Worship, we have found, is a two-way communication. When we humble ourselves, love and worship God, He then hears, answers and reveals Himself to us. He reveals Himself to us not only to give us the strength to continue on, but also the encouragement to pray more.
So, experiencing God’s presence in our worship times not only leads us to deeper, heartfelt personal intimacy, but also to more intercession for others. Since we are (at that time) truly one with Him in spirit, Scripture promises that He will hear our prayers and also answer them. “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name; ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24)
John 9:31 also validates that God hears true worshipers. So again, those who become one with Him by worshiping can be assured He will hear and answer their prayers.
Praying the Scriptures
I learned long ago that if I wanted anything at all to be accomplished in my life, it must first be brought before the Lord in prayer. I also learned, however, that there is an appropriate way to pray and an appropriate time to pray. When I followed the Lord’s prescribed instructions, tremendous results would occur. When I did things my own way, everything would fall apart! The Lord makes the rules; our duty is simply to follow them.
Someone taught me years ago that when I prayed the Scriptures, God would do powerful things, not only in me, but also in the ones I was praying for. Bob Sorge, in his book Secrets of the Secret Place, states that “when we pray with God’s Word on our lips, we know we are praying prayers that are living and powerful.”
In other words, we are specifically praying “according to His will.” Hebrews 4:12 validates this. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
It’s true! When the language of our prayers is shaped by the Scriptures, we gain confidence in knowing that we are praying according to the will of God. This way we bypass our own self-centered, pity-party prayers and step into God’s thoughts, His mind and His wisdom.
Now, there’s no reason to be afraid of repetition. God knows our heart and what is important to us, and by repeating the same prayers we become like that persistent friend in Luke 11 who would not take “no” for an answer. (The ineffectual prayers that we must watch out for are those mechanical prayers that the Pharisees prayed in order to be seen, heard and thought of “as godly.” These were not genuine prayers from their heart, nor from the Spirit of God.)
Also, when you go into your prayer closet to worship, always have your Bible handy. Then, you not only can pray the Scriptures, but the Lord can also speak His will back to you through the Scriptures.
Since it’s always been very difficult for me to memorize Scripture, I found writing the Scriptures out and then praying them, to be extremely helpful and beneficial. So, the following Scriptures are simply suggestions for prayer. They are not intended to be an in-depth thesis on prayer and worship.
If they minister, wonderful! If not, skip them and continue reading. Just as in worship, it’s imperative to allow the Holy Spirit to direct your prayers. Remember, we are not under the law, but under grace. Therefore, I do not mean to imply some sort of “methodology” or “ritual” here. We certainly don’t have to “work our way to heaven.” However, I do believe God has given us His Word and He is very pleased when we pray it back to Him.
Personal Prayers
Some personal prayers that have ministered to me over the years are:
- Psalm 139:23-24: Search me and know my heart and my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in Your way.
- Job 34:32: That which I cannot see, please teach me.
- Psalm 45:17: I desire to make Your Name be remembered in all generations.
- Psalm 17:2: Let my sentence come forth only from Your presence.
- Ephesians 4:29-31: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearer. Let me not grieve the Holy Spirit, whereby I am sealed. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from me with all malice, etc….
- Ephesians 4:32: Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as Christ has forgiven me.
- Hebrews 4:16: Let me come boldly to Your throne in time of need and find mercy.
- Psalm 119:133: Order my steps in Your Word. Don’t let sin or self have dominion over me.
- Romans 4:21: I choose to be fully persuaded that what You have promised me, You will perform.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2: I pray that I would know nothing but “Christ crucified.”
- Philippians 4:19: That You would supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory.
- Matthew 22:37: I desire to love You with all my heart, with all my will and with all my soul, so that I can then love my neighbor as myself.
- Romans 12:1-2: I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable which is my reasonable service, and I choose not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed into Your Image (and show forth Your Life) by the renewing of my mind, so that I can, then, prove in my actions what is the good, the acceptable and the perfect will of God.
- Psalm 138:3: Make me bold with Your strength in my soul.
- Galatians 1:16: May You reveal Yourself in me, so that I might speak as You would have me.
- Joshua 9:25: I am in Your hands, do what You will with me. Have Your way in me.
