Prayers We Pray — hestillrescues

PRAYERS BY JOHN ELDRIDGE - AUTHOR OF "WILD AT HEART"

VISIT https://www.ransomedheart.com/pray ---- To print and listen to prayers

PRAYER TO RECEIVE JESUS AS SAVIOR

The most important relationship for every one of us is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Choosing to believe that he is who he claimed to be—the Son of God and the only way to salvation—and receiving him by faith as your Lord and Savior is the most vital act anyone will ever do. We want life. He is Life. We need cleansing. He is the Living Water.

Here is a simple prayer if you have not yet given your life to Jesus and invited him into yours:

Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God, that you died on the cross to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the Father. I choose now to turn from my sins, my self-centeredness, and every part of my life that does not please you. I choose you. I give myself to you. I receive your forgiveness and ask you to take your rightful place in my life as my Savior and Lord. Come reign in my heart, fill me with your love and your life, and help me to become a person who is truly loving—a person like you. Restore me, Jesus. Live in me. Love through me. Thank you, God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

BEDTIME PRAYER

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, to be renewed in you, to take refuge in you. I honor you as my sovereign Lord, and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to you. I give you my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I cover myself with your blood, and I ask your Holy Spirit to restore me in you, renew me in you, and lead this time of prayer.

I proclaim the kingdom of God and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ over my home and all things in it. [If you live in an apartment, use “apartment.” If you have only a room under your authority in someone else’s home, use “my room.” If you share a room, use “my bunk” or “my side of the room.”] I consecrate and sanctify my home and everything in it to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the Kingdom of God. I bring the cross, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout my home tonight—through every object and furnishing, bed and bedding, all media and icons, all books and magazines, movies and music, toys and games, through the atmosphere in every room, throughout the ceilings, walls, floors, and all places in them, from the land beneath to the roof above and all around this home tonight.

I take my place in the cross, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. I now bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ against Satan and his kingdom. I bring the cross, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ against every foul and unclean spirit—every ruler, power, authority, and spiritual force of wickedness [you might need to get specific: “Including all spirits of fear, death, torment, accusation,” etc. You know what’s been attacking you. It has more power if you name them specifically.] I command every foul and unclean spirit bound and banished from my home and from my household, with every backup and replacement, every weapon and device, in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his name.

I now bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ—his cross, resurrection, and ascension—against every foul power, witchcraft, and black art. I cut them off in the name of the Lord. No weapon forged against me shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). I bring the cross and blood of Jesus Christ against every form of hex, vex, and incantation; against every spell, ritual, vow, dedication, and sacrifice; against every word, judgment, and curse. I command them broken and bound from my home this night in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I now bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ between me and all people—their spirit, soul, and body, their sin, warfare, and corruption. [It may help to name those people now—extended family, folks you have been ministering to, anyone you know is judging you.] I send every human spirit bound back to their body; I command all of their sin, warfare, and corruption bound back to the work of Christ in their life, and I forbid it to transfer to me.

I summon the angels of the Lord Jesus Christ and instruct them to build a shield of protection around me and my home (Hebrews 1:14). I ask your Holy Spirit to fill my home with your presence, with the peace of God and the love of Christ. I ask you to send forth your Spirit to raise up prayer and intercession for me this night. I now call forth and command the Kingdom of God and the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout my home and throughout my household, all through the hours of this night and through the new day, in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his name

DAILY PRAYER

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, renewed in you, to receive your life and your love and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor you as my Lord, and I surrender every aspect and dimension of my life to you. I give you my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I cover myself with your blood—my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I ask your Holy Spirit to restore me in you, renew me in you, and lead this time of prayer. In all that I now pray, I stand in total agreement with your Spirit and with all those praying for me by the Spirit of God and by the Spirit of God alone.

Dearest God, holy and victorious Trinity, you alone are worthy of all my worship, my heart’s devotion, all my praise, all my trust, and all the glory of my life. I love you, I worship you, I give myself over to you in my heart’s search for life. You alone are Life, and you have become my life. I renounce all other gods, every idol, and I give to you, God, the place in my heart and in my life that you truly deserve. This is all about you, and not about me. You are the Hero of this story, and I belong to you. I ask your forgiveness for my every sin. Search me, know me, and reveal to me where you are working in my life, and grant to me the grace of your healing and deliverance and a deep and true repentance.

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and choosing me before you made the world. You are my true Father—my creator, redeemer, sustainer, and the true end of all things, including my life. I love you, I trust you, I worship you. I give myself over to you, Father, to be one with you as Jesus is one with you. Thank you for proving your love for me by sending Jesus. I receive him and all his life and all his work which you ordained for me. Thank you for including me in Christ, forgiving me my sins, granting me his righteousness, making me complete in him. Thank you for making me alive with Christ, raising me with him, seating me with him at your right hand, establishing me in his authority, and anointing me with your love and your Spirit and your favor. I receive it all with thanks and give it total claim to my life—my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

Jesus, thank you for coming to ransom me with your own life. I love you, worship you, trust you. I give myself over to you to be one with you in all things. I receive all the work and triumph of your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice for me, through which my every sin is atoned for, I am ransomed, delivered from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred to your kingdom; my sin nature is removed, my heart circumcised unto God, and every claim being made against me is cancelled and disarmed. I take my place now in your cross and death, dying with you to sin, to my flesh, to this world, to the evil one and his kingdom. I take up the cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, arrogance, unbelief, and idolatry [and anything else you are currently struggling with]. I put off the old man. Apply to me all the work and triumph in your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice; I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

Jesus, I also receive you as my Life, and I receive all the work and triumph in your resurrection, through which you have conquered sin, death, judgment, and the evil one. Death has no power over you, nor does any foul thing. And I have been raised with you to a new life, to live your life—dead to sin and alive to God. I take my place now in your resurrection and in your life, and I give my life to you to live your life. I am saved by your life. I reign in life through your life. I receive your hope, love, faith, joy, your goodness, trueness, wisdom, power, and strength. Apply to me all the work and triumph in your resurrection; I receive it with thanks, and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my authority, rule, and dominion, my everlasting victory against Satan and his kingdom, and my ability to bring your Kingdom at all times and in every way. I receive all the work and triumph in your ascension, through which Satan has been judged and cast down, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you. All authority in the heavens and on this earth has been given to you, Jesus, and you are worthy to receive all glory and honor, power and dominion, now and forever. I take my place now in your authority and in your throne, through which I have been raised with you to the right hand of the Father and established in your authority. I give myself to you, to reign with you always. Apply to me all the work and triumph in your authority and your throne; I receive it with thanks and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ over my life today: over my home, my household, my work, over all my kingdom and domain. I bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ against every evil power coming against me—against every foul spirit, every foul power and device. [You might need to name them—what has been attacking you?] I cut them off in the name of the Lord; I bind and banish them from me and from my kingdom now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. I also bring the full work of Christ between me and every person, and I allow only the love of God and only the Spirit of God between us.

Holy Spirit, thank you for coming. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I receive all the work and triumph in Pentecost, through which you have come, you have clothed me with power from on high, sealed me in Christ, become my union with the Father and the Son, the Spirit of truth in me, the life of God in me, my counselor, comforter, strength, and guide. I honor you as Lord, and I fully give to you every aspect and dimension of my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will—to be filled with you, to walk in step with you in all things. Fill me afresh, Holy Spirit. Restore my union with the Father and the Son. Lead me into all truth, anoint me for all of my life and walk and calling, and lead me deeper into Jesus today. I receive you with thanks, and I give you total claim to my life.

Heavenly Father, thank you for granting to me every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I claim the riches in Christ Jesus over my life today. I bring the blood of Christ once more over my spirit, soul, and body, over my heart, mind, and will. I put on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation; I take up the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit, and I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of your might, to pray at all times in the Spirit.

