Prodigal Teachings

Binding and Loosing

“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 NIV)

“Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” (Matthew 12:29 NKJ)

A prodigal is one whose thoughts are taken captive by the enemy. With very little persuasion the enemy will also take him or her into bondage. But God has given us the keys to set them free and to bring the kingdom of God into their lives.

The kingdom of God is anywhere that God has rule. It involves His Lordship and the power and activity of the Holy Spirit. According to Luke 17:21 in the Amplified Bible, “the kingdom of God is within you in your hearts and among you surrounding you.”

So we see that God wants to set up His rule in the hearts of men and women.

Through our prayers we can usher in the kingdom of God—His very presence into the hearts of our loved ones. This is vital because unless they are experiencing His presence they will not return; for Christianity will be just another form of religion to them.

Christ says we are to seek His kingdom; we must seek earnestly to have the rule and power of God demonstrated first in our own hearts, and then in the hearts of others.

As in Matthew 6:10 let’s pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

When God’s presence is manifested, there is freedom.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).” (2 Corinthians 3:17 AMP)

Satan desires to set up his kingdom in the hearts of God’s people. I am not talking about possession, because Christians can not be possessed by evil spirits. But Satan wants to rule in their lives by influencing and oppressing them. He knows that as man “thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). So he constantly tries to plant his evil thoughts into their hearts.

Through the spiritual weapons of binding and loosing we can forbid Satan’s activity from their lives and pray in God’s kingdom.

Now listen closely. Jesus said…

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 AMP)

Isn’t that exciting? God has equipped you with the tools that will set them free!

Let’s take a closer look at these keys of binding and loosing.

In the Greek to bind means to tie, to forbid.

When the Holy Spirit reveals darkness, we can bind it, tie it up, and forbid it.

When Jesus redeemed us from sin at the cross and triumphantly rose again from the dead, He “spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15).

The Greek definition for spoiled means to totally strip of power and to undress.

Jesus stripped wicked principalities and powers of their authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, and strength to work in the Christian’s life. However, even though the enemy is powerless against us, he uses deception to convince us otherwise. That is why it is important to know, believe and act upon the truth of God’s word. It dispels the enemy’s lies.

But your prodigals will not take authority over the evil that is coming against their lives. Therefore, you must do this for them. You have the legal right and authority to bind and forbid what has already been bound or forbidden in heaven. Satan’s jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, and strength has been bound in heaven, so we can bind it here on earth.

“and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 AMP)

The word loose here in the Greek means to untie, unbind, destroy or dissolve.

When people are oppressed and bound up, we can loose and untie them from these things through our prayers.

For example, God’s word tells us that “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13 NASU).

In the spiritual realm, they have already been loosed from the power of darkness. So we can loose them from demonic oppression with our prayers as the Holy Spirit leads us.

When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can take these keys and forbid or tie up anything that is trying to hinder God’s kingdom in the heart. And we can loose them from Satan’s hold.

Once you do this you can bind their hearts to God’s word. Let’s look at Proverbs 6:20-21:

“My son, keep your fathers [God-given] commandments and forsake not the law of [God] your mother [taught you]. Bind them continually upon your heart and tie them about your neck. When you walk it will guide you, when you sleep it will watch over you and when you awaken it will speak to you.” (AMP)

The Hebrew word for bind in this scripture means to tie or join together. I can bind or tie the truth of God’s word to the hearts of my loved ones.

Pray like this:

By the authority of the name of Jesus Christ I bind the spirit of destruction. I forbid the spirit that is trying to destroy my loved one. It is bound inoperable against them. I bind their heart to God’s promise that says that they shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

When you pray for your loved ones, the Holy Spirit hovers over them and is constantly at work pulling down their walls of resistance and is trying to set up God’s kingdom—His rule there. As he hovers over them, He will warn you of impending danger so that you will join Him as a watchman of their heart.

But be sure that Christ is Lord of your heart and that you are under His authority before you use these keys. Allow Him to set up His kingdom in your heart so that His authority can flow forth from your prayers.

Heavenly Father, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. Search me and know my thoughts;, try me and see if there is any hurtful way in me. Lord, I pray that Your kingdom will reign in my heart. Open the eyes of my heart to see my loved ones through Your eyes. I pray that You strengthen me to stand firm on Your promises for them and not to give up. Help me to use the keys of binding and loosing effectively to help my prodigal become a fruit-bearing Christian once again. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Print page

Garden of the Heart Ministries
2267 Oakhill Drive
Green Bay, WI 54313