Today it appears that the enemy’s fingerprints are on just about everything. We can become so accustomed to them that we allow him to carry on his dirty work unchallenged.
Intercession Challenges the Devil’s Work
Well, not forever. When intercessors get involved, they challenge the powers of darkness.
People who know how to pray effectively also know how to apply the Word of God to figure out what, exactly, they are dealing with.
They know that God’s people have an enemy who opposes them at every opportunity. They also know that their prayers put a restraining order on the devil and the work of his demons.
These warrior intercessors know how to enforce the victory of Calvary. At times they even call on a reconnaissance force of angels to combat the temporary present darkness and to speak forth strategies that will release revival breakthrough.
The big picture is that the earth belongs to God, not to the enemy, and that the Lord has given stewardship over to his delegated authority— “the sons of men,” His people. (See, for example, Genesis 1:26; Matthew 28:18-20.)
The more we can learn about how to exercise that authority, the better.
Violations that Open Demonic Gateways
Those who live by God’s truth repent of their sins quickly, and then enemy cannot infiltrate their affairs. But violations of God’s standards open the gates to the darkness.
Needless to say, sin is prevalent in this world. Many people are busy sinning most of the time. They disregard or are ignorant of the Word of God and its Author. They see no reason to stop living in whatever way they want to.
As a result, formidable sinful structures become established and the influence of darkness tends to prevail.
The last thing we want to do is to participate in the devil’s dirty work (See 1 Corinthians 10:20.) That is why we must pay attention to all the warnings and instructions in Scripture—in both the Old and New Testaments—so that we can be fully aware of what is going on around us.
I want to expose demonic entry points so that you can stand in the gap and intercede for God’s work and be as informed as possible.
Please keep this in mind: demonic spirits have no true authority to influence anything without “legal” permission. The presence of certain sinful conditions gives them the authority to set up a base of operations from which to exercise oppressions.
Here are 8 gateways that give demonic access:
- Idolatry: The sin of idolatry covers a lot more than worshipping little statues. Rebellion and insubordination equal idolatry. In the Western world, our idols are more likely to consist of our bowing down to gold or silver (greed or mammon)—or just about anything else that we consult first, before God, regarding our lives. Once we recognize our idolatry, we must flat-out turn from our idols as completely as if we had incinerated them.
- Temples to Pagan Religions: These include non-Christian houses of worship in our cities: mosques, shrines, and other gathering places for devotees of various religions, including Masonic lodges, which serve as open invitations to demonic forces. We must walk in love toward all people, regardless of their religious convictions, but we must also walk watchfully, without blinders. It is a fact: pagan houses of worship give entrance to evil powers, and you may have to deal with the consequences as you engage in intercession.
- Murder and the Shedding of Innocent Blood: As intercessors, we must recognize the culture of death (zombie death culture, abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia) that surrounds us and pray against it with our weapons of spiritual warfare.
- Witchcraft and Substance Abuse: By “witchcraft,” I mean purposeful worship of a deity other than the Hebrew or Christian God. Witchcraft, in all its forms, glorifies the dark side of the spiritual world, with special interest in knowing and controlling the future by means of a spiritual power source other than the true God. This can include substance abuse.
- The Removal of Christianity from Educational Institutions: In the name of “separation of church and state,” the Christian viewpoint, prayer, and Bible reading have been eliminated from public educational institutions in the United States, starting in the 1950s. Consequently, moral and behavioral restraints have deteriorated as secular humanism has filled the void. It is past time for the institutions of family and church to repent and pick up the reins, actualizing our authority to address the godlessness in our educational system.
- Adultery, Sodomy, Perversion, and All Other Sexual Sins: All unrepented sexual sins are obvious gateways for demonic entrance. These sinful acts open people up to demonic influence and control and eventually lead to spiritual death. Confession and repentance (for one’s own sin or as an intercessory act of identification on behalf of another) remove the legal right of the enemy to oppress and enslave the one who sins.
- Fighting, Anger, Hatred and Unforgiveness: We are called to live in the Sermon on the Mount, turning the opposite cheek (Matthew 5:39) and walking in a spirit of love and forgiveness, not anger or hate. We need a love revolution in the church!
- Rebellion Against Those in Authority: This demonic gateway includes disrespect for anyone who is in a position of authority over us, from parents to marriage partners to church leaders to secular rulers to an angel of the Lord. Even if an authority figure behaves in a way that might provoke us to a sinful response (such as anger, hatred, rebellion, evil talk, or retaliation), we must resist the temptation to react as unredeemed people do.
Defeating Demonic Strongholds
As intercessors, we need to know how God’s kingdom works. And a crucial part of that knowledge comes from understanding how our personal sins and the sins of others give entrance to demonic oppression.
Humble confessions of sin make for powerful prayers because they help to bring down the iniquitous foundations upon which the enemy builds his control.
We must walk faithfully and humbly, day by day, always looking to Jesus “the pioneer and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2 niv) of our faith.
It is a narrow road, and it can be difficult to stay on it, but I have walked too far with Him to turn back now. How about you!