- Philemon 14: Without Your opinion, I will do nothing.
- Acts 2:28: That You would make me full of joy with Your countenance.
- Colossians 3:4: Christ, You are my life.
- Philippians 1:21: For me to live is Christ.
Family Prayers
In addition to your own daily prayers for each member of your family, here are some further Scriptures you might want to pray for them. (Again, let the Holy Spirit pick which ones.)
- Ephesians 1:17-19: I pray for Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation for ________. I pray that the eyes of his understanding would be enlightened, so that he might know the hope of Your calling, the riches of Your inheritance, and the exceeding greatness of Your Power towards them who believe.
- Ephesians 3:16-19: I pray________will be strengthened with might by Your Spirit in the inner man; that You might dwell in his heart and that he might be rooted and grounded in Your Love and able to comprehend the breadth, the depth and the height of Your Love, so that he might be filled up with the fullness of You.
- Philippians 3:10: I pray that________may know You and the power of Your resurrection and the fellowship of Your sufferings, so that he might be made conformable to Your Image.
- 2 Timothy 2:25: I pray that You would give________repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
- Acts 16:31
- 1 Kings 8:23-53
- Daniel 9:3-19
- Colossians 1:9
Other Suggested Prayers for Loved Ones
Someone once gave me this list to pray for others. As I tried it, I was amazed to see so many I prayed for changed.
- Pray that God would “lift the veil” and give them a personal revelation of Jesus.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to hover over them and give them supernatural protection.
- Pray that God would put Godly people in their path.
- Pray that God would expose all pride and rebelliousness.
- Pray that God would expose all their hidden thought patterns – religious prejudices, known strongholds and evil spirits, etc.
- Pray that God would bind Satan from taking them captive.
- Pray that He would place His armor around them, and that He would do all He could to bring them to Himself.
I might also suggest making a special prayer notebook or prayer journal with all of your own special Scriptures. Then, you can take it into the prayer closet with you. My prayer diary goes everywhere with me. Those who have seen it laugh, because it is so dog-eared and so beat up. But, never mind, I know what it says and it helps me remember the Scriptures.
Pray For Our Nation
“If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14
This call for repentance is not addressed to our President, our Congress, or the liberal left: It is addressed to “my people, who are called by my name.” It speaks to the Body of Christ. Our stewardship of this nation does not begin and end at the ballot box. There is much more required of us. We need a national revival – and it must start with you and me.
“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:11-13
(Courtesy of Dr. Chuck Missler)
Lingering in His Presence
David Wilkerson, again one of my favorite pastors, says, “After I end my prayer time, I linger in my secret closet of prayer. I bow before the Lord and say, `Jesus, I’m here just for You. I won’t bring any more requests or petitions. This is Your time and Yours alone. I’m here to listen to Your heart.’”
He goes on to say “I simply stay in His presence, loving Him and waiting on Him. I know He will come to me and speak His Mind.”
Then, just like the priests of Solomon’s Temple, when their worship and prayer time was over, they went out and ministered to the congregation. We, too, at this point, can go out and share of the fullness that we have received while worshiping the Lord at the altar of our hearts. By doing this, we will bless those we come in contact with by His continuing presence in us.
Spiritual Warfare
Why do we bring up the subject of spiritual warfare? We do so because if we are going to be true worshipers of God, more than ever before we need to be knowledgeable in the art of spiritual warfare.
We need to know the enemy – his tactics and his ways – because, believe me, we are going to need this wisdom! If we want to survive these “end times,” we really have no other option than to learn how to fight the enemy and how to do warfare for ourselves, as well as all those for whom we pray.
Therefore, part of our prayer time in the Holy Place must be concerned with asking the Father to expose the enemy, to bind him in Jesus’ Name and to loose any strongholds that have been established.
The Enemy’s Involvement
When we are lukewarm Christians and have only a “form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5), the devil doesn’t really seem to bother with us. Why should he? We’re no real threat to anyone, least of all him. “Many of us are undercover Christians – i.e., no one knows we are.” So the enemy leaves us alone. But let us begin to worship and love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul. Then, watch out! We’re in for a real battle!
