“In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”
Mark 3:27a
In order to weaken the power of the enemy in any battle we have to first bind up the strong man. Once he has been tied up, his house can then be plundered. Those who learn these practical and spiritual principles and put them into action will have victory over Satan; something he knows all too well.
You need to understand that binding the strong man does not mean that we are removing all evil from the world. We know that Jesus is the only one who will do this. However, when we expose him and take the strong man out of the equation, we remove every bad influence from our lives, the lives of our families, our businesses, our finances, our cities and our nations.
Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). We open the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven by the word of authority that God has placed on our lips. Using this same authority, we can bind the powers of the enemy. The adversary operates in the spiritual realm, and everything that we bind in the spiritual atmosphere is also bound here on earth. That is how Paul neutralized the demonic powers that wanted to prevent the proconsul from hearing the Word of God. Due to Paul’s intercession, the proconsul’s eyes were opened to the gospel and he experienced a genuine conversion (Acts 13:7-12). We have to begin to do the same.
Someone once asked an English General, famous for the victories he had won on the battlefield, “General, which side gains the victory in any battle?” This man responded, “The side that advances.”
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
One day, during the early years of my Christian life, I was praying for one of my brothers. He had proved to be the most rebellious out of all my brothers and was the least interested in the things of God. During my time of prayer, I had a vision and I saw the flames of hell with my brother right there in the middle. When I saw that scene, it terrified me and drove me to pray even more fervently for his salvation. The first thing I began to do was to bind the strong man and all of those demonic powers that had control over his mind, his emotions, and his will. I carried on praying this over his life, for ten days. Right after this time of intercession, my brother came to me to ask for help. He was desperate to change but didn’t know how to. I gave thanks to God in my heart, because I had seen the effectiveness in binding the strong man. Out of all my brothers, he is the one who has experienced the most radical transformation in his life.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I have the authority to open the heavens with the words from my lips. I can neutralize every evil force of the enemy, and set free those who are oppressed by him.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Two.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: Joshua 3-5; Psalms 73
- New Testament: Mark 1:9-20; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
