Prayer Team Issues

I started working with my church’s prayer team last week, and there were some excellent things about it.

First of all, NO RAP MUSIC. My church reaches out to kids, and that means a lot of blaring music, including rap. The kids who run the sound and lights come from a generation that has no understanding of the importance of conversation, so they keep the music blasting even after services, and it’s really annoying. I know it brings kids in, but I have always hated loud music, and it’s very hard to sense God’s presence when all you can think about is the pain in your ears.

The prayer team uses proper worship music, which is much gentler.

Second thing: the attitude is very serious. One of the pastors teaches straight from the word, and he doesn’t tell us we’re good enough and smart enough and people like us. He doesn’t tell us we’re wonderful just as we are. He tells us we have to know the word and remember God’s promises, and he expects us to work at our walks with God.

Third thing: tons of prayer in the Spirit. The Bible teaches that this is perfect prayer, and it charges believers like batteries, filling them with the fruit and gifts of the Spirit.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep going. The reason is this: I’m afraid we’re picking fights we can’t handle. I don’t want any part of that.

Perry Stone has written a lot about spiritual warfare, and one of the hazards he mentions is taking on gigantic spirits without God’s prompting and without the right preparation. Christians don’t like to hear it, but Satan is extremely powerful, and so are many of his underlings. You can say “Greater is he that is within me than he that is in the world” all day, but if you attack a big principality without authorization, you are going to get hammered into the dirt, and your family may get hammered right along with you.

If we had the kind of unlimited power some Christians think we have, I could walk outside right now and order every evil spirit to leave Florida, and they would have to go. Thousands and thousands of people would be healed of diseases and mental illnesses and addictions. It would be the greatest story in the history of journalism. But I can’t do it. Let’s just be honest. Satan is the god of this world, and God has not given us the power to deal death blows to his kingdom on a daily basis. Satan is going to rule until the return of Jesus, so let’s get used to it. A war is made up of battles; you don’t win in a day. Every day you face what your commanding officer tells you to face, and you don’t run around like a chicken with its head cut off, firing random shots behind enemy lines.

We see this in the Bible. In Daniel, a great angel said he had been restrained by one of Satan’s helpers for 21 days. Jude says Michael himself had to fight with Satan in order to hold onto the body of Moses. Paul says the Holy Spirit ordered him to stay out of Asia Minor, even though he wanted to go there and win souls. The Bible also says the Holy Spirit warned him to avoid Jerusalem. If no weapon formed against us will prosper, why didn’t he dash up there, order Satan out, and do his thing? Obviously, there are some battles we can’t win at the times of our choosing.

The pastor who leads our prayer team battles out loud with the spirits that rule Miami and the area of the church. He battles the spirits of idolatry, which is very widespread and intense in Miami. Voodoo, including Cuban voodoo, is no joke here. He addresses Satan personally. I just don’t believe what he’s doing is a good idea, and I don’t think we have the supernatural support to prevent it from hurting the church and the members of the prayer team.

On top of that, there is the subject of “binding and loosing.” Jesus told Peter that what Peter bound on earth would be bound in heaven, and that what he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. At least, that’s what the King James Version says. Messianic Jews see it differently. They prefer terms that mean “forbid” and “allow.” The Jews have always believed that God gave them the authority to make rulings on religious questions here on earth. When Jesus told Peter he could “bind” and “loose,” he was probably telling him God would support his decisions regarding spiritual matters.

Somehow, modern Christians got the idea that they could “bind” Satan. So we run around yelling things like, “I bind the spirit of pornography over my city in the name of Jesus!” Question: is there any evidence that this has ever worked? We still have pornography, drugs, prostitution, alcoholism, violence, and every other sin in every American city. I think we’re wasting our air or provoking retaliation. So it makes me nervous when the pastor starts “binding” and “coming against.” I see no examples of these behaviors in the Bible. I know we have the power to bless and curse things, but that seems very different.

The pastor also also said something about “loosing angels of our provision.” Again, I have never seen this in the Bible, including the New Testament. And I believe giving an order to an angel is idolatry, just like praying to a saint. I ask God to send spirits to help me all the time, but I would never give one an order.

I thought my family and I needed corporate prayer, and I suppose that is true, but I don’t want the kind of prayer that will make things worse.

Personally, I think prayer–the type where you ask for things, not the type where you search yourself or converse with God about other things–should be specific. Instead of “binding and loosing,” ask for the things you need. Ask God to rebuke the spirits that work against you. Fast and pray. And cast the spirits out, if you think you have the authority. Jesus ordered us to do that. But don’t make up doctrine.

You wouldn’t walk out onto a battlefield, shoot your rifle in random directions, and yell, “I COME AGAINST THE NORTH VIETNAMESE.” That would be what military historians call “a real bad idea.” But you might locate a tank and radio your commander for air support to take it out, or you might ask for permission to blow it up. I think the supernatural world is a lot like the natural world, and common sense should apply there, the same way it does here.

The conclusion I come to is that I am probably causing more problems than I am solving by getting behind rash spiritual warfare, so I better stay out of it.

Perry Stone says he knows of ministers who have tried to fight the big spirits ruling their cities, and he says the enemy mashed them like bugs, ruining their churches and causing all sorts of problems for their congregations. That’s good enough for me. He knows more about this stuff than I do.

Another thing that worries me: ministers insult Satan. Jude tells us not to do this. Satan has rights, and God generally does not support trash talk. Every time I hear a minister use words like “stinking” or “lousy” when referring to Satan or an evil spirit, I cringe. I believe Satan has the right to take these things before God and ask for permission to retaliate. Why open the door? What is the point?

I think you fight at your own level of power. Overcome the spirits that manipulate your body; that’s a good start. If you can’t control your body, how can you hope to de-pornographize your city? After that, get your home and family in order. THEN maybe you can start thinking about bigger targets. That’s my guess. The Bible says we are not even supposed to be deacons unless our houses are under control, so I think I have the right idea.

I think Jesus began by fighting small battles. His first move after being baptized with the Holy Spirit was to fast. Why do you fast? To drive off the spirits that corrupt your behavior. It’s self-improvement. He was cleansing himself before taking on the task of cleansing the world.

I’m disappointed, but there is no way I can change the way things are done in the prayer meetings, so I see no option except withdrawal. Maybe the answer is to start my own group. The church likes that. Right now, I AM my own group.