Bind and Loose on an Global Scale: 8 Questions to Get Started
This is how I reply to people who are feeling overwhelmed at interceding for the nations and wonder where they fit into the scheme of things: You are important and strategic in some sector of society and culture.
Each person who prays is critically important to this task. There is a sphere of authority that you have that no one can touch like you can. You simply need to determine what that is and do the part that pertains to you. God will raise up thousands of others who will do their part, and the overall job will be done. This reminds me of the old adage: “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: “One bite at a time.”
You might also ask, “Well, why does it have to be me? Why doesn’t God just take care of it? After all, isn’t that His role and not mine, to take authority over wickedness?”
Again, going back to our role as enforcers, the answer is that the Lord has given into our hands the job of legislating His will in the earth. He has given us the authority and weapons to do this through what we call binding and loosing:
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. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven (Matthew 18:18-19).
Binding (or deo in the Greek, “to tie”) and loosing (or luo) were used in legal terminology at the time of Christ. When the courts of His day would decide a case, they would either say, “We bind (or forbid)” or “We loose (or permit as legal) this in Israel.” They would decide what was lawful or illegal, forbidden or allowed, in their nation using this same terminology.
Note that Jesus did not say, “Ask Me to bind or loose.” He said, “Whatever you bind or loose (“in My name” is a given here) on earth will be done.” He said we are to do it in His name. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we do not take our place of authority in intercessory prayer, then wicked laws have every legal right to be put into place.
We need to pray and do. By this I mean we need to bind the powers of darkness that are blinding the eyes of those who make laws in our nations as well as become voices who speak out against sin in every sector of society.
Literally, Jesus told us that whatever we loose in prayer—or permit—will be legal in our nation, and whatever we bind—or declare illegal—in intercession will be illegal. This is the basis upon which we can “convene the court of heaven” through our intercessory prayers and legislate in the heavens certain laws of our nations. Dutch Sheets sums it up nicely in his book Intercessory Prayer:
Although Jesus fully accomplished the task of breaking the authority of Satan and voiding his legal hold upon the human race, someone on earth must represent Him in that victory and enforce it.
Getting God’s Prayer Strategy
How do we know what to bind and loose? God reveals His will in His Word. By studying the Bible, we know what does not line up with His will, and then we develop a prayer strategy to “legislate” His will, or bring our world into alignment with His Word.
When a general goes to war, he prepares a plan. In order to develop this plan he needs to know the topography of the land, where the battle will take place, the weapons the enemy has in their arsenal, and even the way the opposing general thinks. He does this through what is called gathering intelligence.
It is no different when we go to fight a spiritual battle against all the strategies that Satan has put in place against our nations. We must gather spiritual intelligence and a plan on how we will pray. My friend George Otis Jr., who created the excellent Transformation series, has coined the phrase for this type of plan development. He calls it spiritual mapping. Spiritual mapping gives us an X-ray of what is happening in the invisible realm so we know how to pray effectively.
We must study the strongholds or illegal places of our nations and put together an intercessory plan to legislate God’s will into every sector of society. For too long we have been ignorant of Satan’s devices (see 2 Cor. 2:11).
How does one develop a spiritual map or prayer strategy for a specific sector of society? Here are some good questions to start with:
Who were the founders of your city?
What did they believe?
Were their beliefs biblically based?
How did their actions affect the society in which you live?
If the founders founded your city on righteous truth, when did this change and who changed it?
How has this affected the thinking of your society?
What does your society believe and teach through sectors such as education, media, and other channels of communication?
What strongholds have developed as a result of this wrong thinking, laws, or actions?
I believe God is raising up a powerful army of intercessors of all ages who will give their lives to pray for God to change the places where they live into holy habitations of peace, righteousness, and joy. Will you be one of them?’
