Spiritual Warfare Prayer Against the Devil's Attacks Using Scripture

This Spiritual warfare prayer gives you protection, courage and Scriptures to claim when the devil seems to be attacking you or when you are being attacked by evil schemes. Scripture references are included so you can look them up.

Spiritual Warfare Prayer Against the Devil’s Attacks and Schemes Using Scripture

Dear God, creator and master of the Universe who rules all things and has all knowledge,

I come to you not on my own strength or merit, but only on the merit of Christ Jesus who died for my sins and who has cleansed me from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) I approach you through my advocate Jesus and through the Holy Spirit into which I have been baptized. (1 John 2:1, Acts 2:38)

I now put on the full armor of God as I begin this intercession against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

I put on the helmet of salvation, which comes through Christ and his mighty act of redemption on the cross.

I claim the salvation of my mind that I might not think in human terms but in the insight and knowledge of Christ into unseen powers in the heavenly realm. (Romans 12:2, Isaiah 55:8,9, Ephesians 6:12)

I put on the breastplate of righteous, also a precious gift of Christ’s work on my behalf on the cross. Thank you for Christ’s faithfulness and obedience in all your desires while he walked among us on this earth. (Luke 22:42.)

I claim Christ’s mantel over me, protecting and enlivening my heart to love God, his kingdom and his people for whom his heart longs. (Matt. 6:21, Matthew 23:37)

Give me Christ’s zeal for your work as he said, “I have come to bring fire on the earth and how I am constrained until it is kindled.” (Luke 12:49)

I put on the belt of truth, standing firmly on the Scriptures that tell me who Christ is and how he desires me to live and act.

I pray that I will be overflowing with scripture and that the Holy Spirt might help me remember many scriptures as I pray. (John 14:26)

I pray that you will equip my feet with the ability to preach the good news of your Kingdom and the salvation and healing you bring. Help me to act when you desire and to go where you desire me to go.

I pray for the shield of faith so I can extinguish all the flaming darts of Satan including the seeds of fear in my heart and mind.

I bind and cast out those obstacles to my faith and prayers and I stand fully protected by every promise God has made, every blessing I have received from him, every way I have seen him act on my behalf and every difficulty he has walked me through until I found relief and rest.

I also gather to my heart and mind all of the Christian friends and role models I know and the way God has also been faithful to them through all trials and difficulties.

I rejoice and claim every bad day turned around, every sorrow overcome, every difficulty survived through the prayers and support of your saints past and present.

I pray for the sword of the spirit that I might take your power of prayer as an offensive weapon against the schemes of the devil.

I confess that I have no skill on my own to use this weapon and ask you to teach me how to use it and instruct me at every turn.

I pray your hedge of protection around __________. (Psalm 91)

May no weapon formed against it prosper. (Isaiah 54:17)

I pray for the Holy Spirit to help me intercede. (Romans 8:26,27)

I pray for the spiritual gift of discernment. (I Cor 12:10)

I pray that I might have the stamina and will power to pray until your work has been completed in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

I know that in my human power, that this is impossible but that with you, all things are possible. (Zechariah 4:6)

I thank you that all power and authority on heaven and earth has been given to Christ. (Matthew 28:18)

I thank you that every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. ((Romans 14:11)

I thank you that you are the Lamb of God who is worthy to unseal the book of life, history and judgement. (Revelation. 5:12)

I stand in the strength of your promise that “Greater is he who is within us than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

I now declare from your Word that Satan is a liar and there is no truth in him (John 8:44) and that you, Jesus, are the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

I label Satan as a robber who comes to destroy and to steal (John 10:10) and that you, Jesus, came to give gifts to humans (Ephesians 4:8) and to bring us abundant life. (John 10:12.)

I thank you that if I resist the devil, he will flee from me. (James 4:7). And so this prayer is my declaration of resistance,

I resist these schemes, I resist fear, I resist destruction through the power that Christ gives me. And I claim that the devil will flee from me as a result.

I claim the scripture that says, ‘We don’t fight against flesh and blood but the dark forces of the air.” (Ephesians 6:12,13) and through Christ I can stand.

I refuse to yield this sacred ground of in my heart and mind to the devil, and I refuse to yield the sacred ground of ________________.

(Acts 7:33, Ex 3:5)

We can stand, “Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6)

I thank you that you are my strong tower and my hiding place. (Prov.18:10, Psalm 61:3, Psalm 32:7)

I thank you that Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I thank you that you said, “Peace I give you, my peace I leave with you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

I thank you for promising “No temptation has come upon you that is not common to humans. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength but will provide for you a way out.” (I Cor 10:13)

May I continue this prayer as the Spirit leads me as I go from here into the world where Christ’s light is needed, to every dark corner of my soul and my world. (John 1:4,5) For you are the light of the world, darkness must flee from your presence. (Matt. 5:14)

I pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ my Savior.

Amen.

Engaging in spiritual warfare prayer

The term spiritual warfare is simply taking a stand to combat evil. Prayer is an integral part of resisting evil because through it we gain God’s power, insights and direction.

