the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant [Satan] let his captives go? But the LORD says, ‘The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.”
Praise God! If those conditions describe your situation, then, this is the time for you to wake up in the midnight and fight for your destiny. It is sure a very serious business. You must go it violently. And you must not stop until the chains of the enemy are broken and all your blessings retrieved. Do it now!
Paul and Silas got up in the midnight prayed and sang unto God and what was the result? There was an earthquake in the place and the chains on their hands and legs were shattered. They all fell off! I have not seen any greater power than that of praise and prayer in the midnight. No chain of the enemy can withstand them. This is true. The prison doors were forced open. You can try it. Praise God for hours every midnight and see what your life will turn into. You will become a supernatural being instantly.
I have made enough comments on these ‘twin spiritual dynamos’ in this book and in others. You will soon read many shocking revelation on their effects in the spirit realm by former grand occult masters.
It is not only individuals that can be in satanic chains. Families, villages, cities, countries, even churches go into bondages. The primary aim of the dark kingdom doing this is to keep the people from the light of the gospel, to deny them God’s blessings and to permanently have control over them. We have also said earlier that the devil does not want man to have a close relationship with God. And that he knows the benefit of this type of relationship because he has once enjoyed it. He is envious of the position of man in God’s programme. He hates man and consequently, will do everything possible to keep him in perpetual bondage.
On the family level, there are many that live in terrible bondage. Some are in bondage of sickness, failure, and poverty. Others live in sinful habits. Some are suffering because of the attacks or evil arrows shot into their families by agents of the dark kingdom. I know a family that has three insane people. Then other families by their own practices have brought satanic yokes upon themselves through worship and sacrifice to demonic spirits. Some even have altars for these false gods right there in their homes. Some parents also dedicated or introduced their children into this worship of demons. All these attract the chains and bondage.
If your parents or forefathers served idols, demons or practiced any form of occultism, then there is an urgent need for you to undergo a deliverance process, so as to break the satanic chains off your life. You cannot serve Satan without being hooked by his fetters. Now, know that through persistent midnight prayers such satanic yokes and covenants in the family can be broken.
Then, there are cities, villages, towns and countries that are also bound with satanic chains and are kept in the enemy’s prisons. You know this by the way the people live, what they worship or by the things that happen in that environment. There are places you go and you can immediately discern the demon spirits that are in operation. Others worship different kinds of demonic territorial spirits and principalities.
I know of a village in the eastern part of Nigeria that serves a demon that lives in a lake. When it is time to sacrifice to this demon, the chief priest will take a live goat to the lake. There, the man will take the animal close to the bank of the lake, while holding the rope tied to its neck.
Then he will make some incantations and immediately a fish-like creature will come out of the water and start moving towards the goat. Once it gets to it, it will swiftly chop off the head of the goat and swim back into the water with it. Then the worshippers will begin to rejoice that the deity has accepted their sacrifice. They will return home to feast with the remaining meat; which they will cook and eat.
Others worship deities that live in the forests, on the trees, on mountains, etc. I know some villages that still worship snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and pythons. These reptiles would come into their rooms and stay. They are always treated as special guests. They can lie on your bed or even hang there, stirring at you in your kitchen. They must not be hurt, rebuked or killed. Go to Idenmili area of Anambra State and see this.
There are also territorial spirits that live in human beings, especially mad people. All these are spirits holding these places in bondage. They keep these areas in chains, and until they are challenged and driven away, the inhabitants of these places would be struggling with the yoke of the enemy. (We saw this type in Mark Chapter Five).
Some of these spirits hinder development, progress and even the gospel. The solution is engaging these demonic forces in midnight battles. Sometimes they will resist and even threaten you. In some cases, it will take many nights. But if you stand your ground and persist, they will ultimately bow and be forced to leave. But you must be prepared and well-determined. The bible said in Ephesians 6:10-12
“…Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power, put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.’
“ For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”
I hope that message is very clear? The enemies we are battling with are a formidable and highly organized force. So you must know your stand in God and the dynamics of the war before you go into it. We will comment more on how to prepare for these battles later.
Churches and ministries can also be in Satanic Chains. This might sound strange, but it is true. Demonic forces can hold down a church that is not moving in the fullness of the power and the spirit of God. And it is very easy to detect such churches. The symptoms are: lack of holiness, lack of development (physical and spiritual), and rapid decrease in membership, stagnation, constant quarrelling and hatred among the members, and even among the ministers. We see all these happening in some of our churches today. All these are caused by powers of darkness; to make sure that the affected churches do not fulfil God’s programme for them.
The devil knows very well that a united church is the avenue through which God wants to spread His will, save lost souls, display His Power and ultimately humiliate the enemy. So he will do everything to see that the church does not expand and that it is also kept in permanent confusion.
I once served in a church in the oil-rich city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This church had existed for 13 years before we came. Up till the time we came, the not-too-large building was yet to be completed. There were no doors, no windows and no ceiling in the church. The membership was going down rapidly. Only a few friends from the same tribe kept coming to the place. The power of God was not there and very few people were making what looked like progress at the place. And not just that, the members and ministers lived in immorality and practiced witchcraft, even inside the church.
I remember once our prayer team was holding vigil and I suddenly announced that somebody (a young man) in our midst was practicing occultism, bringing charms into the place and still coming to pray with us. And immediately, the senior pastor interrupted me and reminded me that he was still in-charge. He was living the same life as the young man – in immorality and witchcraft.
Months later, the same man was accused of various immoral acts and the worse; he planned to poison me for exposing their diabolical and immoral activities in the so-called house of God. But God’s power, presence and grace were heavily upon me. These kept them off. In fact, he acquired the poison, but the Spirit of God informed me that he was afraid to use it on me. Yes, He builds a hedge of protection around those that fear him!
You needed no prophet to tell you that this was completely a dead church. A church with a beautiful name but was held down by the powers of darkness. When we came there, God led us to form a praying and deliverance team. (It is imperative for every church to have a standing and formidable praying and deliverance team). We started holding prayer meetings every night in that place. Sometimes we would fast in the daytime, and come to the church to pray through the night. I mean real intercessory prayers. We did that consistently for several months.
What was the result? The power of God came mightily upon the church. The chains and yokes of Satan were broken off the place. The powers of darkness were chased away, though not without