Dear Roger,
I have a spiritual warfare question. I pray for two of my kids to be released from Satan’s grip. I pray this on a daily basis. I fully believe that God is able to free them. I have faith and complete confidence in God’s power to do this. I just don’t know when or how. My question is, why am I not seeing results? I can halfway answer my own question by saying that they themselves need to repent and appropriate a new life and freedom in Christ. Now, is there more to it that I need to know as I pray for them. Can you give me a more complete answer?
Sincerely,
Discouraged Parent
First of all, I grieve with you. We all want our children to have wisdom, to make good choices and to manifest solid morals and values. We want to see them living for Christ and moving well on the way to maturity. I know your heart is in agony. I am so sorry for your pain and hurt. Perhaps I can give you a little hope.
Obviously, your questions indicate that you are familiar with spiritual warfare. Neil Anderson has many helpful guideline prayers for coming against Satan regarding various issues. His “Bondage Breakers” books are ever so helpful in finding victory in Satanic struggles. You might consider investigating his guide-line prayers.
The direct answer to your question, “why am I not seeing results?” is most probably the answer you already half gave yourself: “they themselves need to repent and appropriate a new life and freedom in Christ.” The truth is, their choices are of paramount importance. If your children refuse to get free then they won’t! You can pray and pray and pray but their decisions to continue in sin and under Satan’s grip will continue.
Nevertheless, our prayers are important. They can help pave the way for future victory. Let me share some thoughts that may help lay the foundation for their eventual freedom.
Pray specifically for their minds to be free enough to choose against Satan and for the Lord.One prayer you might add to your arsenal is based on 2 Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Pray specifically for their blinded eyes to be opened to see the truth of what their lives are becoming.
The next prayer may be too hard to pray—but perhaps not. Many return to the life of Christ when events so turn against them that there is nowhere else to look except up! God will certainly be there to lift them up and pick up the pieces and restore them properly.
In Ephesians 4 Paul taught that it is possible for individuals to continue in perpetual sin long enough that Satan gains a foothold. You may need to pray for your children’s repentance and victory over specific sins before they can dislodge Satan’s grip! James taught this in James 4:7. When we stop our sin, then and only then, do we have the freedom to demand that the Devil flee our presence. By the way, it is possible to personally confess the sins of others. Daniel confessed the sins of his people in Daniel 11. God heard that prayer.
Remember that the power of praise in spiritual warfare as illustrated in Psalm 8:2: “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” As the fallen praise leader in Heaven praise must feel to Satan like scratching chalk on a chalkboard when he encounters massive praise. Who wants to stay around that irritating noise!
Finally, pray for open relationships with your wayward children. It is easy for parents to become quite estranged from children who make unwise choices. You want a relationship with them good enough so that they feel free to come to you when they do want advice. If your relationship with them is solid you can speak into their lives in ways you never can if they don’t like or trust you.
Again, I am sorry you are in pain regarding your children. God never designed it to be this way. May God give you grace to handle these times and peace not to worry about it all the time.
I hope this helps. Love, Roger