Jesus, thank you for your angels. I summon them in the name of Jesus Christ and instruct them to destroy all that is raised against me, to establish your Kingdom over me, to guard me day and night. I ask you to send forth your Spirit to raise up prayer and intercession for me. I now call forth the kingdom of God throughout my home, my household, my kingdom, and domain in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving all glory and honor and thanks to him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAILY PRAYER (HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD)

Those of you with children will find it very effective to deliberately include them in your daily prayers. Husbands have a great measure of spiritual authority over their wives and children (see Ephesians 5:23), and mothers over their children. So we offer this version as a way of learning to include your household in your prayer.

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, renewed in you, to receive your life and your love and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor you as my Lord, and I surrender every aspect and dimension of my life to you. I give you my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I cover myself with your blood—my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I ask your Holy Spirit to restore me in you, renew me in you, and lead this time of prayer. In all that I now pray, I include [my wife and/or children, by name]. I cover them with your blood—their spirit, soul, and body, their heart, mind, and will. I ask your Spirit to restore them in you and include them in all that I now pray, acting as their head. In all that I now pray, I stand in total agreement with your Spirit and with all those praying for me by the spirit of God and by the Spirit of God alone.

Jesus, thank you for coming to ransom me with your own life. I love you, worship you, trust you. I give myself over to you, to be one with you in all things. I receive all the work and triumph of your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice for me, through which my every sin is atoned for, I am ransomed, delivered from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred to your kingdom, my sin nature is removed, my heart circumcised unto God, and every claim being made against me is cancelled and disarmed. With my [wife and/or children, by name], I take my place now in your cross and death, dying with you to sin, to my flesh, to this world, to the evil one and his kingdom. I take up the cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, arrogance, unbelief, and idolatry [and anything else you are currently struggling with]. I put off the old man. Apply to me and [my wife and/or children, by name] all the work and triumph in your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice; I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

Jesus, I also receive you as my Life, and I receive all the work and triumph in your resurrection, through which you have conquered sin, death, judgment, and the evil one. Death has no power over you, nor does any foul thing. And I have been raised with you to a new life, to live your life—dead to sin and alive to God. With [my wife and/or children, by name] I take my place now in your resurrection and in your life, and I give my life to you to live your life. I am saved by your life. I reign in life through your life. I receive your hope, love, faith, joy, your goodness, trueness, wisdom, power, and strength. Apply to me and [my wife and/or children, by name] all the work and triumph in your resurrection; I receive it with thanks, and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my authority, rule, and dominion, my everlasting victory against Satan and his kingdom, and my ability to bring your Kingdom at all times and in every way. I receive all the work and triumph in your ascension, through which Satan has been judged and cast down, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you. All authority in the heavens and on this earth has been given to you, Jesus, and you are worthy to receive all glory and honor, power and dominion, now and forever. With [my wife and/or children, by name], I take my place now in your authority and in your throne, through which I have been raised with you to the right hand of the Father and established in your authority. I give myself to you, to reign with you always. Apply to me and [my wife and/or children, by name] all the work and triumph in your authority and your throne; I receive it with thanks and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ over my life today, over [my wife and/or children, by name], over my home, my household, my work, over all my kingdom and domain. I bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ against every evil power coming against me and [my wife and/or children, by name], against every foul spirit, every foul power and device. [You might need to name them—what has been attacking you?] I cut them off in the name of the Lord; I bind and banish them from me and from my household and kingdom now, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. I also bring the full work of Christ between each of us and every person, and I allow only the love of God and only the Spirit of God between us.

Holy Spirit, thank you for coming. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I receive all the work and triumph in Pentecost, through which you have come, you have clothed me with power from on high, sealed me in Christ, become my union with the Father and the Son, the Spirit of truth in me, the life of God in me, my counselor, comforter, strength, and guide. I honor you as Lord, and with [my wife and/or children, by name], I fully give to you every aspect and dimension of my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will—to be filled with you, to walk in step with you in all things. Fill us afresh, Holy Spirit. Restore our union with the Father and the Son. Lead us into all truth, anoint us for all of our life and walk and calling, and lead us deeper into Jesus today. I receive you with thanks, and I give you total claim to our lives.

Heavenly Father, thank you for granting to us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I claim the riches in Christ Jesus over my life today and over [my wife and/or children, by name]. I bring the blood of Christ once more over each of us—our spirit, soul, and body, over our heart, mind, and will. Armor each of us with your armor. I put on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation; I take up the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit, and I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of your might, to pray at all times in the Spirit.

Jesus, thank you for your angels. I summon them in the name of Jesus Christ and instruct them to destroy all that is raised against me and against [my wife and/or children, by name], to establish your Kingdom over us, to guard us day and night. I ask you to send forth your Spirit to raise up prayer and intercession for me and my household. I now call forth the kingdom of God throughout my home, my family, my household, my kingdom, and domain in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving all glory and honor and thanks to him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAILY PRAYER LONG VERSION

Why a long version? Over the years we have come to learn a great deal about prayer and spiritual warfare. Frankly, the prayers of our youth have not proved sufficient for the trials of a more mature believer advancing the Kingdom of God. This longer version reflects the kind of prayer needed in times of intense ministry or times of great pressure and attack. Frankly, it just has more firepower. Try it—you’ll see.

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, renewed in you, to receive from you all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor you as my Sovereign, and I surrender every aspect and dimension of my life totally and completely to you. I give to you my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I cover myself with your blood—my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I ask your Holy Spirit to restore me in you, renew me in you, and lead this time of prayer. In all that I now pray, I stand in absolute agreement with your Spirit and with my intercessors and allies, by your Spirit and by your Spirit alone.

Dearest God, holy and victorious Trinity, you alone are worthy of all my worship, my heart’s devotion, all my praise, all my trust, and all the glory of my life. I love you, I worship you, I give myself over to you in my heart’s search for life. You alone are Life, and you have become my life. I renounce all other gods, every idol, and I give to you the place in my heart and in my life that you truly deserve. This is all about you, God, and not about me; you are the Hero of this story, and I belong to you. I ask your forgiveness for my every sin. I renounce my sins. I ask you to search me and know me and reveal to me where you are working in my life and grant to me the grace of your healing, deliverance, your holiness, and a deep and true repentance.

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and choosing me before you made the world. You are my true Father—my creator, redeemer, sustainer, and the true end of all things, including my life. I love you, I trust you, I worship you. I give myself over to you, Father, to be one with you in everything as Jesus is one with you. Thank you for proving your love by sending Jesus; I receive him and all his life and all his work which you ordained for me. Thank you for including me in Christ, for forgiving me my sins, for granting me his righteousness, for making me complete in him. Thank you for making me alive with Christ, raising me with him, seating me with him at your right hand, establishing me in his authority, and anointing me with your love, your Spirit, and your kingdom. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will. I bring the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ over my life today, over my home, my family, my household, throughout my kingdom and domain.

Jesus, thank you for coming to ransom me with your own life. I love you, I worship you, I give myself over to you to be one with you in all things—spirit, soul, and body, heart, mind, and will. I sincerely receive all the work and triumph in your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice, through which my every sin is atoned for, I am ransomed and delivered from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to your kingdom, my sin nature is removed, my heart is circumcised unto God, and every claim being made against me is disarmed this day. I now take my place in your cross and death, dying with you to sin, to my flesh, to this world, to the evil one and his kingdom. I take up the cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, arrogance, unbelief, and idolatry [and anything else you are currently struggling with]. I put off the old man. Apply to me all the work in your cross, death, blood, and sacrifice. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

I bring the blood and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ over my life today, over my home, my family, my household, my vehicles, finances, over all my kingdom and domain. I bring the cross, death, blood, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ against Satan, against his kingdom, against every foul and unclean spirit, every foul power and black art, against every witch, and against every human being and their spirit, their warfare and household. I bring the cross, death, blood, and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to the borders of my kingdom and domain, and I stake it there in the name of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my Life, and I receive all the work and triumph in your resurrection, through which you have conquered sin, death, judgment, and the evil one. Death has no power over you, nor does any foul thing. And I have been raised with you to a new life, to live your life—dead to sin and alive to God. I take my place now in your resurrection and in your life, and I give my life to you to live your life. I am saved by your life. I reign in life through your life. I receive your hope, love, faith, joy, your goodness, trueness, wisdom, power, and strength. Apply to me all the work and triumph in your resurrection; I receive it with thanks and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