Remember how the Israelites tried to stone Joshua and Caleb for their commitment to “go all the way” with God? (Numbers 13:30-14:10) Well, it will be the same with us. Instead of our friends rejoicing or understanding what has happened to us, they’ll think we are crazy. They’ll ridicule us, mock us and even call us fanatics. You watch, the enemy will find many holes in which to attack us!
Jesus warns us in John 16:2, “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.”
Why is it that when we decide to surrender everything to the Lord, we automatically become huge targets?
When we become worshipers, it’s almost as if we develop a great big bull’s eye on our chest that says, “I love God, shoot me!” The reason this happens is that our mortal enemy not only hates God, he also hates anyone who wants to follow Him. If we are lukewarm, he won’t bother with us. But, watch out if we become “hot,” we’ll become immediate “pot shots.” Satan will do anything he can to thwart God’s plans in us and through us, even sending out “angels of light.”
Thus, if you intend to learn to worship the Lord, then you must be prepared to fight the enemy, and that involves learning spiritual warfare.
How Do We Fight?
Okay. How do we fight?
We fight by surrendering more! Yes, you read that correctly. We learn to fight the enemy by surrendering ourselves more – not to him, but to the Lord.
Look at Moses. Moses endured such horrendous chiding, testing and humiliation. How did he handle this? What did he do? He withstood the enemy by not letting doubt, unbelief, fear, insecurity, bitterness, guilt, etc., consume him, but instead choosing to surrender everything to the Lord and trusting Him even more.
During his difficult trials, Moses shut himself up on that mountaintop, prayed, worshiped and looked only to the Lord for His wisdom. (Exodus 5:22-6:7; Exodus 19:3-25; Exodus 33:12-22) In the end, because of Moses’ complete obedience to the Lord’s will, the enemy was defeated and he was able to lead a nation to freedom.
Another example is Stephen who, even as the Israelites were stoning him, looked, prayed and called upon the Lord. Acts 6:15 explains, “…all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” See also Acts 7:59.
Again, how did Stephen do this? He did it by having such unshakable faith and reliance in the Lord that he was able to “see” Him in the midst of the fire. Just like Moses, he “endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27)
A further example was the miracle of Job, who in spite of his incredible difficulties continued to cry out, “Though You slay me, yet will I trust You.” (Job 13:15)
And finally, there was Paul who, at times, felt lost, confused and bewildered because of the rejection, mockery, malicious gossip and persecutions that he experienced. He even came to a point of “despairing of life itself.” (2 Corinthians 1:8)
But the way Paul handled these things was not to give in to defeat but to believe and act out 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, [so] that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
All these renowned men not only endured huge trials in their lives, but conquered them. And they did so by surrendering themselves even further to the Lord and recognizing the enemy’s involvement. As a result, they were enabled to go on, filled with an inner peace that God’s will was being accomplished.
One of the reasons God allows hard times in our lives is to strengthen our faith. He arranges difficult situations so that we can see for ourselves how very weak our faith is.
Remember in Deuteronomy 8:2, God reprimanded the Israelites, telling them that He had tested them so that they might see (for themselves) their own hearts and their own unbelief. God is constantly doing the same with us – testing, proving, stretching and enlarging our faith, because our faith is the foundation of our walk. Faith is what our worship is built upon.
It’s also true that if our faith is weak, we won’t be able to stand against the enemy of our souls. If our faith is strong, then there’s no end to what God can do through us.
If we are not being “stretched,” then we’re not really growing at all! Real faith is made up of a series of choices – choices to cleanse our hearts of all sin and self; choices to trust God regardless of our circumstances; and, choices to rely upon His ability to implement His will in our lives.
These are the same kinds of faith choices that Moses, Stephen, Job and Paul had to face in their situations. At the time, they certainly didn’t “feel like” making these choices, but they knew that their lives depended upon it, so “by faith” they made them anyway. And these are the same kinds of faith choices that we must make in order to have peace and joy in the middle of our trials.
Then we too can be troubled, perplexed, persecuted and cast down, but not distressed, in despair, forsaken or destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
The Battle is Not Ours, But the Lord’s
God tells us in 2 Chronicles 20:15 that “the battle is not ours, but the Lord’s.” We must continually remember this. Otherwise, we’ll end up confused and afraid.
