The concept of “binding and loosing” from Matthew 16 has been taught and practiced among believers for many years. The presentation of this material comes from indepth study and has become a powerful revelation and a tool of victorious living. As you read this material, you may experience a paradigm shift in your thinking. Cover it in prayer and ask God, according to Ephesians 1:17 AMP, to “grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insights into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him.” You are on a path to a powerful life.

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus said, “And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shalt be loosed in heaven.”

The word “bind” literally means to under gird, heal, hold, persuade, steady, cause fragmented pieces to come back  into one whole, put oneself under obligation; cling to.  When you obey the words of the Lord by binding and loosing, you are bringing your life into alignment. Binding prayers stabilize you.

You can pray binding and loosing prayers for yourself and also for others. Such as:

·         “Lord, I bind my mind to the mind of Christ so that I can have the thoughts and feelings of your heart in me.” (Philippians 2:5, Romans 12:2)

·         “I bind my will to the will of Christ. Align my will with yours.” (Matthew 6:10)

·         “I bind my emotions to you, oh Lord, so that I can have stability in my life.”

·         “Lord, I bind myself to the cross.”

Because my mind, will, and emotions are daily bound to Christ, who is all powerful, oneness begins to form. His strength becomes my strength.

The process of binding and loosing is two-fold. To “loose” means to untie, break up, destroy, dissolve, melt , put off, wreck, crack to sunder by separation of the parts, shatter into minute fragments, disrupt, lacerate, break forth, burst, rend and tear up.

Now begin to pray loosing prayers. Such as:

·         “I loose from my life wrong attitudes, wrong patterns of thinking, wrong behaviors, wrong ideas, wrong desires, beliefs and habits.”

·         “I loose these in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Prayers of binding and loosing are only permanently effective when we bind and loose that which is God’s will, not our own will.

The powerful key is the actual application of strongholds in your life. Binding and loosing prayer must be God directed. Heaven has already decided what attitudes, behaviors, and patterns of thinking need to be loosed from your life, but you must follow the leading of the Holy Ghost to address these issues. Timing is imperative. When you hear the voice of God urging you to address these areas in your life, then you know you are ready to begin binding and loosing that stronghold. When you are praying loosing prayers, strongholds are shattered.

What is a stronghold? It is the logic, reasoning, arguments, rationalization, justification, and denial that our souls use to defend their positions and beliefs, right or wrong. Strongholds show up in fear, control, manipulation, and self-indulgence. (See II Corinthians 10:5) Year after year, we build layers which are intended to cover and hide the pain in our lives.

As I was driving one day, the Lord began to deal with me about forgiving my mother. I began to weep as I recognized the voice of God.  I felt blame toward my mother for leaving me as a child and for verbal abuse. My flesh began to wrestle because I had become so comfortable with the behavior I had constructed over the years to deal with my mother. I cried out “God, I need you. I must bind myself to you because my flesh does not want to do this.  My mother was the one who hurt me. The change needs to be in her, not in me.” However, in real response to the prompting of the Sprit, I began to pray, “Lord, I bind myself to the cross, to your forgiveness, shattering in my mind.” There was no way to put it back together again and embrace it. I was free!

Even though you have prayed binding and loosing prayers and have broken a stronghold, the wrong behavior doesn’t change right away.  Be prepared to be tested in this area. Just three weeks after the experience of forgiveness, I was with my mother in a church service. A minister asked me to lay hands on my mother and pray for her. My mother had not hugged me or showed me affection in many years. As my mother and I embraced and prayed, she began to speak in tongues and weep. I felt the strength of the Lord because I had bound myself to Christ and loosed the stronghold of unforgiveness. I could finally embrace my mother freely after years of alienation and abuse.

The path of binding and loosing is a journey toward complete freedom and wholeness. Picture a pencil in your mind. Now break the pencil in two. Take one half of the pencil and align it with a large nail. Now take some yarn and bind both the pencil and nail together. Now try to break the pencil. It is impossible. That is the power of binding and loosing. The pencil represents you with all of your hurts, unresolved issues and unmet needs. The nail represents our Lord Jesus Christ and the rope represents our binding prayers. As you pray binding and loosing prayers, you will see II Corinthians 10:5 literally come to pass in your own life.