I bring the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ over my life today, over my home, my family, my household, my vehicles, finances, over all my kingdom and domain. I bring the resurrection and the empty tomb of Jesus Christ against Satan, against his kingdom, against every foul and unclean spirit, every foul power and black art, against every witch, and against every human being and their spirit, their warfare, and household. I bring the resurrection and the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ to the borders of my kingdom and domain, and I stake it there in Jesus’ name.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my authority, rule, and dominion, my everlasting victory against Satan and his kingdom, and my ability to bring your Kingdom at all times and in every way. I receive all the work and triumph in your ascension, through which Satan has been judged and cast down, and all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you. All authority in the heavens and on this earth has been given to you, Jesus, and you are worthy to receive all glory and honor, power and dominion, now and forever. I take my place now in your authority and in your throne, through which I have been raised with you to the right hand of the Father and established in your authority. I give myself to you, to reign with you always. Apply to me all the work and triumph in your authority and your throne; I receive it with thanks, and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ over my life today, over my home, my family, my household, my vehicles, finances, over all my kingdom and domain. I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ against Satan, against his kingdom, against every foul and unclean spirit—every ruler, power, authority, and spiritual force of wickedness, their every weapon, claim, and device. [At this point, I specifically name all foul and unclean spirits that I know have been attacking me, such as fear, doubt, accident, injury, death, the religious spirit, pride, arrogance, etc.] I send all foul and unclean spirits bound to the throne of Christ, together with every back-up and replacement, every weapon, claim, and device—by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his name. I command the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the heads of those that refuse to obey, and I send them to judgment, by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his name.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ against every foul power and black art—every hex, vex, and incantation, every spell, weave, web, veil, shroud, charm, and snare; against every ritual, sacrifice, and device; against every vow, dedication, and sacrifice, every word, judgment, and curse—written, spoken, unspoken, or transferred to me. I command them disarmed and broken by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his name.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ against every witch, cult, and coven, every channel of black arts to me. I cut them off in the name of the Lord; I send the glory of God to them to turn them in Jesus’ name.

I now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of the work of Christ between me and every human being—their spirit, soul, body, their sin, warfare, and their household. I bring the full work of Christ between me and [now I name people I’ve counseled or prayed for, family members, folks in crisis looking to me, etc.]. I command their human spirits bound back to their bodies and their warfare bound to the throne of Christ in their life. I bring the full work of Christ between me and my household and all people, in the authority of Jesus Christ and in his name.

Holy Spirit, thank you for coming. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I honor you as Lord. I receive all the work and triumph in Pentecost, through which you have come, you have clothed me with power from on high, sealed me in Christ, become my union with the Father and the Son, the Spirit of truth in me, the life of God in me, my counselor, comforter, strength, and guide. I honor you as Lord, and I fully give to you every aspect and dimension of my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind, and will—to be filled with you, to walk in step with you in all things. Fill me afresh, Holy Spirit. Restore my union with the Father and the Son. Lead me into all truth, anoint me for all of my life and walk and calling, and lead me deeper into Jesus today. I receive you with thanks, and I give you total claim to my life.

Heavenly Father, thank you for granting to me every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I claim the riches in Christ Jesus over my life today, over my home, my family, my work, over all of my kingdom and domain. I bring the blood of Christ once more over my spirit, soul, and body, over my heart, mind, and will. I put on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation; I take up the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit, and I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of your might, to pray at all times in the Spirit.

Jesus, thank you for your angels. I summon them in the name of Jesus Christ and instruct them to destroy all that is raised against me, to establish your Kingdom over me, to rebuild the shields and hedges of protection around me and my household, and to minister to me your ministry. I ask you to send forth your Spirit to raise up prayer and intercession for me. I now call forth the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout my home, my household, my kingdom, and domain in the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving all glory and honor and thanks to him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

THE LIFE PRAYER - This prayer is particularly helpful in those seasons where we are being assaulted with death, suffering, or affliction.

“In a word, He came to supply all our lack—from the root outward; for what is it we need but more life? What does the infant need but more life?... What does the old man need, whose limbs are weak and whose pulse is low, but more of the life which seems ebbing from him?... ‘More life!’ is the unconscious prayer of all creation, groaning and travailing for the redemption of its Lord.” ~ George MacDonald]

O God, you are my life. You have breathed into me the breath of life, and I have become a living being (Genesis 2:7). My very existence and my being flow from you. In you I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28). You are the Vine, and I am a true branch of yours (John 15:5). Father, you have made me alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). Jesus has become my second Adam, a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). He came that I might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). I have Jesus Christ, and I have his life (1 John 5:12). Christ is now my life (Colossians 3:4).

Dear Father, I give my life to you to be filled with your life. Restore this frail branch in full union with Jesus who is the Vine. Restore my full union with Christ and with you. I return myself to you—my body, soul, and spirit, heart, mind, and will. I return myself fully to the Source of Life. May I be one with you even as Jesus was one with you (John 10:30, 17:21). Let your life flow through me and flow and flow throughout this day. O Life, live into me. Encompass me and all that I am; well up within me. O Spring of Life, let your river flow through my heart, soul, mind, and strength (John 7:38). You are the God who gives life to the dead (Romans 4:17). And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in me (and you are living in me), he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to my mortal body through his Spirit, who lives in me (Romans 8:11). O God, fill me with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in my body, soul, and spirit.

For it is Christ in me that is my hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). It is the triumphant life of Jesus Christ that has become my life. I live by him. I reign in life through him, by the life of Christ in me. For if, when I was your enemy, I was reconciled to you through the death of your Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall I be saved through his life (Romans 5:10)? I announce that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). I consecrate my life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a vessel of his triumphant life.

I now claim the resurrection triumph of Jesus Christ and the power of his empty tomb against all forms of death and destruction come against me. By Jesus Christ and his great work, I cut off every attempt of my enemies to steal, kill, or destroy my life. As Jesus said, no one takes my life from me (John 10:18). Death has no mastery over Jesus now (Romans 6:9), and death has no mastery over me, for I am united with Christ, one Spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17). I am in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). And Christ is in me (Colossians 1:27). I claim the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus now, against every black law of sin and death and every foul power of destruction aimed against me. By the authority of Jesus Christ I bind and banish all forms of bondage and death from me, now—all spirits, all witchcraft, all foul powers. I cancel all claims against me by the work of Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13-15). I claim the resurrection of Christ against my enemies and their devices, and I bind them from me and send them to their judgment, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ and to his everlasting glory.

I take my place in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in his life. For I have been raised with Christ to a new life. I present my life to you, Jesus, to be filled with your life. I choose to live by the strength of Jesus Christ and by his mighty life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

PRAYERS FOR BREAKING CURSES

I proclaim that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13).

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now bring the fullness of his cross, death, blood, and sacrifice, his resurrection, life, and empty tomb, his authority, rule, and dominion; I bring judgment from the Lord Jesus Christ against every foul power, witchcraft, black art, and curse. I bring Jesus Christ cursed for me against all curses that have been raised against me—written, spoken, unspoken, or transferred to me.

[If you know what the exact curses are, it helps to name them. For example, “all curses of death,” or “all curses on my marriage or my health,” etc.]

I bring the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, his blood shed upon the cross, against all blood sacrifices and rituals and their every claim against me.

I bring Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sacrificed for me, against all ritual sacrifices and their every claim against me.

I bring the dedication of Jesus Christ for me in death upon the cross against all ritual dedications.

In the name and by the blood of Jesus Christ, I break the power and hold of every curse that has come to me through ritual or ritual sacrifice.

In the name and by the blood of Jesus Christ, I break the power and hold of every curse that has come to me through transfer by another human being.

