We have to see that Christ has ascended. If Christ had not ascended, there would be no way for us to turn. Christ is the Head over all things, and all things are under Him. Christ is the Head of all things to the church. He is the Head of all things on behalf of the church. Since He is the Head of all things on behalf of the church, all things are necessarily under the church. This is something that we have to pay particular attention to.

A prayer with authority has two aspects. One is to bind, and the other is to loose. What is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 tells us that whatever the earth does, heaven will also do. In verse 19 there is the matter of prayer. Therefore, binding is done through prayer, and loosing is also done through prayer. Both binding prayer and loosing prayer are prayers of authority. Ordinary prayers are prayers that ask God to bind and loose. Prayers with authority are those in which we bind and loose by exercising authority. God binds because the church has bound, and God looses because the church has loosed. God has given this authority to the church. When the church exercises this authority to speak something, God does it.

First let us consider binding prayer. Many people and many things ought to be bound. One brother is very talkative and needs to be bound. You can go to God and pray, “God, do not allow this brother to speak that much. Bind him, Lord, and do not allow him to act this way.” When you bind him this way, God in heaven will bind him and stop his speaking. Sometimes someone may interrupt your prayer or your reading of the Word; it may be your wife, husband, children, or friends who are constantly causing the interruption. You can exercise binding prayer against such people. You can say to God, “God, bind this one and do not allow him to interrupt what I am doing.” Some brothers speak inappropriate words, but we also have to bind those who quote inappropriate verses and call inappropriate hymns. Such persons should be bound. You may say, “Lord, so-and-so is always causing trouble. Do not allow him to do the same thing again.” When you bind in this way, you will see God binding him also. Sometimes people disrupt the peace of the meeting; they may disrupt it through their speaking, crying, or movement in and out of the meeting. You encounter such things frequently. Moreover, it seems that it is always the same ones who are being disruptive. You have to bind such people and things. You may say, “God, we see that these are the ones who are always disrupting the meetings. Bind them and do not allow them to cause any disturbance.” You will find that as soon as two or three bind on earth, God will bind in heaven. Not only do you have to bind many interruptions, but you also have to bind many works of the demons. Every time you preach the gospel or testify to someone, the demons work within man’s mind to speak many things to him and give him many opposing thoughts. At such times, the church has to bind the evil spirits, stop their speaking, and forbid their work. You may say, “Lord, bind all the works of the evil spirits.” If you bind on earth, the matter will be bound in heaven. Many things need to be bound. Many things in our personal life, in the church, in our daily lives, and in our work need to be bound.

The other kind of prayer is the loosing prayer. What do we loose? Some brothers are withdrawn and are afraid to open their mouths to testify or meet people in the meetings. We have to ask God to loose these brothers so that they can be freed from their bondage. Sometimes we should give them a few words of exhortation. But many times, we do not have to say anything; all we have to do is to go to the throne and let the throne take control of them. Many people ought to give up their jobs to serve the Lord. They are bound by their jobs or by other affairs. Some are bound by their families or by unbelieving wives. Some are bound by outward circumstances. There are all kinds of bondage. We can pray to the Lord to loose them so that they can be released to testify for the Lord. Brothers and sisters, do you see the need for prayers with authority? Do you realize how much prayers with authority should be offered up? Sometimes we have to loose money through our prayer. Satan can easily bind a man’s wallet tightly. At times we have to ask God to release the money so that God’s work will not suffer through the lack of money. We have to ask God to release us in many things. Furthermore, the truth also needs to be released. We have to tell the Lord all the time, “Lord, release Your truth.” Many truths are bound and cannot be released. Many truths have never been heard, and even when they are heard, they are not understood. Hence, we have to ask God to release His truth, so that His truth can run and His children can receive it. In many places the truth cannot break through, and in many places it is impossible for men to receive the truth. We have to ask God to release His truth and set free many churches that are in bondage so that many places which could not receive the truth will be able to receive it. In many places there is no way to pass on the truth. But the Lord has theway. When we pray with authority, the Lord will send the truth there. We have to remember that many things need to be released with prayers of authority.
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