Earlier this week during our QC Midday Prayer, the Holy Spirit took the time to remind us that we truly belong to Him. When we call ourselves Children of God we really are such. It’s not figurative or metaphorical, it’s a reality.

Who are you? Do you understand who you are as a child of God? We call ourselves children of God, Christians and Christ followers, but do we really understand what those terms mean?

As children of God we are loved by God. Colossians 3:12 establishes who we are then provides instructions that go with our defined identity. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”. Note that we are not instructed to clothe ourselves in fear, worry, strife and anger. Have you ever noticed that all of the adjectives in that scripture are synonyms for each other? What is the promise or blessings spoken to those who obey this scripture? Matthew 5 says they will receive compassion and they will inherit the earth.

As we spent time in prayer, God reminded us that His answer to our prayers is yes and amen in line with His word, John 14:14, which says, “Ask anything in my name and I will give it to you.”

The concept of asking in His name demonstrates an alignment with His purpose, it expresses the fact that you’re about his business and therefore under, and entrusted with His authority. Praying in His name ensures that we have the right motive and are not ‘asking amiss’ as described in James 4:3.

I hope you get that it’s not just about throwing out or ‘dropping a name’ to get the upper hand. It means you have the legal rights, based on the context of your relationship, assigned to the owner of that name. It’s like being the ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago to the United States. You live in the US but your home and office are actually Trinidad & Tobago territories, over which the flag of Trinidad and Tobago flies.

When you operate in the US you do so with all of the rights and privileges of a citizen of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. You have diplomatic immunity, so you are not bound by the laws of the US and can’t be prosecuted or sued based on US law. When you speak, your words carry the authority of the government of Trinidad and Tobago.

When you ask in His name, it’s no longer just you or just about you, it’s you and all of heaven: the government of heaven, together with all of the heavenly hosts and armies. Can you picture that? So, what’s limiting you?

The more I chat with my fellow believers the more evident it becomes that we don’t know who we are and the authority we have, and that’s because we’re not spending time reading God’s word for ourselves. We’ve instead become dependent upon our spiritual leaders to tell us what God says about us and to us from His word. We’re like babies who can’t read and are dependent upon others to tell us what the words on the pages mean. As a result, we’re limited by their choice of reading material and their interpretation of the reading material.

While it’s cool to hear great sermons, they shouldn’t replace our time in the word. Studying and understanding God’s word with the help of the Holy Spirit enables us to mature spiritually. The truth is we aren’t even able to digest and apply the information we learn from great sermons if we’re not spending time with God and in his word.

Here are some scriptures that I believe God wanted me to share with you. As you read the verses, I pray that you are able to receive from the Holy Spirit the wisdom and insight that He desires you to receive. If you have any issues with them please take it up with the author of the words. I’m just the messenger. 🙂

John 14:13-14 (New International Version)
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Romans 8:35 & 37 (NIV)
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

1 John 5:1 says of us as believers, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” If God is a Spirit and we are born of God then we likewise are spirit beings.

In John 17:14 Jesus prays for the disciples and notes that they like He, are not of this world. We believers likewise are also ‘… not of this world.’

Philippians 3:20 reminds us that “…we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.” We therefore have all of the rights and privileges allotted to citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Romans 8:12-14
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Finally, we are seated in the heavenlies.
Ephesians 2:6-7 says, 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

The earth is therefore our footstool just as it is His. All things on earth are therefore in subjection to us. So I ask again, what limits you?