In the name and by the blood of Jesus Christ, I break the power and hold of every curse that has come to me through words spoken.

In the name and by the blood of Jesus Christ, I break the power and hold of every curse that has come to me through occult practices.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I declare every legal hold and every legal ground of the enemy broken, disarmed, and destroyed. Satan has no hold over me now through curses or occult practices, through sacrifices or any ritual of any kind. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, I am free. Thank you, Jesus, for setting me free. I order these curses and claims utterly disarmed and dismantled now, through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, and in his name.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I command all demonic spirits that have gained access to me through curses and rituals cut off and banished from me and my household, in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus, I ask you to send your angels now to completely disarm all curses and black arts from me; disarm their every device and render them destroyed. I ask your angels to remove all foul spirits involved in these curses and black arts and bind them to your feet for judgment.

I now claim every spiritual blessing that my Heavenly Father has given to me in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). I claim those blessings right here in the very place of all cursing, by the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in his name. Jesus, may these things be fully accomplished now through your mighty name. I give you thanks and honor and praise. All of this I pray by the authority and in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who came in the flesh.

PRAYERS FOR INNER HEALING - We recommend that you set aside a good bit of time in a quiet place to pray for inner healing.

This process can’t be rushed. It is usually helpful if you have someone to pray along with you—a trained counselor or minister, someone who knows a bit about healing prayer, or simply a friend who knows Jesus and wants to help you. It is not mandatory, but it can be helpful. Read through this entire process before you begin.]

When we are in the presence of God, removed from distractions, we are able to hear him more clearly, and a secure environment has been established for the young and broken places in our hearts to surface. We ask God to surround us with his presence. We give ourselves back over to him and come under his authority, for as Paul warns, it is possible to lose connection with our Head, who is Christ (Colossians 2:19). We declare the authority of Jesus over our hearts, for he made our hearts (Psalm 33:15) and he has redeemed our hearts (Romans 2:29).

Jesus, I come into your presence now, and I ask you to surround me. I come under your authority and your claim upon my life. I give myself to you—body, soul, and spirit. I give my heart to you, in every way—including the broken places in me. I declare your authority over my heart, for you made my heart and you have redeemed my heart.

Then we invite Christ in. We ask Jesus to come into the emotion, the memory, this broken place within us. We give him permission; we give him access. We open the door to this particular place in our hearts. “If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in” (Revelation 3:20). Truth be told, there are probably many broken places within us. Stay with one at a time, the one connected with the event or the emotion or the habit you can’t seem to escape. Ask Jesus to bring his light there. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Ask him to make it clear to you. What’s going on here, Jesus? What is this all about? Shine your light in my heart.

Jesus, I invite you into this broken place within me (this wound, this memory). I give you total access to my heart. Come, Lord, shine your light here. Reveal to me all that is going on here. What is this about, Jesus? Come and show me, meet me here, in this place.

Sometimes he will take us back to a memory, a time and place where a shattering blow was given. Other times he will make us aware of a young place in our hearts. Just the other evening, Stasi and I were in the living room together, reading. She told me she had been sad for several days, but she wasn’t sure why. There wasn’t anything sad going on in her life—quite the contrary. It had been a good several weeks with many blessings. But as she prayed about it, tuned in to her heart, she became aware of a place in her heart that felt as if it was weeping. Anytime someone says, “I feel like there’s this part of me...,” my radar lights up. We asked Jesus about it, and sure enough, there was a part of Stasi’s heart, about seventeen years old, that was grieving. We asked Jesus to come in and lead us in prayer for this brokenness.

We ask Jesus what he is saying to this wounded part of us, listening, as Payne puts it, “for the healing word that God is always sending to the wounded.” He will often bring words of love and kindness or comfort specifically to this place in our hearts: “You have the words of real life” (John 6:68, The Message). Sometimes he will ask a question: "Why are you frightened?" or "Will you let me heal you?" He is drawing this place in our hearts out from the shadows, out from hiding; he is bringing our brokenness into the place of assurance.

Jesus, come and lead me in healing this brokenness in my heart. Speak to me here, Lord. What are you saying to me? Give me ears to hear and eyes to see what you are revealing. Let no other voice speak but you, my Lord Jesus, and you alone.

Now, I think it is safe to say that we all have mishandled these places in our hearts. We push them down, as I did. Or we turn to something or someone we hope will bring comfort, like food or sex. If we have done that, Jesus will often make that clear to us as we pray. As he does, we confess our sins, renounce them (often a great act of the will), and ask him to cleanse our hearts (1 John 1:9).

Jesus, forgive me for the ways I’ve mishandled my brokenness. You alone make me dwell in safety. Forgive me for all my self-protection and self-redemption, and for all my false comforters. (You’ll want to renounce specific sins you are aware of here.) Cleanse my heart of every sin by your shed blood.

Oftentimes these young and broken places have become sites of spiritual strongholds. All of the streams flow together for our healing; we must use the stream of Warfare as well. Our sins give the Enemy a certain claim to our lives (Romans 6:16). As we renounce any sin, we also renounce any claim we’ve given to Satan in our lives. This often comes in the form of “agreements”—Satan has suggested something to us, and we have said, “Yes.” He might have said, "Don’t ever trust anyone," or "Your heart is bad—never show it to anyone," or "You are dirty . . . lustful . . . addicted and never will get free." Whatever we have agreed with, we renounce those agreements. We ask God to cleanse us by the blood of Christ; we command our Enemy to flee (James 4:7).

I now break every agreement I have made with Satan and his lies. (Get specific here. What have you believed, bought into?) I renounce any claim I have given to my Enemy, and in the name of Jesus, I command him to flee.

And then we ask Jesus to do for us the very thing he said he came to do: we ask him to heal this brokenness, to bind up our hearts. Sometimes he will ask us to take his hand in this shattered place, follow him into his heart and his presence within us. These places are often isolated from the life and the love of God in us; he draws them back into his presence and heals them through union with himself, in our hearts. Our part is to listen and follow where he is leading, and to welcome that part of our heart home. This is so important because many of us sent that part away. We welcome back the despised, forsaken part, just as Jesus embraces us.

Jesus, come now and do as you promised to do—heal my broken heart and set me free. (Listen here for what Jesus is saying.) Bring this place into your love and healing, bring this place home. I welcome your healing, and I welcome this part of my heart home. Come, bind me up and make me whole.

PRAYERS FOR SEXUAL HEALING

Healing for your sexuality is available; this is a very hopeful truth! But you must realize that your sexuality is deep and core to your nature as a human being. Therefore, sexual brokenness can be one of the deepest types of brokenness a person might experience. You must take your healing and restoration seriously. This guided prayer will help immensely. You may find you need to pray through it a few times in order to experience a lasting freedom.

A bit of explanation on the reasons for the prayer: first, when we misuse our sexuality through sin, we give Satan an open door to oppress us in our sexuality. A man who uses pornography will find himself in a very deep struggle with lust; a woman who was sexually promiscuous before marriage may find herself wresting with sexual temptation years afterward. So it is important to bring our sexuality under the lordship (and therefore protection) of the Lord Jesus Christ and seek his cleansing of our sexual sins.

Second, sexual brokenness—whether through abuse of our sexuality by our own actions or by the actions of others—can create sexual difficulties and also opens the door for the enemy to oppress us. Quite often forgiveness is needed—both the confidence that we are forgiven by the Lord and the choice we make to forgive others. This will prove immensely freeing.

Let us begin by bringing our lives and sexuality under the lordship of Jesus Christ:

Lord Jesus Christ, I confess here and now that you are my Creator (John 1:3) and therefore the creator of my sexuality. I confess that you are also my Savior, that you have ransomed me with your blood (1 Corinthians 15:3, Matthew 20:28). I have been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ; my life and my body belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Jesus, I present myself to you now to be made whole and holy in every way, including in my sexuality. You ask us to present our bodies to you as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and the parts of our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). I do this now. I present my body, my sexuality [“as a man” or “as a woman”] and I present my sexual nature to you. I consecrate my sexuality to Jesus Christ.

