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Praying is a waste of time until the Prayer Warrior is
willing to engage Satan in combat. The Son of God made one
of his greatest proclamations about prayer in Matthew’s
Gospel. His words took my breath when I read them again a
few days ago. My soul has been longing for a prayer life
like John Knox, Duncan Campbell, or John Wesley. The king of
England declared that he feared the prayers of John Knox
more than all the armies of his enemies. Today, it is clear
that our politicians fear nobody, not even God.
That is about to change. Here is what Jesus Christ said
about prayer, “But if I cast out
devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come
unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's
house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong
man? and then he will spoil his house” (Matthew
12:28-29). Praying for a change in our churches, homes, or
communities is hopeless until we move beyond just making
petitions to God about the needs.
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds…”
(2 Corinthians 4:4a). Satan must be defeated by saints that
engage him in combat. Satan has to be cast out of a
situation before prayer can change that situation.
The Father is ready for you and me to learn that we can
bind Satan and every evil spirit under his command. Never
has our world been more overwhelmed with the spirit of the
Antichrist. Our children are deeply troubled by dark forces
of the night. Music of this generation is straight out of
the pit. Rock, rap, and most contemporary music are soulical
at best and often diabolical. This music creates bondage and
spiritual blindness. Even small children are terribly
troubled by spirits of fear and selfishness. Only in
defeating these spirits can these lives be liberated.
Satan is nothing but a fallen angel. Jesus Christ has
provided His church with authority to bind Satan and his
powers so that Satan can do nothing but yield. The Son of
God said “And I will give unto thee
the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”
(Matthew 16:19).
This statement was made to Peter. Some might say that it
does not apply to the church. Our Lord of His church was
careful to eliminate that possible argument. Later, He
speaks to the church about brother sinning against brother
and the authority of the church to deal with such
situations. He then tells the church, clearly identified as
the church, “Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree
on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall
be done for them of my Father which is in heaven”(Matthew
18:18-19). The church is His authority on earth, which
includes the very realm of Lucifer. The very word church
means “called out and set in authority.”
The Apostle Paul gave us the picture of warfare in the
spiritual realm and warned us that it was like
“hand-to-hand” combat. He said by the Spirit,
“Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places” (Ephesians 6:11-12). Using the term “wrestle”
reminds us of a personal engagement. It’s a spiritual war
that we are called to be part of in this Christian life.
Many years ago, the church used terms with a military ring,
but our modern church is passive and resents such
terminology. Their helplessness is the result of this lost
of a warfare mentality.
This kind of warfare is not for the adult babies in our
churches. The church is full of worldly, emotionally
titillated people trying to use spiritualistic powers to
bind spirits. They are making things worse, not better. The
seven sons of Sceva were of the same nature as these
spiritual weaklings. Seven of his sons tried to use the name
of Jesus whom Paul preached and prayed over a possessed man.
The result was a perfect picture of our church world today.
“And the evil spirit answered and
said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 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” (Acts 19:15-16). Does
Satan know our names like he knew Apostle Paul’s name?
Do not think to move quickly into this warfare with hell.
Prepare your life by separation from the world and a great
period of consecration to a life hid in Christ. Seek His
righteousness and holiness until there is a broken and
humble spirit before the Lord. Obey every Biblical
restriction of Godliness and learn how to utterly depend on
Christ and His Holy Spirit.
“Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with
all perseverance and supplication for all saints”
(Ephesians 6:18). But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Ghost” (Jude1:20).
“…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and
do exploits.” (Daniel 11:32b).
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