Redeemed Woman

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36 (ESV)

I was introduced to the practice of rebuking, binding, and casting away demons in a workshop based on a book authored by Neil T. Anderson called The Bondage Breaker. As a young Christian, I didn’t know that I had all these bondages that needed to be broken. I learned about supernatural, spiritual things that I have never heard about. I thought, surely, this must be how I can level up in the Christian faith overcoming all my illnesses, sins, troubles, and weaknesses. “I bind you spirits of pride, lust, laziness, procrastination, headache, unbelief, depression, low self-esteem, self-righteousness, religion in Jesus’ Name!” I went back to my church thinking, “if they know what I know, they will no longer be oppressed but truly free.” I believed that I was finally living in the power of the Holy Spirit through the practice of rebuking and commanding prayers.

Upon reflection on God’s Word over the years, three things convinced me to see that this oppressive teaching that I still had spiritual bondages as a Christian is unbiblical. The practice to rectify my spiritual bondages through rebuking and commanding prayers is empty of promises for freedom.

There are no clear Biblical instructions on rebuking and commanding prayer.

It is hard to believe that Jesus, Paul, James, and Peter would fail to mention this “so important practice” when warning believers about demonic spirits. No Bible passage teaches how we must rebuke, bind, and/or cast away demons to be free from certain spirits, spiritual ties, family curses, and spiritual bondages.

Rebuking and commanding “prayers” are never mentioned, even by Jesus. In fact, when the disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray (an opportune time to teach about rebuking and commanding prayers if there were such things), He instructed that prayer is asking God to provide, sustain, and protect (Matthew 6:7-15; Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:1-2, 9-13; John 14:13-14; John 15:7, 16; John 16:24, 26). Essentially, prayer is the act of our dependence on God and acknowledgment of God as the source of what we need and desire. When dealing with demons, our asking of the Father should be something similar to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).” So prayer is never taught in the Bible as speaking to demonic spirits or demanding from God.

The account of Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17 is a good example of prayer in spiritual warfare. Satanic opposition was evident, and Jesus knew suffering and death awaited Him (John 13:27; Luke 18:31-33). Did Jesus rebuke and cast away the satanic forces that would be against His followers after His departure? Did Jesus bind the demonic spirits of unbelief and fear from His disciples? No, He asked the Father to keep His disciples in His Name (John 17:9, 11), to protect them from the evil one (John 17:15), to sanctify them (John 17:17), and asked for unity among all believers and union with God (John 17:20-21). Why would He bother to address the lesser power (demons) when He had access to the greater power (God)? In the same way, why should we waste our time meddling with the lesser powers (demons) when we have access in Jesus to the greater power, God (John 14:6; John 16:26-27; Ephesians 2:18)?

Check out these other popular spiritual warfare passages and see if there are any instructions for us to bind, rebuke and cast away demons: Ephesians 4:25-32; Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7-8; 1 Peter 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

When understood in context, suggestive passages do not instruct Christians to practice rebuking and commanding prayers.

From my observations, teachings for demon rebuking, casting out, and binding were developed mainly from the Gospel books and the book of Acts. The following are a few “go-to” passages used to teach Christians to rebuke, cast out, or bind demons through rebuking and commanding prayers.

Matthew 10:1,8 (ESV), “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction….Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”

In context, the verses here are Jesus’ instructions to specifically the twelve disciples that were named in Matthew 10:2-4 who He sent out to proclaim the kingdom of God. Also, if we are going to apply verse 8 as instructions for Christians to cast out demons, then we are going to have to apply verses 5-6 as well. However, teachers who teach Christians to rebuke, cast out, and bind demons through rebuking and commanding prayers must neglect verses 5-6 in order to make verse 8 fit their teaching.

Matthew 16:19 (ESV), “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

In context, the Church will be given the authority from Christ to speak God’s judgment, according to God’s Word, on unrepentant persons and so hold the keys that will open or close the gates of heaven (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 1:18; Matthew 18:18; John 20:23) . Lastly, the part where it says “whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” does not fit the teaching for Christians to rebuke and bind demons. Why would a Christian bind a demon and then loosen it?

Luke 10:19 (ESV), “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

Jesus said this to the seventy-two that He had sent out to declare the arrival of God’s Kingdom. He told them, “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3).” Upon their return, they said with joy, “even the demons are subject to us in your name (Luke 10:17)!” And in response, Jesus pointed them to the fact that He, as the eternal Son of God (Luke 10:18), has all authority in heaven and earth (Luke 10:21-24). Demons knew who Jesus was (Luke 4:34, 41; Luke 8:28) and so when the seventy-two spoke in Jesus’ Name, the demons listened. It wasn’t because of the disciples’ great faith or methodology or even about them. Jesus was trying to prove only one point to both his disciples and the people: He was the Son of the living God, the promised Messiah. Luke 10:19 is hardly an instruction for Christians to engage in rebuking and commanding prayers. To be taken as such instruction is to miss the bigger, more important point (Luke 10:20).

