“I give you authority”. When our pastor was delivering his sermon Sunday morning he used these four words in the context of the authority God had given to His Son Jesus when Jesus came to the earth in flesh. Later, in Luke 10:19, Jesus says to his disciples, “I have given you authority….”

At the time I heard these words I was prompted to write them down which I did on my prayer list I keep in my bible. In the last 48 hours this phrase has been circling in my head. Now, this morning, it is starting to take root. It has done so in a way I wasn’t expecting. I’m working with a school where I’ve asked a consultant to come to model math instruction for a group of teachers who have lost their confidence and their student learning shows this. They’ve begun to believe it’s about the kids and their homes, etc. I’ve been with them now for a couple of months and have assured them their students are just like millions more around our country. The learning loss is more about how we teach. Today, this consultant I’ve come to know well will model a confident delivery of instruction which includes several ways to know while I’m teaching that students are learning. She will deliver her instruction with authority which inspires a learner to want to learn what they are hearing and seeing.

I was praying this morning for the teachers in this school to be enlightened by the modeling today. God reminded me that they had lost their confidence. When we lose confidence we can no longer feel in authority. The belief that “I can do this!” is very shaky. However, God is the very One who gives authority. I pray today for this group of teachers to see how they can begin to reestablish this trust and confidence.

God has done this for me in so many areas of my life. It is like a gift defeating the message my dad use to use: “I need to kill that spirit of yours” and “You just think you’re too good for this family–get out and go do your own thing and forget we are even here.” Today, God has replaced these lies with His Authority and with that comes a humble confidence that we can do this! I pray for these seeds to be planted today.