God hears us when we pray. We don’t need to beg Him to do something His Word clearly says is already His desire. But– it’s important to understand prayer is sometimes simply a defense weapon against all the fiery darts of the enemy.
On August 11, 2021, I took my mom to the emergency room thinking she was dehydrated from a stomach virus. Instead, we found out she had Covid. My mom was in the hospital a total of 89 days— over two weeks of that on a ventilator and three weeks with a tracheotomy. She made the voluntary decision to be placed on a ventilator as a help measure and flown to a hospital five hours from our home. As I made the drive to be with her, I was thankful for all the family and believing friends praying for mom’s recovery, but the odds were certainly stacked against her.
There are many types of prayer. Paul told the Ephesians. “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18, NLT). There are prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of intercession, and prayers for wisdom, revelation, and help— each powerful in their own right.
The Message Translation says, “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out” (Ephesians 6:13-18 MSG).
Of all the types of prayer, the prayer of authority is the most crucial.
Paul was clear when he told us to be “…strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
For this reason, Jesus pointed us to prayer. In Matthew 18:18, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”. In other words, there are times when you and I must put a stop to the enemy’s devices by using our authority in Jesus’ name in prayer.
During my mom’s ordeal, I never felt like I needed to beg God to heal her. Thankfully, I already knew God’s Word on healing. Not only does the Bible say this is His desire and that He sent His Word to heal us (Psalm 107:20), but I have personally seen God restore many lives over the years. Faith for my mom’s healing wasn’t the issue. The real battle was in the daily ups and downs of her recovery– every day there was a new fiery dart to be dealt with.
Jesus perfectly described this battle when the religious scholars accused Him of being filled with a demon spirit. He said, “Really?” (my paraphrase) “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house” (Mark 3:23-27).
The New Living says, “Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house” (verse 27).
We are stronger. In Christ.
Jesus told His disciples that believers have authority over ALL the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19) but unfortunately, there are many who don’t understand their authority in His name. Notice how Jesus affirmed to the religious scholars that Satan is indeed strong— but CHRISTIANS are stronger if they’ll believe and use what has been given to them— in faith, in prayer.
When we learn to tie up the enemy in prayer, we’ll put an end to his strategies against us.
We are called believers, not beggars.
There is no need to beg God for something He has already provided for us through Christ Jesus. But that doesn’t mean we won’t have to stand in faith. I’m thankful to report my mom came home and grew stronger every day. She even exercised her own faith in her recovery. And God was faithful to help.
So whatever you’re facing today, I want to encourage you to use the authority Jesus has given you in His name. Lift up the shield of faith. Quench those fiery darts! Bind the enemy in prayer. Then you’ll plunder his house instead of him plundering yours!
