We are a people that love God's creation and wonder. We have a heart-desire to keep the places we love pure and cleansed of all evil intentions. This blog is about what happens when we over-step our prayers and find ourselves within an unseen battle. Is your life falling apart with no explanation? I've listed some strategies on how to pray in regards to the different territories that may surround you.
You may find that the harder you pray in all good intentions, the more unexplained chaos happens around you. If you're out of alignment in your prayer life, a string of unexplained events may happen. Relationships become strained or friends seem to even rise up against you. Your car may fail, computer technology might go wacky. Everything around your home may start to break apart. You may suddenly become very ill with unexplained circumstances.
Ephesians 6:12
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
(NIV)
I've had countless people contact me over the years with unexplained events happening in their lives. The distress is real and unfortunately very common. The story starts at the very beginning of the Bible when God cast Satan and 1/3 of the host of angels to Earth. God has structured dominions in the Heavens and the Earth for himself but also for us. Colossians 1:16 talks about God creating all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. God has given all of us our own territories on the face of this planet. The angels also maintain territories. And when Satan fell, God did not take away the territories from the fallen angels. Our bodies are the temple of God. And our bodies also belong to us. Our territory! The homes that we own or the spaces where we live are also our personal territories. We pray, protect and war for our personal spaces. If you have a high sensitivity in the Spirit, you will feel the impact of positive and negative energies passing through your space or feel a strong positive/negative presence while passing by a stranger or someone else's home. If you're driving, you might feel the energy, oppression and spiritual shift as you pass through one town into another. Even gazing into a new valley from a hilltop can cause you to feel a shift in your spirit. Most of the time it's harder to feel a territory change within your own city or community. Why? Because the area in which you live is more familiar to you so there is less chance of feeling an energy change.
First I want you to know that being spiritually sensitive is a wonderful gift. One just needs to understand how to use it, or how to become wise discerning it. My example of how not to pray starts years ago in a small beautiful beach city. For a time I lived close to this amazing art community and loved the beach sand of the local hangouts. Because I have a sensitive spirit, the dark negative energy of witchcraft followed me through the town until I passed the city line where the territory turned into my home city. Why do the most beautiful places harbor the darkest spirits? One day I decided that I needed to pray over the little town and cast out all the witchcraft—giving the land back to God. I felt the town would become more peaceful, more people would visit and perhaps more of God would happen in the streets. So prideful of me! Trying to take control of so many people's lives! Trying to change an atmosphere that didn't want to be changed! With all good intentions I started to pray and immediately, everything in my life went wrong. I lived in a brand new townhouse at the time. I was the only property that became the hiding place of a great number of gophers in the yard. Both of my cats became very ill, a pipe burst in my upstairs bathtub creating a horrible mess in my kitchen below. The headlights on my car shorted out only after dusk when I needed them. My workplace put me on probation and I couldn't figure out why. Nothing had changed in my work habits. As much as I prayed against this war, my problems increased. The vet found nothing wrong with my cats, the plumber told me he couldn't find a leak when the ceiling had broken apart with a flood in the kitchen below. The mechanic found nothing wrong with the headlights of my car. They would always work when I brought my car in. Finally I pressed into God for my answer.
2 Corinthians 10:4
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
(ESV)
The Lord told me very frankly, "Did I tell you to pray over this territory?" I blatantly replied, "No." I had become out of alignment and out of protocol with God. I had opened doors that needed to become shut again. Going back to territorial agreements... this little town wasn't my territory, nor did God give me the permission to deliver it. We know that God can use the darkness for his almighty light. And what right did I have to take a territory that wasn't given to me in any permission? I was taking executive decision into my own hands. I was pulling rank!
Why was all this happening?
Prayer is mighty and God nor heaven takes your words lightly. Prayer is so effective that one can disrupt an environment and cause great adversity within a dark place. If you are out of line within your prayers, you can cause open doors that give the darkness permission to attack you. And this is what happened in my story above.
