Bind The Strong Man

Bind the Strong Man

Jesus referred to binding or tying up the “strong man” when the Pharisees challenged and tried to discredit Jesus for His ability to cast out demons.

“He knew their thoughts, so he said, ‘Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive? And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.’”

Luke 11:17-22 (NLT)

Parallel account found in Matthew 12:29 King James Version: “Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?”

How does this idea relate to the work we do for the Kingdom today? The strong man is Satan and Satan has stolen many people from God. They are “stored up” or held captive in his “house” and we must liberate those captives in the Name of Jesus. In order to do that we must “bind the strong man” in the same way that Jesus bound him.

We are involved in a battle. The battle belongs to the Lord. Some times the best fight is to first commit the problem or battle to the Lord in prayer. Through prayer we bind or tie up the strong man so that we can invade his house or strong holds to set captives free. What are the strong holds that you face in your corps and community? A strong hold can be identified by repetition of a problem or challenge in one or more families. Unwed pregnancies, gang activity, violence, illness, abuse, and addictions are examples of how the enemy can get a hold on the lives of people. These are strong holds and these strong holds can only be taken if we bind the one who holds them. Bind the strong man.

Before any prayer warrior takes it upon themselves to begin to bind the strong man, they must be covered in the armor of God. (See Ephesians 6) Also a prayer warrior is to cover in prayer their health, their reputation, families, their ministries, their homes and their businesses. Cover in prayer anything or anyone that could be used to distract them from the battle or be used against you.

The word for today is: Bind the strong man.