Satan, You Can't Have My Children: The Spiritual Warfare Guide for Every Parent (4 page)

We tread upon demonic forces by using the Word of God, which is alive and active. We also use our keys of binding and loosing when we pray with authority and when we command the evil spirits to loosen their control of an adverse situation.

For example, one powerful spiritual command that you can say with authority is:

Finally, my mother was able to pray with boldness and authority. She was able to see dramatic changes take place in the life of my father and in the lives of her loved ones.

At one point in my father’s life, he suffered a car accident that left him a quadriplegic for fourteen years. During that time Mother suffered many sleepless nights and much torment. The evil spirits tormented my father, especially during the night hours, and my mother was unable to sleep soundly.

I remember when she called me and said, “Dear Iris, you’ll never know what the knowledge of my position in Christ is doing in this situation with your father. I am using my authority in the name of Jesus in order to bind these tormenting spirits that attack your father, and they are obeying my commands! I am sleeping better, and he is getting more rest.”

I am only giving you a little sample of the wonderful victories Mom was able to experience as she became fearless and exercised her authority in the name of Jesus.

A
VOID
C
ONTROLLING
P
RAYERS

It is extremely important that we always begin praying with thanksgiving to God and for people who need our prayers. The apostle Paul, in almost all of his prayers for his fellow Christians, began with a positive prayer of thanksgiving for them. He knew that God was a God of love who loves unconditionally. It didn’t matter how rebellious or sinful they were.

You can see the example of faith in God’s power in 1 Corinthians 1:4–8. A positive attitude of faith is created as you start thanking God for “those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17,
NKJV
) in the person’s life, even though you acknowledge their faults and problems. It is important to thank God for beginning to change things that are not into what they can be in Christ as we stand in agreement with God’s Word.

Controlling prayers start by focusing on the negative and by asking God to change, sever, transform, stop, bind, and remove. They tend to bring upon the person a burden of guilt and condemnation. These are prayers that attempt to control and condemn. Many people are unable
to rise above
these prayers.

All prayers have an effect, just as our words have an effect. Whether in a positive or in a negative way, they will affect the person’s attitude and the circumstances involved in the lives of those for whom we are praying.

In my own life I have learned to thank God for my children and for God’s awesome plan for their lives. When I see a relationship develop that I feel in my spirit is not in God’s will for them, I immediately enter into God’s presence, and I thank Him for His perfect plan for them.

I pray in faith, trusting God to intervene in their lives. I refuse to be moved by what I see, hear, or feel. I confess and declare all of those good things that I expect to see manifested in their lives. Then I enter into spiritual warfare and praying scriptures.

I bind all rebellion and the strategies of the enemy from becoming effective in their lives. God will do the rest in His infinite mercy, time, and compassion for us.

We must take care not to become bitter and judgmental, even in our prayers. Sometimes we pray for God to sever a relationship, and God does so. Many times we see our loved one get involved in a worse situation. Learn to trust God with your children. Pray in a positive way with thanksgiving. Pray scriptures, not your own words. Allow God to be God.

When you allow the love of God to be manifested through you to your children, it will be the greatest deterrent against sin and rebellion in your child. This deep love from you will be better than anything that your child can see or have. The greatest deterrent against sin and rebellion in your child is the love of God manifested in your love for your child.

When you feel like screaming, yelling, preaching, or scolding—
STOP!
Take a deep breath. This is the time for you to take control of your emotions, mind, and body by refusing to allow your feelings to rule your actions and your words. Reach out with God’s love and kindness toward your loved ones. Be an example. Don’t compromise your values or bend your rules, but act in love. Your child may become angry with you, but deep down in his heart he will begin to think that maybe you’re right and maybe he is wrong. In God’s timing, God’s love in you will win out. Examine yourself to see if your prayers are meant to manipulate or to control. If they are, ask God to forgive you. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray for your loved ones. It will dramatically change your life and the lives of others.

C
HILDREN
W
HO
H
IT AND
A
TTACK
T
HEIR
P
ARENTS

If your children are hitting or attacking you and their brothers or sisters, I have one direct and urgent word for you:
GET HELP!
Don’t wait until it is too late and they take control of the family. A child should not rule or reign in the home. Authority to destroy the works of the enemy is given to Christian parents by God. Begin immediately applying the principles found in this book. These principles work and will bring about dramatic changes if you believe that God can do it through your obedience and prayers.

If your children are grown, and they still live at home without obeying rules, begin engaging in spiritual warfare. The power of God working in you is greater than the power of the enemy. Submit to God, resist the devil, and Satan will flee from you. This is a fact—a truth. Submission to God means total surrender to His ways and to His will. It is a total trust that He is capable and able to take care of that which concerns you.