Before we can engage in spiritual warfare prayer, here are some things we need to know.

Spiritual warfare prayer is not spooky.

Spiritual warfare prayer isn’t about suddenly seeing demons to cast out everywhere we look. Instead it’s about becoming aware of the obstacles inside of our own hearts and minds and the obstacles in the world that are opposing God’s goodness and plans.

The Bible tells us that evil exists and that the devil is the leader of these evil forces.

As you read the life of Jesus you’ll be surprised to see that there’s only one time the devil speaks directly to him. The devil tries to tempt Jesus in the wilderness as he’s praying and fasting before starting his ministry. Interestingly enough, the devil doesn’t do anything spooky or scary. Instead he tempts Jesus with normal earthly things we struggle against every day – putting physical wants and needs first, asking God for supernatural proof that he’s all powerful or depending on earthly wealth, accomplishment and political power instead of trusting God. (Luke 4:1-13)

In the remainder of Jesus’ time on earth, the schemes of the devil attacked Jesus through people. The devil stirred up jealousy, rage, exploitation and greed. The devil even used one of Jesus’ biggest supporters, Peter, to suggest to Jesus that he needed to play it safe instead of going to Jerusalem where the religious leaders were plotting to kill him. (Matthew 16:33)

Spiritual warfare prayer is not about saying special words or doing rituals.

In movies, books and popular culture we get the impression that there are certain words to use that are the magic way to get rid of evil. The Bible tells us otherwise.

When Paul was preaching in Ephesus, non-Christians saw Paul praying the name of Jesus over people who were possessed by evil, setting them free. Seven brothers decided to try this themselves and went to a troubled man and said, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches I command you to come out.” Not only was the man not set free, but he turned on the seven with such rage that he beat them up and they ran out of the house “naked and bleeding.” (Acts 19:13-16)

Spiritual warfare prayer takes a strong and consistent prayer life

Bible teachers point out that Jesus spent long hours in prayer in private, lonely places, often late at night or early in the morning while others were sleeping. If Jesus himself needed a large quantity of prayer time, how much more do we.

In one instance in the Bible, Jesus was off with several disciples praying on a mountain when the rest of the disciples were down in the valley failing miserably trying to cast a demon out of a boy. When Jesus arrived he had to take over and set the boy free from his affliction.

Later the disciples asked him why they couldn’t help the boy. Jesus replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:14-29) When we read the account, it looks like what Jesus did had instantaneous results. We fail to appreciate that his power and his prayer times were interconnected.

A strong prayer life is something that you deliberately build over time. The starting point is getting to know Jesus personally and accepting his forgiveness and applying his death on the cross so you can live a new life. You get to know him through daily prayer time, learning to hear his voice, following his plans for your life and reading and studying the Bible to understand more about him.

The dynamics of this spiritual warfare prayer

As you use this spiritual warfare prayer, you will notice that a great deal of time is focused on who God is, who we are in relationship to him and what he has provided and promised instead of focusing on “binding” evil.

Spiritual warfare is so named because it is definitely a battle. However, it is not a battle that we are naturally equipped to wage. All of our authority, wisdom and ability comes directly from God, Christ and the Holy Spirit. That’s why this prayer spends so much time emphasizing who God is.

Also, time is spent in discernment into the truth about what’s really going on below the surface vs. what we see happening. This, too, can only be ours through much prayer, mediation and revelation of Scripture.

Why I wrote this spiritual warfare prayer

I wrote this prayer a few years back when I was attacked by fear about something scary that happened that was beyond my control. I felt like my work and my whole mission in life was under attack and about to be ruined.

As my heart raced and I tried to pray but I couldn’t. So I got out my pen and my journal and started to write to try and focus on something other than my fear. I didn’t even know that I was praying a spiritual warfare prayer, I only knew that I felt attacked, vulnerable and scared. I was trying to hold onto God to keep me from falling into a pit of despair.

As I wrote, I began to catch phrases that sounded like Bible verses I’d read. I kept writing, and was quite surprised to find that I’d done six hand written pages in my journal.

I stopped because I felt more at peace. I felt like God heard me and that he was present. I felt stronger, more positive about there being a way to overcome things. And my trust level had climbed because of the part where I called into remembrance all of the times God had helped me during my life and the life of my friends.

Later I looked back at the prayer and googled phrases that seemed to be from the Bible and then noted the chapter and verse into the prayer. When I was finished, I felt lifted beyond my fears by being reminded of God’s power not over my own emotions and thoughts but also over outside attacks against us. I photocopied the prayer and put int a file folder.

I continued to pray and think with more confidence and trust about the catastrophe and steps and directions began to fall into place to help me get through the problem. Things eventually straightened out, owing to the fact that my fears had been straightened out and I face the challenges and obstacles with God’s power, authority and promises.

I forgot about the written prayer and then, 6 years later, my husband went into my office closet to get an envelope and knocked over a few files. As I was cleaning up the loose papers I came across this prayer again. I had been thinking about the need for a spiritual warfare prayer for the prayerideas website and here it was!

Spiritual Warfare Prayer Against the Devil’s Attacks Using Scripture