Praying for Deliverance and Protection
by Grace M. Sarber
Fall 1999
Deliverance can be a confusing and questionable subject for some Christians. But we can rest in the fact that God's Word clearly defines the existence of satan, of evil spirits, and of their attempts to disrupt our lives.
Our Lord Jesus Christ dealt directly with satan himself, not only in the spiritual realm as he faced death on the cross, but before that in the physical realm when satan tempted him in the wilderness. (Matt. 4: 1–13, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1–15). The enemy waited until Jesus was weakened in the physical body, having fasted 40 days, and then preyed upon Him, hoping to tempt Him into sin. If Jesus had given into satan and sinned, He would no longer be able to fulfill the role His Father had created for Him: to die for us, a perfect sacrifice for all mankind.
Jesus, of course, resisted the temptations of the evil one, and this account of His confrontation with satan serves to prove not only His perfect purity and sinless nature, but also the very real existence of satan. In addition, it describes the heavenly angels who came to minister to Jesus after He had been tested.
This is only one of many Biblical accounts that describe the real presence of satan and his evil spirits, or demons. Another account which stands out is the temptation of Job, when satan went before the throne of God to ask permission to take away all Job had (Job 1–2).
1 John 3:8 tells us, 'The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." Jesus not only cast out demons as part of His work on earth, as is evidenced throughout the Gospels, but He taught about satan and his demons: "Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, 'Can this be the Son of David?' But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.' He ... said to them,· ... no city or house divided against itself will stand. If satan casts out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? ... But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you."' ( Matt. 12:22–28).
Jesus commissioned his followers to carry on His work after He went to be with His Father in heaven. He also gave them authority over satan and his evil spirits:
"Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness...' As you go, proclaim the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near." Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.'" (Matt. 10: 1 , 7–8).
"Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal" (Luke 9: 1–2).
"The seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!' He said to them, "I watched satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you."' (Luke 10: 17–20).
Throughout God's Holy Word, we are assured of the existence of satan and his evil works, as well as the final authority and power of God over them. We also are assured of our power over them through the Holy Spirit.
As Christians, God calls on us to pray for ourselves, our families and others. We pray for healing in many ways — for the physical, emotional and spiritual areas of people's lives. Deliverance prayer is one of the most powerful forms of prayer for spiritual healing. Once we are assured of the existence of the evil one, we can step out in faith and in the power of God's Holy Spirit to pray for others in this area and to take authority over satan.
A tool that has been helpful to many of our intercessors is the Deliverance Prayer from Joy Lamb's book, The Sword of the Spirit, The Word of God. This book includes many prayers for different situations. The prayers are based upon Scripture itself. The following Deliverance Prayer is found on pgs. 38, 43–44, paraphrased in some places:
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the power of His blood and the Holy Spirit, I lift to the Lord myself, my family, home, neighborhood, church, workplace, city, state, nation, and the world, and each person and area for whom I am praying. I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over all of us for our protection. By the authority of the Word of God, it is written: whatsoever is bound on earth is bound in heaven; what is loosed on earth, is loosed in heaven. (Matt. 16: 19).
"I bind satan, the spirits, powers and forces of darkness ... l bind any demonic assignments sent against any of the people and areas I am lifting up to the Lord. I bind all interaction, interplay or communication of spirits as it may affect any of the people and areas for which I am praying. I command in the name of Jesus Christ that all these satanic and demonic forces go to the feet of Jesus. I call forth and loose the Holy Spirit of God and the holy angels to come and cleanse every place where satan has had a foothold in the lives and situations of any of these people and areas, and to fill each cleansed area with the life and love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ.
"In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke and break any curses, hexes, spells, demonic activity, or any other evil thing that has been sent against me or passed down through the generations to me or to any of the people or areas for whom I am praying.
"I renounce and ask forgiveness for any negative inner vows made by me or by any of the people for whom I am praying. I ask that Jesus Christ release us from these negative inner vows and from any bondage they have caused us. I take the Sword of the Spirit and cut free myself and those for whom I am praying from all generational sins, weaknesses, character defects, and cellular and genetic disorders, in the name of Jesus Christ.
"I cut all bonds of all relationships that are not of the Lord, and put His Cross between us. We are cut free and we are free indeed (John 8:36). We are now free to become the children of God the Lord intended us to be, filled to overflowing with the power of the Holy Spirit of God, and the life and love of Jesus Christ.
"I claim the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, over all that I have lifted to You, Lord, for our protection, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."
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Grace M. Sarber is the Editor and |
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