Do you recall the story of Elijah, the great Old Testament prophet of God?
1 Kings 18 tells the story of a severe drought. In the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab and tell him I will soon send rain.” Elijah did as he was told and asked the king to bring all the people of Israel to Mt.Carmel, along with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 priests of Ashorah, who were supported by Jezebel, the king’s wife.
Elijah wanted to prove to them who the true God was. “If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21) What happened next was that the pagan priests and prophets danced, wailed and cried all night long for their god to show his strength. But nothing happened. Then Elijah got up, called on the Name of the Lord and “fire immediately came down from heaven and consumed his offering.” (1 Kings 18:38)
Elijah then slew the false prophets and was given supernatural strength to outrun King Ahab’s chariot back to the city. As Scripture puts it, “The hand of the Lord was [mightily] upon Elijah.” (1 Kings 18:46) But when King Ahab told his wife Jezebel all that Elijah had done, she was furious and sent a message back to the prophet, threatening his life. This letter made Elijah deathly afraid and he fled for his life. In the letter, Jezebel spoke just like an enemy, “You’ve had it; you’ve gone too far. The battle is now between you and me.” (1 Kings 19:2)
The interesting part about this statement is that it really was the truth! The battle on Mount Carmel was not between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, but between good and evil, the Lord and the devil. It was a battle between the powers of darkness and God’s body of believers (”light bearers”) here on earth. Queen Jezebel represented Satan and his demonic hordes as his tool to bring disorder, confusion and turmoil. Elijah represented the Lord and His believers.
As a result of that vicious threat from Jezebel, Elijah (filled with fear) sat down outside the city gates and wailed to himself, “Only I am left. All the others have been slain and now they seek my life.” (1 Kings 19:10) He accused the Lord by saying, “God, you let the devil get to me. You let him harass me. You let him take away my joy. I don’t deserve such treatment. I have done everything you told me to do.”
This is the mighty prophet of God who just slew 750 prophets of Baal! Can you believe it? Is it any wonder then, that we too have our down days when the enemy’s taunts consume us? As a result of Elijah’s self-consumed thinking, he panicked, feared for his life, became depressed and eventually, prayed to die. (1 Kings 19:4)
Jezebel Today
I want you to really think about this story, because this is exactly what’s happening to many believers today. Jezebel represents the enemy in the story of Elijah. She was his tool to bring confusion, disorder and turmoil into Elijah’s life. And it almost worked.
Well, in these end times, the spirit of Jezebel is back and she is trying to do the exact same thing in each of our lives. When we determine to surrender and live totally for God and learn to worship Him, she uses the same tactics she used with Elijah.
God warns us about the spirit of Jezebel in Revelation 2:19-22 when He speaks about the end-time Church of Thyatira, “…I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants…”
I believe Jezebel represents a seducing spirit that is at work among worshipers in these end times that desires to break our will and our spirit. Her goal is to rob us of our desire to serve the Lord and to quench our hope in God’s faithfulness. If the spirit of Jezebel can make us think that God’s Word is not true and that He is not faithful to perform what His promises, then our relationship with Him will immediately collapse.
If the spirit of Jezebel can undermine our confidence in the Lord, she has us. The truth is, the Lord values His Word even above His Name. Thus, if He promises something in His Word, He will perform it no matter what.
Psalm 138:2 validates this: “I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy Name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth: for Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy Name.”
Jezebel wants to sidetrack us: from worshiping to worrying; from being on fire for the Lord to being lukewarm; and, from loving Him to doubting Him. She wants us caught up in the “Oh, poor me” syndrome, filled with self-pity and spiraling straight down into the pit.
When we begin to truly worship – entering His presence daily, vocally sharing our faith and acting as Christ would have us – then watch out! The spirit of Jezebel will use our loved ones, our friends and any situations she can create (any lies, fears, depression or confusion she can prompt) to take control of our lives.
Now when I say “take control,” I don’t mean “possession.” If we are born again, then our heart and our spirit already belong to the Lord. But if we give the enemy “entrances” into our soul by doubt, unbelief or confusion, she will use them to her full advantage. The spirit of Jezebel did it with Elijah. She will do it with us.