When you practice trusting and believing the work of the Holy Spirit in you and in your family, you will begin to see changes and transformation. You will see and enjoy these positive changes in your children and in your family life sooner than you thought possible.

Most of the time the change has to begin in us. If we yell, they will yell. If we curse, they will curse. If we talk negatively, they will talk negatively.

When we change, they also will change. If this is not the case for you, then stand and resist. Your effective, fervent prayers will avail much. If you do find yourself in this situation, then determine to make changes.

Begin with your words, prayers, and thoughts. The Holy Spirit will be your helper and guide. Forget about the way you have done things in the past. Forget about your feelings, and walk by faith. Embark on a journey to wholeness that will restore your life and the lives of your family members. Satan does not have to take your children or your mind. God has enabled us to triumph and to overcome evil with good.

I close this chapter by encouraging you to seek God’s Word about these principles and to consider applying them to your everyday life through prayer. I have been able, each and every day, to apply these principles in my life, my husband’s life, my daughters’ lives, and in the lives of countless others. I have seen miracles of deliverance from manic depression, sickness, disease, fear and torment, destructive thought patterns, rejection, unbelief, and wrong relationships.

Prepare your heart. If you submit to God with all of your heart, put on your spiritual armor (which is God’s Word in your heart and in your mouth), and aggressively resist the devil, the devil will have to flee from you, your household, and from those for whom you pray. The key is to yield your life to God completely and to be obedient to His Word. Once you experience the love and the power of God in your life, you won’t desire anything else. You will notice that I repeat the importance of obedience and trust throughout the chapters in this book. I don’t want you to forget it, because without obedience and trust your efforts will be in vain.

Children have a sharp sense of what is right and wrong. They are also avid imitators of their parents. As parents change, they also change. There is no case too big or too impossible for God to change and transform. God’s love in action through you can tear down the greatest strongholds and barriers in your family.

CHAPTER TWO

THE PARENTAL INFLUENCE

A
FATHER’S INFLUENCE CAN DETERMINE
THE LIFE OF HIS CHILD

O
UR CHILDREN CANNOT LEARN
true love if what they see and hear are anger and disagreement. Many parents come from homes heartbroken because of sin and their parents’ and ancestors’ iniquity. Some were abandoned and have experienced pain and deep wounds. Others were attacked and are victims of sexual or mental abuse.

For God nothing is impossible. We are not victims! It’s time to strip the old man and to tell Satan, “No more crumbs; Jesus Christ paid the price, and I’m free of the past! This curse will not continue to work in my family.” It’s time that parents reading these words become true men and women who believe in God. Stop the curse in your home! Your children do not have to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors or the sins of their parents. Stop the roots of irresponsibility. Leave a blessed legacy for your children and your grandchildren. Break the power of bondage and the generational curses. Become the whole, new creation Christ Jesus paid the price for us to enjoy to the fullest!

P
ARENTS
, B
E
G
OOD
E
XAMPLES

Father, teach your son how to be a whole man.
Teach him to be a man, not a mama’s boy. It all begins at home. Begin by asking forgiveness for the actions that have caused wounds and dysfunctional patterns in your children. A son needs affirmation, hugs, kisses, and his father’s positive words. The son who doesn’t receive his father’s affirmation tends to be rebellious and disobedient and, in many cases, will never learn to love properly.

Teach your son how to treat his mother, sisters, and bride-to-be.
The son must learn from his father that the mother is to be respected, honored, and treated delicately. The son needs to learn from his father how to treat his sisters. Many heartbroken young women have told me how they have been abused or manhandled by their fathers or brothers. It’s time that fathers become true men of God and teach their children how to become men who respect women. The son will do with his wife what he has seen his father do with his mother.

What a big responsibility the father has!

Unfortunately, our world is full of men and women who are wounded, attacked, tormented, without values or limits, and looking for help from others who also need help and orientation. Cowardly men abandon their homes because of things that they themselves have permitted.

It’s never too late to start over again. If God is willing to rescue us and make us a new creation, how much more should a father or a mother be willing to forgive and change? They too can start over again. It’s time to declare, “Satan, you can’t have my family!”

Let’s look at some keys to healthy, effective fatherhood

Obviously, I am not a father. But I have observed many fathers, especially my husband. This section comes from careful observation in my forty years of marriage, parenting, and counseling.

A good father spends time with his children.
In the same way that we work, make appointments, go to meetings, are members of different clubs, dine with our friends, and do many other things, we must take time to share and have fun with our children. Fathers, your son needs to spend time with you alone, either to play sports, go fishing, or to eat ice cream together.

Everything you would have wished that your father had done with you when you were a child, do together with your children.
You will leave them with a treasure of memories. The time that you spend with them will be better than a monetary inheritance.