Next, you need to renounce the ways you have misused your sexuality. The more specific you can be, the more helpful this will be. God created your sexuality for pleasure and joy within the context of the marriage covenant. Sexual activity outside of marriage can be very damaging to a person and to their relationships (1 Corinthians 6:18–20). What you want to do in this part of the prayer is confess and renounce all sexual sin—for example, sexual intimacy outside of marriage: not only intercourse, but other forms of sexual intimacy such as mutual masturbation or oral sex. Many people assume these “don’t really count as sin” because they didn’t result in actual intercourse; however, there was sexual stimulation and intimacy outside marriage. Keep in mind there is the “spirit of the law” and the “letter of the law.” What matters are issues of heart and mind as well as body. Other examples of sins to renounce would be extramarital affairs, the use of pornography, and sexual fantasies. You may know exactly what you need to confess and renounce; you may need to ask God’s help to remember. Take your time here. As memories and events come to mind, confess and renounce them. For example: “Lord Jesus I ask your forgiveness for my sins of masturbation and using pornography. I renounce those sins in your name.” After you have confessed your sins, go on with the rest of the prayer.

Jesus, I ask your Holy Spirit to help me now remember, confess, and renounce my sexual sins. [Pause. Listen. Remember. Confess and renounce.] Lord Jesus, I ask your forgiveness for every act of sexual sin. You promised that if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I ask you to cleanse me of my sexual sins now; cleanse my body, soul, and spirit, cleanse my heart and mind and will, cleanse my sexuality. Thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me. I receive your forgiveness and cleansing. I renounce every claim I have given Satan to my life or sexuality through my sexual sins. Those claims are now broken by the cross and blood of Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:13–15).

Next comes forgiveness. It is vital that you forgive both yourself and those who have harmed you sexually. LISTEN CAREFULLY: forgiveness is a choice; we often have to make the decision to forgive long before we feel forgiving. We realize this can be difficult, but the freedom you will find will be worth it! Forgiveness is not saying, “It didn’t hurt me.” Forgiveness is not saying, “It didn’t matter.” Forgiveness is the act whereby we pardon the person, we release them from all bitterness and judgment. We give them to God to deal with.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for offering me total and complete forgiveness. I receive that forgiveness now. I choose to forgive myself for all of my sexual wrongdoing. I also choose to forgive those who have harmed me sexually. [Be specific here; name those people and forgive them.] I release them to you. I release all my anger and judgment toward them. Come, Lord Jesus, into the pain they caused me, and heal me with your love.

This next step involves breaking the unhealthy emotional and spiritual bonds formed with other people through sexual sin. One of the reasons the Bible takes sexual sin so seriously is because of the damage it does. Another reason is because of the bonds it forms with people, bonds meant to be formed only between husband and wife (see 1 Corinthians 6:15–20). One of the marvelous effects of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is that it breaks these unhealthy bonds. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

I now bring the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ between me and every person with whom I have been sexually intimate. [Name them specifically whenever possible. Also name those who have abused you sexually.] I break all sexual, emotional, and spiritual bonds with [name if possible, or just “that girl in high school” if you can’t remember her name]. I keep the cross of Christ between us.

Many people experience negative consequences through the misuse of their sexuality. Those consequences might be lingering guilt (even after confession) or repeated sexual temptation. Consequences might also be the inability to enjoy sex with their spouse. It will help to bring the work of Christ here as well. Many people end up making unhealthy “agreements” about sex or themselves, about men or women or intimacy, because of the damage they have experienced through sexual sin (their sin, or the sin of someone against them). You will want to ask Christ what those agreements are and break them!

Lord Jesus, I ask you to reveal to me every “agreement” I have made about my sexuality or this specific struggle. [An example would be “I will always struggle with this” or “I can never get free” or “I don’t deserve to enjoy sex now” or “My sexuality is dirty.” Pause and let Jesus reveal those agreements to you. Then break them.] I break this agreement [name it] in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, and I renounce every claim I have given it in my life. I renounce [name what the struggle is—“the inability to have an orgasm” or “this lingering shame” or “the hatred of my body”]. I bring the cross and blood of Jesus Christ against this [guilt or shame, every negative consequence]. I banish my enemy from my sexuality in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite the healing presence of Jesus Christ to cleanse me and restore me as a sexual being in fullness of joy and wholeness. I ask you, Jesus, to fill my sexuality with your holiness, to strengthen me and restore me in your name.

Finally, it will prove helpful to consecrate your sexuality to Jesus Christ once more.

Lord Jesus, I now consecrate my sexuality to you in every way. I consecrate my sexual intimacy with my spouse to you. I ask you to cleanse and heal my sexuality and our sexual intimacy in every way. I ask your healing grace to come and free me from all consequences of sexual sin. I ask you to fill my sexuality with your healing love and goodness. Restore my sexuality in wholeness. Let my spouse and me experience all of the intimacy and pleasure you intended a man and woman to enjoy in marriage. I invite the Spirit of God to fill our marriage bed. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen!!

We could report many, many stories of stunning redemption that have come as a result of individuals and couples praying through this type of prayer. Now remember—sometimes the wounds and consequences take time to heal. You might want to revisit this prayer several times over if lasting healing has not yet taken place. You may recall actions that need confession later; return to this prayer and confess those as well. Some of you will also benefit from seeing a good Christian counselor. Hold fast to these truths:

You, your body, and your sexuality belong to Jesus Christ. He has completely forgiven you. He created your sexuality to be whole and holy. He created your sexuality to be a source of intimacy and joy. Jesus Christ came to seek and save “what was lost” (Luke 19:10), including all that was lost in the blessings he intended through our sexuality!

PRAYERS FOR HEALING OF HABITUAL SINS [From The Utter Relief of Holiness]

Renouncing the Sin

Freedom comes only as we bring these unsanctified and unholy places under the rule of Jesus Christ, so that he can possess these very places deeply and truly. Therefore, part of this first step involves sanctifying to Christ the place of bondage. If it’s sexual, you sanctify your sexuality to Christ; if it's emotional (as with rage, or fear, or even grief), you sanctify your emotions; if it involves addiction, you sanctify your appetite, your obsession, and your body. At the retreats we do, we walk through this process in prayer, and many people are shocked to realize that they have never taken the first, simple step of sanctifying their sexuality (or emotions, or appetites) to Jesus Christ. But if you want to be free in this place, it must come under the total, intimate, ongoing rule of God.

Lord Jesus, forgive me. I confess I have been offering myself over to sin, and now I am its slave. I renounce it; I renounce my sins. [Be very specific here. For example, “I renounce the ways I have presented my sexuality to sin; I renounce my sexual sins. I present my sexuality to Jesus Christ. I sanctify my sexuality to Jesus Christ. I present the members of my body and my sexuality as instruments of righteousness. I renounce the ways I have presented my appetite and my drinking to sin; I renounce my sins with alcohol. I present my appetite and my drinking to Jesus Christ. I sanctify my body to Jesus Christ.”] I renounce every way I have given myself over to sin. I dedicate and I consecrate my life [and this specific area] once more to the rule of Jesus Christ, to be his and his alone. May your atoning blood cover my sins and cleanse me. May your holiness possess me totally and completely.

You will also find it helpful to renounce the “sins of your fathers.” Often in these places of lasting bondage you will find that a father (or mother, or brother, or grandparent) struggled with the same issue. The scriptures present to us the reality that sin is often passed down within a family line, and the effects of those sins are also passed down generation to generation (see Exodus 20:5, 34:7, Leviticus 26:39-42, Nehemiah 9:2).

Lord Jesus, I also renounce the sins of my fathers here [or my mother, my grandmother, what have you]. I renounce their sins of [be specific, as in, “their rage, their sexual sins, their alcoholism.”] I utterly renounce and break with the sins of my family line. I plead the blood of Christ over those sins, so that they may not have a hold on me. I renounce them and break with them utterly.

