Your lost loved ones cannot overcome the strongholds of darkness in their minds and hearts. They don’t even know they’re in darkness. But you can! You can pray to lift the veils of deception and blindness that Satan has over them so they can see the truth about Jesus and the Gospel. Here’s how to do that.
00:00 Irrigation Circles
2:12 What Can You Do For The Lost That They Can’t Do For Themselves?
3:51 You Have Authority in Prayer for Those You Love
4:37 How to Pray to Save Those You Love
6:12 1. Logismos – human philosophies, reasoning, mindsets
7:28 2. Hupsoma – all pride that rises up
8:05 3. Noema – thoughts, plans, schemes of the devil
8:49 Activation: Specific Prayers For Your Lost Loved Ones
The explanation of the Greek words in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is from Dutch Sheets’ book How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones, which I highly recommend.
https://amzn.to/3TicPaX (This is an affiliate link. You pay the same price, but I receive a small commission if you buy. Thanks.)
What Can You Do For Lost Family & Friends That They Can’t Do For Themselves?
Romans 10:14 NLT
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
Your family and friends need to know about Jesus. But it’s not that simple – as you well know.
2 Cor 4:4 NLT
Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
Satan and our self-centered focus have twisted human thinking to the point that people hear or read God’s truth, but see it as gibberish - childish nonsense not worthy of their time or consideration
1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Your prayers can open their eyes to the truth.
**You Have Authority In Prayer For Those You Love
2 Peter 3:9 NASB
God is “not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
1 John 5:14-15 NASB
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
**How to Pray to Save Those You Love
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (EXB)
We fight with weapons that are ·different from those the world uses [not merely human weapons; L not of the flesh]. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy ·the enemy’s strong places [L strongholds; fortresses]. We destroy ·people’s arguments [human reasoning; sophistries] and every ·proud thing [pretension; exalted opinion; L high thing] that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it obey Christ.
These verses show us how to pray.
Strongholds are not demons. The Greek for stronghold is “ochuroma” and it means a place from which to hold someone strongly – a fortress or a prison. Satan (our enemy) has created strongholds within men which imprison or enslave them.
God has given us weapons that have supernatural power to tear down these strongholds and set men free. Jesus came to “set the captives free.” Luke 4:18 And He gave us the same mission.
3 strongholds that need to be torn down in lost loved ones:
1. Logismos – human philosophies, reasoning, mindsets
We destroy ·people’s arguments [human reasoning; sophistries]
2 Corinthians 10:4
Logismos include philosophies such as: religions, materialism, humanism, roots of rejection, addictions, racism or anything that causes a person to think a certain way.
Without realizing it, everything we hear or see is filtered through our belief system, our mindset, also called our worldview. The truth we hear can be limited or distorted by our belief system.
2. Hupsoma – all pride that rises up
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 EXB
We destroy ·… every ·proud thing [pretension; exalted opinion; L high thing] that raises itself against the knowledge of God.
This was the first sin. It was Adam and Eve’s desire to be on the same level as God. Many people live as their own god – doing what they want.
3. Noema – thoughts, plans, schemes of the devil
2 Corinthians 10: 5 (EXB)
We capture every thought and make it obey Christ.
We can and should pray that God will protect those we love from Satan’s thoughts, temptations and schemes.
Jesus’ mandate to Paul is our mandate to the ones we love:
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Acts 26:18 NIV
ACTIVATION – See posts @10minutetransformation for a written version of these prayers.