Other examples with solutions
Can I pray deliverance over someone's home?
Get their permission first. It is their territory.
Can I Pray deliverance over my church?
If you're a member of the church and that pastor knows you and trusts your prayers. In this situation you are under the banner of your church and are protected.
Can I Pray deliverance over my workplace?
If you do not own the building but are an employee then no! However you can pray directly over the space where you sit. Your space is your territory for the time that you work there. You always have permission to bless the building and the land it sits on. Anything else must be in God's will with his strict instructions. If you're not sure you're hearing God, then wait for confirmation from him. Taking your own executive stand can create havoc for you.
Can I Pray deliverance over land?
Only if you own it. However there is nothing wrong with blessing a territory that is not yours. You have permission to call the land back into the will of God. But you cannot mess with the spirits over or under it unless you get strict instructions from God. Anything else must be in God's will with his words. If you're not sure you're hearing God, then wait for confirmation from him.
Can I Pray to destroy demons over territories that don't belong to me?
Only with strict instructions and exact words from God. Remember that God can use the dark for his purposes. That negative energy has a purpose that is a mystery to us. Tearing down strongholds over territories that don't belong to you can cause sickness in your body or great adversity in your life.
Can I tear down idols? (example Buddha)
Don't do it. With all your good intentions this could cause great sickness and adversity in your life. Pray for the people's hearts to find Jesus instead.
What about praying for a loved one who has fallen into a dark place?
Be cautious here. Be mindful if they have opened a door and may want to keep that door open. If they are seeking help and really want to get out of a bad place, then yes please pray your heart out. However if they are choosing to keep that door open then the strength of your prayer in casting out negative spirits may cause greater conflict. An example may be, struggles with addiction, or ending government financial support if they got better.
The scripture below is absolutely true. I've seen a spirit come back to a clean house more than once. The results are not pretty. Be cautious in regards to casting out spirits within someone who wants to keep an open door, or has high doubt, fear or unbelief in God. If your client has high doubt in God or would rather stay sick, or perhaps they want to maintain destructive behavior, then take them through inner healing or the process of identifying truths first. I wouldn't wish anyone to be re-infiltrated 7x7. Find the truth. Do they want to heal or would they rather not? There are a lot of interesting scenarios to this question.
Matthew 12: 43-45 (Return of an Unclean Spirit)
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
What is my territory?
Your territory is your own person, your home, property, car, pets, children and space you sit at work. This includes your apartment space (not the actual building) because you are renting it. If there is a spirit that has come to attack you personally, then destroy it, no matter who sent it or where it came from. This situation is common. If any dark spirit seeks you out to kill, steal, destroy, deceive and lie to you - then you have every permission to destroy it. Remember that our God is bigger and your prayers carry authority.
(Note: if you have a child who has started making unwise decisions - be careful how you pray for them. God gave them a will and deliverance won't cause them to make a right choice. See above regarding prayer for a loved one.)
Instead, pray for God's will in their life and that he would send his angels to protect them and guide them back to a straight path.
Setting things right
To fix any open doors that have been unintentionally opened in prayers like this, repent to God, tell him your sorry. You have stepped out of line and out of your territory, trying to control a situation that doesn't belong to you. Then ask for the doors that have been opened to be closed and sealed with the Blood of Jesus. This sounds overly simple but it works. All your chaos will go back to normal living.
A simple prayer if your under attack
Lord Jesus I ask that you send your warring angels to assist in this assignment. I bind, sever and remove this dark spirit and it's army behind it that is attacking me. I break the contracts and assignments it carries. I break it's power and give it no more authority in my life. I command this cadre of demons to be taken to the feet of Jesus right now. I cleanse, heal and close the open door, sealing it with the Blood of Jesus. Amen!
Daily prayers
To find out more about how to pray over yourself and others on a daily basis, please see my FREE PDF located in the menu under, "Store." Check out, "Daily Prayers."