Breaking the Stronghold

We begin to break the enemy’s hold on us through the presence of “agreements.” By this I mean places in our own hearts that have made a deep agreement with a feeling, a thought, a sentence. If you have struggled with something for years now, there are probably agreements along the lines of: “I’ll never get free of this," "I am such an $%#@," "Who cares anyway?" "It’s too late,” and a host of others. Those are agreements, and they serve as a kind of permission for the enemy to keep you in bondage. So you must break them. In addition to these, there are the agreements with the sin itself: “I am filled with rage," "I am a drunk," "I am gay.” They can even “feel” biblical but, friends, you do not want to be making agreements with your sin. You are dead to sin and alive to God. You are the dwelling place of Jesus Christ. You are forgiven and dearly loved. So you must break the agreements you’ve been making here, in this area. Some will be obvious to you; others require the presence of the Holy Spirit to reveal them.

Spirit of God, search me, know me, reveal to me the agreements I have been making in this area. I renounce those agreements now. [Be very specific.] I renounce the agreement that [What is it? “I’ll never get free?" "Rage is just a part of me?" "It’s too late?”] I break these agreements in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ. I renounce them. I renounce every claim they have given the enemy in my life. Jesus, my Deliverer, come and break these strongholds. Set me free in this very place.

Lord Jesus, show me every companion agreement operating here. I renounce the agreement that I’m alone, that no one will protect me. I renounce the agreement that I am dirty and disgusting. I renounce every agreement with shame. I renounce the agreement that I can never be forgiven. Spirit, show me what to pray, reveal these agreements.

This is how we undo that dynamic about letting the sun go down on these things and the enemy getting a foothold (Ephesians 4:26-27). Bit by bit you are recovering parts of your heart. You are taking them back from when you gave them away. This erodes the claim that you gave the enemy in your heart. Yes, terrible things may have happened to us, but we are the ones who made these agreements, these resolutions, these vows, and we’re not going to see victory in that area until we renounce them.

I will be honest—if you’ve given your heart over to something many times over, you’ve given it a good stronghold, and if it is also tangled up in issues of wounds and sin, it’s going to take some time to untangle and heal this, but it is worth the work. Don’t just bury it. It’s worth going into those dark places and those murky waters and working through it. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of everything. Everything.

Having broken the agreements and renounced the sin, we often find that we have to be quite intentional in commanding the enemy to leave. “Submit therefore to God,” wrote James the brother of Jesus, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Much of what we have been doing up to this point is submitting to God, bringing these specific issues under the rule of Jesus by renouncing the sins, breaking the agreements, sanctifying these places back to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now comes part two of this verse: resist.

I bring the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ right here, in this very place. I renounce every claim I gave the evil one to my life right here, in this very place. And I bring the blood of Christ now against the strongholds and against the spirits operating here. [Sometimes you will need to be firm and specific: I bring the blood of Jesus against all spirits of addiction, of alcoholism, all spirits of rage, of homosexuality, and so on]. I banish these enemies from my life now—from my body, my soul, and my spirit. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). I resist the devil here and now and I command these spirits to flee in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord.

Ask the Spirit to guide you. If you will stick with this and let the Holy Spirit guide you, you can be free.

Lord, forgive me for giving place in my heart to resentment, to lust, to anger, to alcohol. Forgive me for giving place in my life to resignation and self-reproach and shame, to fear and doubt and control. I renounce it now. Come, Jesus Christ, and take your rightful place in my heart and in my life here. Come and set me free here, in these very places. I plead your blood over these sins, and I break every hold I gave my enemy here, in the name of Jesus Christ.

As you do this, you erode your enemy’s claims to keep you in bondage. By the way, your enemy is not going to like the fact that you are about to get free. He will try to discourage you from praying like this. He will try to distract you (the phone will ring, you’ll suddenly be hungry, you'll feel like doing it tomorrow). He’ll try to make you feel like, this is so stupid, I can’t believe I’m doing this out loud. He's going to make you feel like this isn’t working or this isn’t going to work; now I’m becoming one of those nuts. Just push through all of that.

I bring the work of Jesus Christ once more against you [shame, rage, fear, sexual sin, resignation, etc.] and I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to go to the throne of Jesus Christ in his mighty name. “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free” (Galatians 5:1). I claim my freedom now in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus, I ask you to sanctify me through and through. May my whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24). Sanctify me through and through, in this place, in this issue.

Healing the Brokenness

Now for the best part: the healing. God wants to make you whole and holy. He promises to heal the brokenhearted. So now you invite Jesus in to heal the wound, to love you in this place, to restore your soul, to heal this memory. You invite him into your past.

Lord Jesus, I invite you into my wounds and my brokenness. [Again, don’t be vague and general; be very specific.] Jesus, I invite you into the day I was abused. Come into my shattered heart, my shame, come into that moment in my life. I ask you to cleanse me here, to heal my broken heart and make me whole.

Linger in this place in prayer. Listen. Pay attention. Often Jesus will bring up something necessary to your healing. For example, suddenly you feel the anger toward your abuser—Jesus is showing you that you need to forgive.

Jesus, I forgive my brother for abusing me. I release him from my rage and I give him over to you.

Sometimes you’ll feel the shame and self-rejection.

Lord Jesus, come into this shame. I renounce self-rejection. I renounce despising myself because of all that has happened. I forgive myself as well. Come and heal me.

Sometimes you will feel the young places in your heart crying out for love or for protection.

Lord Jesus, gather the young and frightened place in my heart into your loving arms. Come and find me here, in these very places. Gather my heart into your love and make me whole.

As you are inviting Jesus into your wounds, what is so very beautiful is the fact that quite often—not every time, but more than you’ll expect—Jesus will show you what he is doing; you will see him come. Call it seeing with your mind’s eye or Christ using your imagination or seeing with the eyes of your heart or your spirit—however you want to describe it. Often you will see Christ come back into your past. He may take you by the hand and lead you out of that room. You might see him step between you and the one who wounded you, or he might simply tell you, "You are forgiven, you are safe, I love you."

Healing doesn’t necessarily have to be dramatic. Oftentimes it is very quiet. Jesus simply comes as we invite him to, and though we may not “see” him or “hear” him, he comes, and we sense a new peace or quietness in our soul. Our heart feels better somehow. The important thing is for us to give him permission to these wounded places, invite his healing love, and wait in prayer for him to come. Do this with each memory of wounding, with each event (ask the Holy Spirit to guide you). Often I will pray Isaiah 61 as I do this:

Lord Jesus, you have come to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. Come and heal my brokenness right here, Lord; free me from this captivity, release me from all darkness, bring your favor here in my soul and bring your vengeance here against my enemies. Lord, you came to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. I ask you to do this in me—comfort me where I am hurting; bestow on me a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Come in this memory, in this wound. I receive you here.

Many times Jesus simply says, “Let me love you.” We need to open our hearts up to his love. As we do, it allows him to come to this very place. Linger there and listen; ask for the healing grace of Jesus Christ over and over again. He comes, dear friends, he comes.

PRAYER TO BREAK A SOUL TIE

I bring the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ between me and (name this person). As Galatians 6:14 says, I have been crucified to (name them) and they have been crucified to me. So by the Cross of Jesus Christ, I break every soul tie and every unholy bond with (name them). I command their human spirit bound back to their body, and I send all of their sin, and warfare, and corruption bound back to the throne of Christ in their life. I forbid them, or their warfare, or their sin to transfer to me. And I allow only the love of God, only the bond of the Holy Spirit, between us.

In the name of my lord Jesus Christ. Amen

ST. PATRICK'S BREAST PLATE PRAYER

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

PRAYING AS ONE - COLOSSIANS PRAYER - AN UNSELFISH AND RIGHT MOTIVE TYPE PRAYER

We are on special assignment by God as part of his master plan.

We believe that the Message is true among us—today, just as when we first heard it, that the message of the Kingdom does not diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world.

