Mobilizing Missionary Prayer (Part 5)

There is an important prayer principle we sometimes forget when we lose sight of the power held by those who follow in the way of Jesus. It’s not a “hocus pocus” magical stunt you can play. There is nothing magical about it. Jesus holds the authority and chose to give it to those who follow Him. He allowed them to use His Name to bind and loose on this earth (Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18).

The problem is we don’t always understand what Jesus was talking about, so we tend to stay away from trying to use it. When we don’t know how, and the versions we have observed didn’t seem correct usage of the principle, we naturally shy away from it. It’s time to reclaim the truth and put it to work in and around us. This is what disciple making does in our lives; we learn and follow as we do what we discover.

Are you ready to learn?

Here it is … the moment we invite the presence of Jesus into a situation, simultaneously we disinvite the darkness that is already there. The disinvite/invite principle is a powerful tool in the arsenal of any prayer warrior who understands how to use the sword of prayer. It comes with the authority of those who follow in the way of Jesus when they invoke His name in a situation. We bind and loose simply by what we disinvite and invite to that place.

Jesus talked about this principle (Matthew 12:43-45) when He is talking with the Pharisees and teachers of the law about the wicked and adulterous generation who constantly ask for a sign. If you read the whole story, this group had just asked Jesus for a sign from Him. Guess we know Jesus disinvited them! We have the disinvite portion dominating without the invite side of the equation accompanying it.

Matthew 12:43-45 (NIV)

43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus was saying disinviting is good and gets things cleaned up. It can make a difference, but we need to be inviting the presence of the Holy Spirit at the same time. It’s the presence of God, through the truth of Scripture alive in and among us, along with the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, that keeps the house clean and free from such influence and control. It’s not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit!

When Gospel principles and truth are at work in us, and we, through our prayers, invite it into our homes, neighborhoods, families, places of employment, and the like, we are at the same time disinviting the spiritual powers that have been in control in those spaces. We are disinviting the strongman and inviting the Holy Spirit.

In the book, A Trowel and A Sword, Verlon Fosner shares a story from one of their dinner churches in Seattle. It’s a great story, and when you read the book, it will affect the way you look at the things you do whenever the church gathers. Anyway … this man experienced deliverance from heroin through this method of inviting and disinviting (without anyone even knowing he was addicted).

How did it happen? He was being set free from heroin by coming to the dinner church gathering week after week, until three months later he no longer craved the drug. They invited the presence of the Holy Spirit, shared the Gospel freely, and disinvited whatever spirits and strongholds existed in the lives of those who would come. It is a powerful principle they have seen over and over again as they gather in dinner churches across the city of Seattle. Crazy stuff. Powerful!

The reality for each one of us is every time we mobilize people in a prayer walk “…we have the opportunity to pour God’s interventions into our neighborhoods with every step we take, which is the theological backbone of the prayer walk. When we walk our streets and usher in God’s outpouring, we are partnering with one of Christ’s great desires.” It is a simple practice of disinvite/invite that any person of faith can do.

We can do this in our lives, homes, neighbors, and even our enemies. Binding and loosing are not overzealous people trying to do some magic. It is followers in the way of Jesus who understand the power of Jesus’ Name and care enough for those around them to invite and disinvite in order for others to have the opportunity to know Jesus in a very real way. It is doable and any follower of Jesus can be involved.

There are some seriously dark spiritual spaces in our communities where the strongman has built a stronghold. You can feel it. These dark forces are given freedom to operate because the people who follow in the way of Jesus have lost sight of the power He entrusted to them. This efficacious act of disinvite and invite binds the strongman and tears down strongholds, so we can loose the presence of God and the truth of the Gospel in any given area.

People still have to make their own decisions concerning Jesus. We are simply giving them a better opportunity to do so. It is sort of a leveling out of the playing field. For too long we have allowed the strongman to have unchallenged portions of our cities.

“While there are many Christians who are serious about their prayer life, we fear that the prayer forms capable of advancing the Gospel into dark places are under-practiced. In the absence of effective evangelism, many churches have turned inward, and their prayer lives have followed suit. For the Christ-followers who desire a meaningful spiritual life, prayer is a necessary discipline; but for those who desire to be effective in evangelism, prayer is a necessary strategy.”

Join us in changing the course through prayer as we invite and disinvite along the way.