It’s one thing to stand up for Christ with our friends, our family and our co-workers, it’s quite another to stand up against the forces of darkness. Let’s see what we can glean from Elijah’s experience.
Lessons From the Story of Elijah
There are many lessons that we can learn from the story of Elijah. Here are just a few:
1. Even if we run, God is still with us. (1 Kings 19:5-8)
2. In order for us to really battle Satan, we must know he is alive and very real.
3. In order to regain control, we must unmask the enemy’s game plan. Only when we begin to truly understand what Jezebel is up to can we begin our walk back to freedom. Fear is what keeps us captive. It did Elijah and it will us also. (1 Kings 19:12-18)
4. Satan wants to use our emotions, our circumstances and our relationships to destroy us; God wants to use them to strengthen our faith. (Psalm 71)
5. We must listen to God’s voice (1 King’s 19:12) and take back control of our lives. When the Lord says: Why are you hiding, we must heed His call. When He says, Get up, don’t run from Jezebel, we must obey.
Once Elijah realized what Jezebel was doing, he never again allowed her to capture his mind.
Whether we admit it or not, we are in an intense battle. God knows that if we are not “battle-ready,” He can’t commission us into the heavy artillery. (Jeremiah 12:5) He knows that if we are wearied in any way by the enemy, we’ll never make it through the really tough times ahead. Thus, we have no other choice. Either we learn to fight as God desires or we’ll end up like Elijah, cowering in a corner.
Knowing our authority in Christ and how to fight the demonic in the spiritual realm is of utmost importance and must go alongside our learning to privately worship the Lord on a deeper and more intimate basis.
The enemy’s main targets today are worshipers, people in leadership and those totally surrendered to the Lord. These are the ones the spirit of Jezebel marks to break their will and their spirit. This seducing spirit wants to rob them of their desire to serve the Lord and to quench their hope in Him. She is looking for “control” in their lives.
Now, again, I’m not talking about “possession,” but simply control through mental and emotional confusion, doubt, manipulation, depression, discouragement, despair, etc. By allowing these kinds of things into their souls, these saints leave the door wide open for the enemy’s entrance. Again, look at Elijah’s example.
The spirit of Jezebel seems to attack through three main areas: discouragement, confusion and depression.
The enemy has set up his own cycle of defeat for us and it goes something like this: discouragement leads to confusion; confusion leads to depression; depression leads to loss of vision; loss of vision leads to disorientation; disorientation leads to withdrawal; withdrawal leads to despair; and despair leads to defeat.
Each one of these areas leads us right down the ladder to the next, until we find ourselves caught in a web so thick there’s no way out. Watch out for this in your own life. Recognize it. Then, make the faith choices (non-feeling choices) you need to get back to freedom.
The people we know and love the most are often the ones the enemy uses to hurt us the most. They’re able to do so through “control” and “manipulation.” And, if we allow bitterness or resentment to result, the enemy will have entrapped us also. In other words, the negative emotions which result from our resistance can often become a trap or a snare that the enemy sets for us. The devil wins whenever he can get us to react in the flesh rather than than through the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The spirit of Jezebel wants us to depart from the fruit of the Spirit to the poison of self. And she delights when we try to combat others’ actions in our own strength and power and wisdom. Bitterness, resentment, etc., will never cast out Jezebel but only increase her powers. The only antidotes to her attacks are repentance, love and warfare.
Unfortunately, everyone in ministry will at some point endure a form of rejection and misunderstanding. Now, some of these Christians will be able to handle this situation in a godly manner and deal with it as God would have them.
Others, however, when they realize they cannot control the circumstances, will reject the people involved. Remember the story of David with King Saul. When Saul realized he couldn’t control David, he not only ended up resenting and being jealous of him, he also tried to physically harm him. (1 Samuel 24)
When we rebel against the Holy Spirit and don’t deal with our sinful thoughts and emotions as God would have us, that void or hole is often filled by the spirit of Jezebel. Depression, confusion and fear are just the entrances she is waiting for. Then, we’ll find our selves falling down the “cycle of defeat,” just like we saw with Elijah.
What the Enemy Fears
What the enemy fears the most is repentance. Repentance is the key to a surrendered, spirit-filled life and Jezebel knows this.