The message of the Kingdom is bearing fruit. It is getting larger and stronger, just as it has in us.
Today, God, we’re asking you to give us wise minds and spirits attuned to your will, so that we might acquire a thorough understanding of the way in which you work.

We pray that we would live well for you, the Master, today, making you proud of us as we work hard in your orchard. As we learn more and more how God works, we will learn how to do your work.

We pray that we will have the strength to stick it out over the long haul, not the grim strength of gritting our teeth, but glory-strength that only comes from you, God. It’s a strength that endures the unendurable, a strength that spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough today to take part in everything bright and beautiful that you have for us, God.

We choose to believe that everything got started in you, everything finds its purpose in you; that you, God, were there before any of this came into existence; that you hold it together, right up until this very moment.

We ask, God, that you would mature us today—and to mature is to become basic and simple. Jesus, no more or no less—that’s what I choose, God, to work so hard at day after day and year after year; to do my best with the energy that you have so generously given to me.

We have received Jesus, we’ve received the Father, we’ve received the Holy Spirit; and now we ask that we would be deeply rooted in him, that we would live in him, that we would become well constructed upon him today, that we would do what we have been taught.

We choose not to tolerate people who try to run our lives, who are full of hot air, who are out of touch with the Source of Life, out of touch with Jesus, who puts us together into one piece. We choose instead to believe that the very breath of God and the very blood of God flow through us.

We choose to be serious about living this resurrection life, to receive this life and to breed our life from this life.

We choose not to shuffle along with our eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of us. But we choose to look up, to be alert to what is going on around you, God. That’s where the action is. We choose to see from your perspective.

We say that you are our life, God. You are our life. You are true and good and beautiful.

We choose to be content with obscurity, as you, Jesus, were content with obscurity.

We choose to put on Love in all things as our basic, all-purpose garment, to never be without it.

We choose to receive the peace of God, through Jesus Christ, that keeps us in tune with each other, in step with each other—none of this going off and doing our own thing.

Instead, we cultivate thankfulness through God and his words.

We say that you have the run of the house. You have the run of our kingdom; we entrust our kingdom to you.
We choose to serve our earthly masters, to not just do the minimum that will get us by, but to do our best, to work from the heart—for the real Master. For we know that the work we do for our earthly masters is work from the heart for our real Master. And we are confident that we will be paid in full, with the coming of our inheritance in you. So we claim it and we receive it: the full measure of our inheritance in the Kingdom of God through our service to you, our Master.

We choose to pray diligently, to stay alert; we choose to have our hearts and eyes wide open to you.

We choose gratitude.

We receive you afresh today. We receive you, Jesus: your brotherhood, your life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

We choose to receive you, Father: your generosity, your abundance. You’re everything that we need and more.

We choose to receive you, Holy Spirit: your guidance, your leadership, your love, and your joy.

God, you have our yes; we choose to respond to your way in our life. We stand in agreement with our brothers, as one, in Jesus’ name.

BECOMING GOOD SOIL PRAYER

Father, I confess that what I want is for my heart to be made whole and my life to be integrated. I confess that I want the freedom and the restoration of my strength through the integration of the whole person. And I invite you to do it. I invite you to partner with me to become a man who astonishes you because we are united in love and I’ve learned to do nothing apart from you.

Father, I agree with your relentless love, your relentless pursuit—that you will stop at nothing to continue to open the doorway to invite me home, for me to give access to you to the whole man, to be made whole and holy.

Father, I confess the parts of me that have yet to yield to you, that are resistant, and I give you the shame and the fear and the disappointment and the hurt. I give you my belief in life being found in self-determination and self-reliance, and I say your love is greater still—your love is stronger than death. I ask that you would shine your light, that you would expose every place in me that has yet to come home to you as my good Father.

Jesus, Holy Spirit, Father, I receive you afresh today, and your inextinguishable life. I receive your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in the Kingdom of heaven. I arise once again to trust you in your mighty strength, uniting my heart with your heart.

Jesus, I ask that you would break every limit I’ve placed on who you can be, what you can do, and how you can do it. I ask for your forgiveness for those limits, and I say break them in your power and in your name. I say in that place that I am rooted and established in your love. It is infinite, ever-present, and always flowing.

Father, I name that you care about me, that I matter to you, that you are the one who sees me. I say it out loud: You are the One who sees me, and I have seen the One who sees me. I name you as the One Who Sees Me.

I receive you afresh in this place. I ask that you would make me good soil. I say I want more. I ask that you would dismantle the self-promotion, self-protection, self-reliance; that you would dismantle the Self and restore the True Man, making me whole and holy by your love. I give you permission to my body, my soul, and my spirit.

I receive your inheritance. You have given me unlimited resources. That is my inheritance, and I claim it, I receive it. I ask that you would help me to access it more: your favor, your life—to accept it and receive it.

Through your death, your resurrection, and your ascension, I choose union with you. Forgive me for trying to arrange so many things to feel good. You alone are contentment, and so I choose you to be my place of contentment. And I choose to receive that smile of the Holy Spirit that says you alone bring true joy.

I receive you, Holy Spirit, afresh today—your breath. You are the wild one. You want to partner with me. You know what I need. You are my counselor, my comforter, my strength and my guide. So I choose You, Holy Spirit. I ask that you would increase my awareness to sense your moving, your leadership. Show me how to move. Give me the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace so that I can move in step with you—your pace, your rhythm, your way.

Holy Spirit, I believe that you usher in this mothering that I so deeply need, that you alone can nourish me to fullness—robust wellbeing. You alone, through mothering me, can make me feel safe and loved, make me feel “10 feet tall and bursting with joy.” I want that, Holy Spirit, so would you mother me in new ways? I confess you’re good at mothering. I want to know and believe that I am loved, because I am yours. I am worthy of love and belonging.

Father, I confess that I still resist you, hiding as an orphan and a slave. I want to come home to you. Today afresh, Father, I ask that I could come home to you—home to your love, home to your generosity, home to your abundance, home to your provision, home to your protection. Father, all that I am, in union with all that you are. I do it through the life of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, I receive you as my brother, as my Savior, as the Doorway, the Pathway—your life spent so that I could have Life. Through you, my old man is given to death, and death rises to new life. I rise with you, Jesus—your unstoppable life and strength and force. Jesus, you have my yes. Validate me. I receive my name from you, my place in the Kingdom, my inheritance through you, Jesus.

God, in that place I confess all the sophisticated ways I have created a life to protect me from engaging in true relationship, all the ways I’ve arranged to disengage from relationship—the ways that I move against people, the ways that I move away from people and move towards people, all searching for validation, searching for love. I ask that you would dismantle all of it in me, God, that you would restore my style of relating and restore my relating with you, that I would see you move and walk, that you would cultivate a love language with me more deeply than ever before, that I would find myself laughing because you know me! This is our moment, just us. I hold a part of your heart no one else does, God, and you hold a part of mine. Can we cultivate an acquaintance? I confess that I need to live more deeply in a habitat that allows my soul to thrive. To cultivate that acquaintance, I know there’s unfinished business here, and so I give you the habitat of my life, and I ask that you would bring it into alignment with the habitat that’s right for my soul. Unforced rhythms of grace, learning to live freely and lightly, putting down everything that is heavy-laden, and everything that is ill-fitting, that doesn’t fit me. And help me to be comfortable in my own skin. Help me to like me as you like me.

Restore my soul. Integrate the whole man. God, I give you permission. I pray that you would cultivate the habits that are necessary so that I can be available to receive that which I can’t arrange for. What do I need to abstain from? And what do I need to engage in? Teach me; I’m your student. Let’s try it on, try it out—let’s practice, let’s blunder around. Allow me not to go to shame or self-reproach.