Mark 16:17-18 (ESV), “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

When read in context, we find that Mark’s point for verse 17-18 is that Jesus is the Son of God, and the proof is laid out in verses 19-20, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” These signs and wonders validated that Jesus’ Gospel message came from the Father; that He and the Father are one (John 14:10-11). Again, when we take this passage and use it as the instruction for us to go and cast out demons through rebuking and commanding prayers, we miss the bigger, more important point of the Gospel text.

Most of the occurrences of demon casting or rebuking found in the Gospels and the book of Acts were meant to confirm the Gospel message of Jesus, including His power and authority, to unbelievers or those of weak faith. These signs and wonders were given to validate to the unbelieving people that God’s Kingdom was at hand. (John 20:30-31; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:22)

The need for Christians to rebuke, bind, and cast out demonic forces in their lives minimizes the power of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ.

Rebuking and commanding prayers have the illusion of great faith in Jesus. But, in actuality, its doctrine forces us to keep our eyes and faith on ourselves and away from Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. It teaches that the Gospel doesn’t actually free us from the dominion of Satan upon our conversion, rather the Gospel only makes freedom possible. In other words, Jesus becomes only a vehicle or a means by which we can save ourselves. The Gospel is emptied of its actual saving power for sinners. People can still be prevented from receiving God’s full blessings (Ephesians 1:3) due to some family curse or unconfessed sin that Christ did not cover or severed upon confession of saving faith. The oppression is endless for a Christian who believes in this teaching.

Instead of putting our faith in Jesus alone, we end up putting our faith in our faith and works. Instead of resting in the finished work of Christ alone, we need to “pray” x-y-z to be completely free from our spiritual bondages, soul ties, family curses, etc. Instead of having faith in God, we put faith in our prayers. Essentially, this teaching distorts the Gospel by implying that Jesus saves but not completely. We must complete the work ourselves.

Furthermore, this teaching has an element of “the devil made me do it”. So, instead of true repentance and brokenness (the only position to receive grace), we find ourselves talking to demons with puffed up spiritual egos. This attitude leaves a person in no position to receive the mercy and grace of God through the Gospel. The truth is that repentance is how we are to receive His mercy and grace (Luke 5:31-32). And, turning from our sin is living in the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-24). It doesn’t make sense for me to “repent” of a prideful heart, for example, and then rebuke the demon of pride.

Another example is the adulterous women we find in John 8. Jesus simply said to her, “go, and from now on sin no more (John 8:11).” Other passages addressing sexual sins, does NOT teach that one must rebuke and cast away the spirit of sexual immorality (Matthew 5:27-30; John 8:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20). Instead, the instructions are for believers to be broken over the sin, confess it, and repent (turn away from that sin). The teaching that we need to bind spirits of sin denies the reality that sin is a problem within (James 1:12-15) that requires the actual sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit through the Word (John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23) .

The truth is that believers are no longer under the dominion of Satan, but completely under the dominion of Christ, who is Lord of all. Check out these passages on the power and sufficiency of Jesus’ Gospel to free us from Satan’s dominion: John 8:31-36; Romans 6:14; Romans 8:37-39; Colossians 1:13-14; Colossians 2:6-15; Ephesians 5:8.

Conclusion

Discernment is critical here. Unfortunately, the false teaching that Christians still have spiritual bondages, which leads to the practice of rebuking and commanding prayers, does have some truth meshed with it. Spiritual warfare is real. Demons are at work. And, Christians are victorious in Christ. (Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8) However, we must be sober-minded and alert to know when the all-sufficient Gospel of Jesus is being distorted as there are eternal consequences. Jesus doesn’t save in part; He saves completely. In the words of C.H. Spurgeon, discernment is knowing the difference between right and almost right.

My prayer is that as women of God, we will see from God’s Word that this practice of rebuking and commanding prayer (talking to demons) is NOT for God’s people. God’s people, who are redeemed by Christ, has direct access to the throne of God. We are to fully trust in the finished work of Christ alone and submit to His Word. Our prayers for protection from demonic spirits should be addressed to Almighty God. In fact, not going to your Father is exactly what demons want you to do. Stop talking to demons; that is not prayer. May the Lord open our eyes to His ways and lift our burdens!