It’s interesting that Elijah is the very one who represented “the call to repentance.” He exhorted Israel to return to God and to become a warring and worshiping people. But, because he tried to accomplish this in his own power and ability, he slipped into the flesh and fell. He forgot that all authority gained by our own efforts will simply become a stumbling block to receiving true authority from God. Thus, as seen in his own life, it can become an entrance for the enemy.
True spirituality is measured by displaying Christ’s meekness and His humility, not our own control and power. We must seek humility before position. Otherwise, we open ourselves up to the enemy. All self-seeking, self-promotion, self-preservation and self-centeredness must be destroyed and our focus returned to Christ-likeness. God’s way is to use the weakest of us – “the foolish things of the world,” – and then to fill us with Himself and exalt us to the highest position.
When we depend upon our own strength and our own power to accomplish God’s will, we give room to the spirit of Jezebel. The antidote to this is to refuse to take any authority or influence in our own power and strength, and instead rely completely upon the Lord to establish us.
This is why those in leadership are such prime targets for the deceptions and tricks of the spirit of Jezebel. The temptation is always there to take matters into our own hands and somehow “make them work out.” As 1 Peter 5:6 says, we are to “humble ourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, [so] that He may exalt [us] in due time.”
King David is a great example of this. During his reign, with the exception of the episode with Bathsheba, he refused to lift a hand to seek his own recognition or his own influence. And, as a result, the New Testament tells us that David was known as “a man after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22)
Even in the situation with Saul, David never took matters into his own hands, but insisted upon always exposing his own personal motives, and trusting God with the outcome of the situation. (1 Samuel 24:10) King David demonstrated the exact opposite of a controlling spirit.
This, unfortunately, is not the norm in today’s churches and probably one of the major root causes for much of the division and discord that we experience.
The Answer
As we have said before, the answer to the enemy’s tactics of pride, control, insecurity, fear, etc., is surrender, repentance and love.
We must quit following our own ways and choose to turn around and follow God. Constantly, we must ask Him to expose our efforts to control or manipulate others or situations. And, when He does so, we mustn’t collapse in guilt and remorse – allowing more strongholds for the enemy – but simply confess, choose to turn around, and give everything over to Him.
Trying to take “control” of situations or others is, unfortunately, one of the first ways our “flesh” rears its ugly head. As we know, the flesh is continuously warring against the spirit, but through confession and repentance, it can be overcome. God’s way always leads us back to the Cross.
Unless we can see the situation through God’s eyes and through His Love, we’ll not be seeing clearly at all. Any insecurity, any self-preservation, any self-promotion, unhealed wounds, unforgiveness or bitterness will neutralize our discernment and destroy our ability to walk by the Spirit.
In other words, we won’t be able to interpret our circumstances accurately. True spiritual discernment only comes to light through worship and intimacy with the Lord.
Matthew 5:44 tells us, “We are to bless those that curse us, and pray for those who despitefully use us.” By grace, we can “choose” to lay our lives down for one another and allow His Love to flow through us.
“Repentance and forgiveness” simply mean the freedom not to reciprocate from our wounds and hurts, but from Christ’s Life within. This is the only response that causes the evil spirits to flee.
Paul in the New Testament experienced such horrific attacks from the enemy that he despaired even of life itself. His answer, however, was not to give up and die, but to repent and trust God even more.
Listen to 2 Corinthians 1:9, “…we have the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.”
We must determine to do the same. Never give in to doubt and strife, but simply choose to have deeper faith in God’s unfathomable ways, trusting that He will lead you in His perfect way.
Isaiah 30:21 says it this way, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it…”
(John 10:27) Again, we are not required to understand all that He does, but simply to trust Him in all that He does.
Keys to the Kingdom
Jesus gives us some further insight into how we might fight, when He says in Matthew 16:19, “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.”
Now, granted this verse probably had an immediate application for that time, but I also believe it has a spiritual application for us today. The word “to bind” actually means to be put into bonds, to be tied up, to yoke, to harness or to join together.
It can also mean to forbid, to refuse, to not allow, to shut the door or to bring into subjection.
The word “to loose” means to break up, to dissolve, to unloose or to melt away.
