We’ve all been told, when facing a difficult situation, that the battle is in our minds. But have we heard that the victory comes out of our mouths? The words we speak are prophetically assigned and targeted to get results. Visualize your words coming out as a forceful stream of air going across the room. They hit a target and get results. We are hosts of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, the breath of God, and since God has given us dominion, it is His breath we project, His words we speak, and the spiritual realm must respond.
There is power in our words, even if we don’t know it or believe it! That power can be directed to bring about either a positive or a negative outcome. Proverbs 18:21 (MEV) says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Our words can activate and call things forth as well as bind and restrict the enemy.
Binding and loosing needs to be done audibly. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). The demonic realm cannot hear what you pray when you pray silently. But you take authority over the demonic realm when you speak out—when you decree and declare using your voice.
Our heavenly Father spoke out when He created the earth in Genesis 1, and Jesus spoke out on several occasions in the Gospels when He prayed for healing to come forth and for demons to flee. We should fight warfare the way the Bible models it: audibly.
Jesus Spoke Out
Jesus modeled how we are to fight the devil when He was tempted in the wilderness. He answered the devil’s temptations by saying, “It is written” and then quoting the Scriptures:
But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'” (Matt. 4:4).
Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God'” (Matt. 4:7).
Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve'” (Matt. 4:10).
Jesus fought the devil, not by thinking the Word of God but by speaking aloud the Word of God. He spoke out when He ministered in healing and deliverance as well. He spoke to a demon and said, “Be silent and come out of him!” (Mark 1:25). He spoke to a fig tree (Mark 11:14). He said to a leper, “Be clean” (Matt. 8:3). And He told a paralyzed man to take up his bed and walk (Mark 2:11). Jesus modeled audible spiritual warfare and demonstrated the power and authority of the spoken word.
Jesus knew how to bind and restrict the enemy and cast out demons. When we study the Gospels, we see that Jesus fought warfare audibly and spoke out commands to make demons leave.
“Be silent and come out of him!” (Mark 1:25).
“Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” (Mark 5:8).
“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more” (Mark 9:25).
The devil is not omniscient (infinitely knowing; all-seeing), omnipotent (possessing unlimited power) or omnipresent (present in all places at the same time). Therefore, he cannot hear your thoughts or what you silently pray when you connect your spirit to the Holy Spirit.
We are uncomfortable and unfamiliar with audible prayers and declarations because before many of us entered Spirit-filled churches, we weren’t taught to pray out loud—whether to bind and restrict the enemy or to call forth the blessings of God. We aren’t confident, and we worry about what our prayers will sound like when we begin to speak out. Therefore, we stay silent and try to fight the enemy in our minds instead of out of our mouths, and we don’t get the results we desire.
We are not afraid to shout at the TV, scream during a football game, tell someone off or cheer someone on. We need not be concerned with what it will look like or sound like when we pray out loud, take authority and, yes, even sometimes shout at the devil!
Who knows? You might get some freedom if you yell at the enemy and put him under your feet. If he isn’t under your feet, it’s because you don’t put him there with the power of your words.
We must be forceful against the enemy, using the authority Jesus gives us as we speak out against the powers of darkness. The Bible says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12, NKJV).
The Modern English Version translates the same verse as, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has forcefully advanced, and the strong take it by force.” We need to be forceful and strong with the power of our words. Our words are prophetically assigned and targeted to create a spiritual result.
We want to create a result when we bind and restrict the enemy against us. We accomplish this when we speak out our prayers into the spiritual realm so that the demonic realm must respond to the words we speak and the authority we exude.{eoa}
Excerpted from Chapter 4 of Prophetic Spiritual Warfare by Kathy DeGraw.
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and K Advancement LLC. Kathy hosts a podcast show called Prophetic Spiritual Warfare on the Charisma Podcast Network. She is the author of several books: Prophetic Spiritual Warfare, Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan and Unshackled. She is empowering people and setting the captives free through her many e-courses at charismacourses.com. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook at facebook.com/kathydegraw or visit kathydegrawministries.org.
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