praying for your family - part eight

“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19, NIV)
 
Now that I have declared that every member of my family is fully clothed in the whole armor of God…

now that I have proclaimed the power that comes through the tactical training I’ve received in using my Divine weapons most effectively on their behalf…

it is time to follow through with the battle strategies God has given us in His word.

In Jesus Name, I bind powers, principalities, rulers, authorities, dominions, thrones and all demonic realms that have been assigned to [and I speak my name and every name of my family; I include these words as well “our lands, houses, barns, animals, vehicles, work, ministries, creative productions, financial wealth and the health of our bodies, souls, and spirits”] and I declare you are bound in everlasting chains. I silence your voices, I shut down all your communications, and I declare your accusations, insinuations, distortions, and temptations can no longer be heard because they also are bound. What I have bound is bound. I now separate you from all of us and all that God has given to us, and I send you to the pit.

In Jesus Name, I loose the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of the knowledge and reverential fear of the Lord to have your way – to move over, in, around, and through - [and I speak my name and every name of my family; I include these words as well “our lands, houses, barns, animals, vehicles, work, ministries, creative productions, financial wealth and the health of our bodies, souls, and spirits”] that we may be for the praise of the glory of the Lord in the earth; that we may grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man; that we would become spiritually mature and complete, not lacking in anything; that our spiritual senses would be sharpened through constant practice; that we would see what the Father is doing and do what we see the Father doing; that we may bear clusters of good fruit that will last for all eternity, laying them at the Father’s feet, and so delighting His heart. What I have loosed is loosed.

The basis of my praying in this manner is found in Matthew 16:18-19 and in Luke 10:19.

 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [the powers of the infernal region] shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it.] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth will have [already] been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19, The Amplified Bible)

 “Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.” (Luke 10:19, The Amplified Bible)

These are the strategies I’ve gleaned from these verses:

1. Jesus is the solid rock (the foundation) upon which our confession of Him as Lord becomes the structure on which God builds His church. The church is not a building nor is the church a specific group.  God says we are “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19) so that means we – individually - are the church!  So these verses are speaking specifically to each one of us as individual believers. We are the church; we are the Bride of Christ. This is our identity.

 

1. The gates of hell (Hades) will never be able to conquer the church, the blood-bought Bride of Christ.  Why? Because Jesus defeated death and Hades (Revelations 1:18) at the cross and hung them out to dry, making a public spectacle of them (Colossians 2:15). God’s mighty power raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given (all the demonic realm, emphasis mine), not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:20-23)  We (the church) are now seated in Christ in the heavenly realms at the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 2:6) until He makes all our enemies (the demonic realm) a footstool under our feet (Psalm 110:1). This is our position.

 

1. He has given to us, His church, the keys to the Kingdom.  That’s because we are the rightful heirs of the Kingdom along with Jesus. Having the keys is a picture of authority. Keys lock and unlock gates, doors, enclosures, and prison cells.  Jesus was given all authority in heaven and on the earth (Matthew 28:18) because Jesus came to destroy all the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).  Jesus has delegated His authority to us, His church, so that we may carry on the work He began - that of destroying all the works of the devil.  This is our destiny.

 

1. To those who receive the keys (the authority we have been given in Christ) God has promised that nothing Satan can launch against us will be able to shut us down (Isaiah 54:17).  We are supposed to use these keys to lock up Satan and all his agents and forbid him from carrying out his wicked schemes against us and our family. And because we have the keys, (Jesus took them from Satan at the cross) Satan no longer has the keys, which means that because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we have been given a greater level of authority in the heavens (the atmosphere) and on the earth than the devil has.  This is our assurance of victory.

 
In my prayers on behalf of my family, it is vitally important that I follow through with this step of binding the demonic.  Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).  That means he operates in the heavenly realm that we call the “atmosphere”.  Atmosphere is defined by Webster as “the whole mass of air surrounding the earth: the air of a locality; a surrounding influence or environment, as in an atmosphere of hostility.
 
Every member of my family is travelling to different places every day, places where the surrounding culture or the atmospheric influence may be unhindered by the local church because they do not understand their calling, or they are refusing to act on the truth of God’s word!  If my family is to be protected from these ungodly influences as well as the wickedness practiced by the culture in a specific region, I must take authority over the atmosphere so that all the devil’s assignments launched against my family every day are thwarted.  He will not be able to hit his target, because my prayers have already intervened and cut him off.  This is called a pre-emptive strike!
 
The strategy Jesus presented in Matthew 16:18-19, presents a two-step process.  First, we bind the enemy, effectively putting him in prison, thus limiting his power to influence our family.  Secondly, we loose the Spirit of the Lord to fill the now-cleansed atmosphere with the nature of God so that the purposes of God may be accomplished in each member of our family as His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control are released to work in might and power. In my prayer, I include many of the higher purposes of God for each member of my family.  It is my desire to see all in my family running their race with the excellence that comes only through the Holy Spirit working in their lives and thus bringing glory to God in the earth.

I hope these postings entitled “Praying for Your Family” have been helpful to you in understanding your identity, your position, your destiny, and your assurance of victory in the prayers you are praying for your family.  I would love to hear your testimonies of how God has proved Himself Mighty in your family through your prayers. As I close out this blog series, and begin the preparation of the next series, I offer this prayer to the Father on your behalf:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:16-21, NIV)
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Your Sister in Christ,
Linda
 
© Linda Sue Harper 2018