Hindering spirits are poised to pounce and would like nothing more than to catch you off guard. Beware. Be vigilant. Be prayerful.

Hindering spirits work to steal, kill and destroy by thwarting your progress toward a goal or destination. They prevent you from moving forward. They delay, impede, hamper and hold you back. You set out to do God’s will and you find ridiculous obstacles at every turn. Everything is moving more slowly than anticipated. It’s frustrating.

The problem is many believers don’t discern the hindering spirit in operation. They may bind the spirit of delay but don’t dig deeper into the demonic hierarchy to understand that the spirit of delay is perhaps working with hindering spirits. Spirits often tag team in this manner, and only the most discerning can sever the root of the attack because only the most discerning can see it.

Hindering Spirits Working Against You

Paul the apostle experience hindering spirits in his ministry. In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18, he wrote these words to one of the churches he planted: “But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.”

Other translations say Satan “blocked our way” or Satan “obstructed us” or Satan “always stopped us” or Satan “would not let us.” The idea is the same. Hindering spirits, under the ultimate command of Satan, keep us from moving in our assignment, obtaining our breakthrough, or otherwise glorifying God with our live by fulfilling our purpose.

We also see hindering spirits at work in the Book of Ezra when the Israelites were working to rebuild the temple. Ezra 4:4-5 (The Voice) reveals, “To intimidate the returning Jews from building, the people of the land made the returning exiles afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors to hinder the Jews’ efforts throughout the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, the kings of Persia.”

As Scripture illustrates, hindering spirits can work through people. Beyond Ezra’s opposition, we see the apostle John calling out Diotrophes because “He assails us with lies and deceit. As if that were not enough, he does not welcome the traveling missionaries into his home. Instead, he hinders any who do so and expels them from the church” (3 John 10).

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE? JOIN JENNIFER’S SCHOOL OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE HERE.

Prayers That Hinder Hindering Spirits

Let’s pray against these hindering spirits. Start with repentance for not discerning hindering spirits—or for tolerating them because of apathy or even frustration and overwhelm. Ask the Lord to forgive you, and give you greater discernment. Once you’ve done that, now pray these prayers in Jesus’ name:

I bind every hindering spirit working to stop my progress.

I take authority over every hindering spirit working to delay my God-given agendas.

I break the evil arrow of hinderances that are targeting my mind, my health, my economy, my relationships, and my career.

I cancel the assignment of every hindering spirit working to thwart me.

I decree hindering spirits in my midst are burned to unrecognizable ashes with double fire.

I destroy every wicked weapon hindering spirits have formed against me.

I command hindering spirits to loose my breakthrough.

I drown hindering spirits with the water of the Word.

I release the thunder of God against every hindering spirit in my midst.

I decree that the very rope hindering spirits are trying to hang me capture the hindering

powers responsible for delaying my dreams.

I push back hindering spirits that are standing on my promises.

I imprison hindering spirits who are obstructing my freedom.

I block the effort of hindering spirits to slow me down.

I decree hindering spirits must scatter and go far from me.

I decree I am advancing at an accelerated pace and hindering spirits have no right or hold on me.

I decree the Word of God is a lamp to my feet and exposes hindering spirits in my path as I walk on the narrow road.

I decree the stumbling blocks hindering spirit have put in my path are demolished and abolished.

I decree the hindering spirit standing in front of my open door faces swift destruction.