, change this church story to glory
Overcoming power,and prosperity overshadow me now, overshadow this church, overshadow CLM, overshadow our families in Jesus name
Affliction shall not arise a second time
Any power sponsoring affliction against my life, my family die in Jesus name
Any power supervising and repeating problems in my life die in Jesus name
Repeating bad history in my life die in Jesus name

Prayer: Oh God of Elijah send down fire
Abba Father do not let the enemy will not waste our lives in Jesus name
_ Father let powerlessness depart from our lives today in Jesus name
_ Heavenly Father let the fullness of Christ dwell in us bodily in Jesus name
_ , Let our lives always manifest Chris wherever we go in Jesus name
- _ I release myself and family from the influence of vagabond and wandering spirits in Jesus name
- _ I bind and cast them out of our lives, in Jesus name!
- _ Our destiny will not be wasted; WE will not be VAGABONDS in Jesus name
- _ Our children and children’s children will not be VAGABONDS in Jesus name !
- _ Raw power of God come upon me now in the name of Jesus Christ
- _ Power from on high incubate my life in the name of Jesus Christ
- Raw power of God, power and fire from on high incubate CLM leaders and members now in Jesus name.
- _ Lord save me from myself in Jesus name.
- _ My father kill the flesh in my life in Jesus name.
- _ My father break me and remold me in the name of Jesus Christ

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