I want to be a student, and I want to be a son. And so I name that over my life, God: Student and Son. As you restore my true self from the inside out, I consecrate my motives to you, I consecrate my beliefs to you, and I choose to adopt a worldview that is steeped in and seated on wisdom and not simply gifting or the Spirit of the Age. I choose to partner with Wisdom that you set as the Craftsman at your right hand, that is in the fabric of all of creation. You say that he who finds wisdom finds life, and I ask for wisdom, because I need life.

God, I stand with you against my enemies; against every scheme that has been set against me as a man, against my masculinity, and against my masculine line. I say, “It stops with me.” In the authority of Jesus Christ I say no. I take my stand with you, and I say, “It stops with me, in the authority of Jesus Christ.” And I ask for you to begin a new work in me, to establish a new legacy, a new generation; to restore what you originally intended since before Creation. Show me the warfare set against me; and in your authority, I stand against it. I choose against it by your power and through your Life.

And, Jesus, in the Spirit of the Age, I confess how much I’ve agreed with a distracted life, with this “temporary atheism” where I so often find myself living apart from you. Lord, you never give any man too much to do. And so I ask for your forgiveness for every place I find myself feeling overwhelmed and alone. I break every agreement I’ve made with drivenness and hurriedness and busyness; and I ask in its place that you would give me intimacy, that you would cultivate acquaintance. Give me intimacy with you.

Father, I give you every way that I have elevated myself in a kingly realm, in a way that was beyond what you entrusted to my care. I ask for your forgiveness, and I give you access to sort it all out. Jesus, I ask that you would heal my heart in the traumatized places where I have been set as a king by uninitiated men, where I have been maimed and harmed and used and abused. I forgive them, for they know not what they do. I release them and bless them, and I say, you have your way with them, God. I ask that you would heal my heart in those places and help restore the false conclusions I’ve come to about my life and calling because of the pain and the hurt and the violation.

Father, I ask that you would dismantle every shortcut that I’ve willfully chosen. I pray that you would reveal again the shortcuts I’ve taken, that you would dismantle them; and I choose the long, holy, and narrow road you have for me that is truly Life. I want to be your apprentice, God. You are accepting master students, and I say yes! I want to work with you; I want to watch how you do it. I’m signing up. Show me how to grow in fierce mastery over all of it, the fullness of my domain. I pray that you would right-size it; shrink it where it needs to shrink. And help me with my body, with my soul and spirit, with my imagination, with my mind.

I give all of my kingdom to all of you. I bring it back under the rule and reign of Jesus—every piece of it. I ask for your blood to wash it and for your anointing to come. And I’m asking for your favor over my kingdom. I set it apart for your life.

Father, I ask for forgiveness: I’ve played it safe in a lot of ways. I haven’t risked, because I’ve been fearful. Help me exercise risking—risking love, risking courage, risking generosity. Meet me in this frontier. I want to trust you more. I believe that you want to increase the stakes, and this is my practice.

I ask for your forgiveness for every way I’ve agreed with the spirit of false comparison with other men and had jealousy and envy and want of their life. I confess that the only life worth living is my life in you. Father, forgive me for comparing part of my life with part of his life. I release him. I bless him. And I cut off every judgment, every value I have made, every way I’ve cursed inadvertently. I ask for your forgiveness, and I bring blessing in the place of cursing. I choose in the heavenlies with my will to cause good on behalf of those men.

And I own my life, my story—you as author, me as participant and partner and friend. Father, I invite you into all of my suffering. You’re the only person who can handle it. And you can handle it. So I invite you into it. I ask that you would make something beautiful come out of it. I ask that you would show me what to do with it, that you would make it worth it, Jesus, that you would tell me that it matters to you. All of it. And that you’re not far off, that you’re moving towards me.

Jesus, would you show me how to rest? And play? Would you show me how to receive love? There are places in me that just avoid it and fear it. Show me how to receive. Show me how to play. Show me how to become the kind of person of whom my kids (or future kids) would one day be able to say, “He was playful. He was so fun to be with.” Take off the burden. Lift the burden.

Father, I give you all of my relationships: my marriage (future marriage), my kids (future kids), my friendships—I give it all to you. In the area of marriage, I give you my dreams and my dilemmas. And I am asking that you would simply breathe life into the here-and-now, that you would show me what needs to be done, that you would help me come to the center, and that you would give me your heart for her. Father, at every one of those junctures where it’s going sideways, I pray that you would help me be mindful to simply turn again to you and say, “Give me your heart for her.” I pray that you would help me believe that you are my defender; I have no need to defend myself. I ask that you would heal my marriage, restore my marriage; and I pray that you would bring my wife onto the same parallel journey as a woman and as a bride. Only you can do that, and only you can orchestrate it. I give you my marriage, I trust you with the pain, and I ask for a miracle. Today. A miracle. I agree that she’s the one you chose for me, and you don’t make mistakes. So I break every agreement I’ve made around an alternative path, and I receive her again in love. I renew my heart for her because of you.

Father, I give you my children. I give you what I’ve missed of their hearts. I give you the hours I’ve missed and the days I’ve missed; and I stay in your love, where you say, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” I’m banking on it, Jesus. And I believe that the only way I become the kind of parent I want to be is through parenting. So I receive grace for myself as a parent.

I pray that you would teach me how to be present; that you would work my schedule supernaturally, flowing out of my beliefs, to give them more of my time—and also out of my beliefs, more of my heart; that you would help me be present to the regular, day-to-day moments where you are asking me to bring them into deeper realities and wonder of the Kingdom of God; that I would model a Larger Story, bigger than anything they find; that I would give them access to you, Father; that I would turn and that they would see my model of turning to you, the one with unlimited resources. I don’t have to have it figured out, God. I confess all the pressure I put on myself to have it figured out. And I pray, God, that you would help me bring them deeper into the Kingdom of God, to know your heart.

I confess that these are the hidden years. I give you permission to hide me in the ways you want to hide me. Only you can figure that out, and only you can resolve that. But I ask that you would clarify and consecrate my yes. Help me understand what it is that I am to say yes to, and who it is that I am to say yes to. Help me establish my yes and amen as it is in the Kingdom of Heaven, so that I can have confidence to say no to everything and everyone that’s a no from you. Help me discern; help me walk in that.

Father, I pray for pure relationships. I ask, God, that you would give me one, that you would give me two, that you would help me see like-hearted kings who want what I want and have to fight through the same stuff to get it. Help me fight for those. Show me where I need to sacrifice more. Pour your robust life into those relationships. Give us shared mission so that we can lock arms and move toward something larger, as a context to dive deeper into the restoration of our hearts together. Give me a few. I believe that it’s your idea, it’s your design, it’s your desire, and it’s my destiny. So would you bring me those men? Father, bring me the peers, bring me the mentors, bring me the men; order my expression of the Body of Christ, my community, my story, that I would own my life and I would cast off every other story. I release it. I own my life.

Father, the love that you have for your Son Jesus is the same love that you give to me, the love that you offer me. I receive it today. I receive it with confidence. I receive it with joy, with expectation. I receive your love afresh today.

And I put on the armor afresh today as your son, the armor of God: shoes of the gospel of peace, whereby I can move in step with your Spirit; a belt of truth, whereby I love the things you love and I hate the things you hate; a breastplate of righteousness, whereby I choose what you choose and I refuse what you refuse. I put on the helmet of salvation, whereby my hope is seated and established in the Kingdom to come and the place that you have carved out for me. My hope is in the intervention of Heaven today. I take up the sword of the Spirit, that you would arm me with the Word of God; and the shield of faith, whereby I am sure of what I hope for and certain of all that I do not see. I put it on.

I am your son, and I say, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” I choose you today; I invite you into this decade. I invite you to shape it, to lead it and guide it. Father me. Apprentice me in your Kingdom. I am an unfinished man, but I choose today to give all of me to all of you. I accept your acceptance of me. I choose to live in the present moment. I ask for a wise and discerning heart. I unite my heart with your heart. I choose to listen to your voice. I receive your peace that passes understanding. I receive your courage, I receive your strength, I receive your joy. I love you. I trust you. I choose to become good soil. You have my yes.

Amen.