It can also mean to permit, to open or to grant.
Binding and loosing are Hebrew idioms for exercising power and authority which Jesus says are the “keys” to the kingdom.
It’s interesting because Adam Clark, in his commentary on Matthew 16:19, says that when the Jews confirmed a man as doctor of the law, they put into his hands the key of the closet in the temple where the sacred books were kept, signifying that they were giving him the authority to teach and explain what was to be permitted and what was to be forbidden.
In like manner Jesus has given us (in His Name) that same authority and power. He has given us His authority “to bind” the enemy (to forbid him entrance) and “to loose” his strongholds (to break up and dissolve the ones already established). Because of Christ, we too have the keys to the closet of the temple of our body. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
We mentioned earlier that Jesus is always our example. And, what He did in many cases was simply forbid the enemy from speaking, rebuke him and then, command him to flee. And, by doing so, He pulled down, broke up and dissolved many fortified hideouts and other walled defenses the enemy had erected.
So, by the authority and power that Christ has given us as His children, we, too, can forbid and refuse to allow the enemy any more entrances (or holes) into our souls and we, too, can dissolve the strongholds already at root.
For example: feelings of resentment can lead to the stronghold of bitterness; confusion can lead to the stronghold of discouragement; and, feelings of betrayal can lead to distrust. These negative thoughts and feelings are often protected by self-erected, fortified and walled defenses to keep out more pain.
In other words, “boundaries” that we set up in the flesh and then depend upon to protect our right to believe something. Unfortunately, these defenses can also become comfortable hideouts and camps for the enemy. Consequently, the Lord wants these strongholds loosed, broken up and dissolved.
When we ask the Lord to expose the hidden part of our soul and confess and repent of the things that He shows us, we then destroy, break apart and smash any deception around which the strongholds are built.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4 we are told that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds…” (See also Colossians 3:5)
The only way we are ever going to be “conformed into Christ’s image” is by surrendering every negative emotion, thought, desire, attitude, fear and stronghold – inside and out – that might create opportunities for the enemy. There’s a huge difference between simply defining the sin and actually pulling down the strongholds that helped produce it.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 we are told, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to punish all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
This, to me, is one of the lessons that God is trying to teach us by the terms “binding and loosing.” As believers we have the power and authority to either prohibit or allow, tear down or build up, cast down or grant. This will be our continual choice – truly, the “keys” to the closet of our temple.
Other powerful Scriptures in regards to this area are Matthew 12:29; Matthew 18:18; Mark 3:27 and Luke 10:19. It’s imperative that we learn to continually “bind” the enemy with chains (Psalm 149:8) and command him, in Jesus Christ’s Name, to be gone.
Binding and loosing in the Name and authority of Christ must go alongside of worshiping the Lord. If we don’t learn how to do this, it would be analogous to taking off our grave clothes, but not rolling away the stone.
Warfare Prayer
Consequently, learning to pray a daily spiritual warfare prayer is of the utmost importance. If you are like me (and especially, if it’s a new prayer), it’s always helpful to have a rough example to follow. Yes, the Holy Spirit must always lead, but it’s also nice to have a guideline when you are first beginning. So, here’s an idea of how you might pray. If this prayer doesn’t meet your needs, then by all means, let the Spirit lead you to write a new one.
“Abba Father, King of the Universe, in the Name of Jesus, I ask you to search out and expose all my enemies and the tactics they employ against me. Open my eyes that I may see and understand the battle.
Give me wisdom and understanding that I may lean on Your ways and not my own. Reveal any root of bitterness, unforgiveness or iniquity that I may repent before you and take back any legal right given to the enemy.
Bind the enemy that is round about me and loose every stronghold that has been established in my life. In the Name of Jesus and through His authority I say to my enemies, “the Lord rebuke you for He is my defender and the lifter of my soul.
I take my stand against you, your temptations, deceptions and snares in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Father, Creator of all things, let me not take my stand alone, but fill me with Your Spirit. Empower me to stand against the enemy and cover me with the blood of Jesus. Release Your mighty angels to defend.
I trust in You, Jehovah-Jireh, my provider, and I will not be disappointed, for you are a shield about me. Amen.”
