Sword of the Spirit: How to Pray with Holy Boldness and Authority

To be effective in battle, the sword of the Spirit must be in your mouth.

If you are not saying something, you are not resisting. If you are just thinking about a Scripture, you are not actively resisting. The adversary will not leave the situation because you are thinking or hoping. You have to say something!

According to the Bible, if you have the spirit of faith, you will speak what you believe!

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak (2 Corinthians 4:13).

When you pray intervention prayers, you need the Word of God infused into your conversation with God and in the words you say to resist the devil.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. No evil or negative report can defeat you when you fight against it with the sword of the Spirit because the Word of God is the sharpest sword on the battlefield.

Where does the sword of the Spirit operate? It works in your mouth! When you are in faith, your mouth will be moving. If your mouth isn’t moving, you are still in the stage where faith is being developed or established in your heart. Don’t get under condemnation. Just continue in the Word until faith comes. When that happens, faith will come out of your mouth.

If you are not used to hearing yourself declare the Word of God, get used to it! Make yourself start talking out loud. Your faith is verbal. Jesus resisted the enemy, showing us the proper way to resist. He did not resist Satan’s attack with mental ability or emotional strength. The Lord opened His mouth and spoke verses from the Book of Deuteronomy to whip the devil (Luke 4:1-13). Today, we have Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, etc. that we can use to resist the devil.

But if you are not speaking the Scripture to answer the temptations or attacks of the adversary, you are not resisting. The power of the Word is only released when you put the Scriptures in your heart and declare them with your mouth. For instance, if Jeremiah 46:27 is deposited consistently in your heart, you will have a supply of faith that the Lord will save your offspring from the land of their captivity. You will release faith in your words that they will return and be quiet and at ease. As you learn how to pray intervention prayers, you must be prepared to use the sword of the Spirit to resist the strategies of Satan.

Pray It Again

The Holy Spirit is your Helper in this intervention. He knows exactly what will work to help your loved one see the light and walk free of destruction. When you pray, you need His direction and insight.

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18 KJV).

In intercession, the Lord may lead you to pray some things more than once. For example, you may take authority over the mind-blinding of the enemy over and over again. It doesn’t mean that your first prayer didn’t work. Your loved one may have repeatedly yielded to the wrong thought or influence since the first time you prayed. The next week, the Lord may lead you to say the same thing because the enemy has attacked again. We need to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and recognize there may be some repetition in the prayer of intercession.

I use the prayers in Ephesians 1 and 3 and Colossians 1. They are prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit. I pray them regularly and adapt them to be applied to the person I am praying for. For example, I would say, “I pray that the eyes of my child’s understanding would be enlightened and fully flooded with light. That they may know what is the height, the depth, the breadth, and the width of the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Father, I pray that You would open the eyes of their understanding. Father, I pray that they would be strengthened with might by Your Spirit in their inner man. That they would come to know what are the riches of the glory in the inheritance of the saints.” Those are things you can pray over and over, and it is not a lack of faith to repeat those prayers.

Holding Your Declaration of Faith

And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death; I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live (MARK 5:22-23 KJV).

When Jairus encountered Jesus, he made a declaration of faith that became a connection to his answer. Jairus said, “Lay Your hands on her, and she will live.” Jairus’ faith-filled words acted like a rope or lasso wrapped around the answer to pull it in his direction. His declaration functioned like an electrical wire that carried the current of God’s healing power into his child’s life. But when the situation became worse, Jairus had to cling to the statement of faith and remain connected to the promise.

If you have been standing for someone in addiction or a destructive lifestyle, you’ve probably already experienced moments like those Jairus faced. Maybe you received a phone call telling you your loved one is in jail. Perhaps you have just discovered what kind of drug your child is addicted to or that they have been cutting themselves or planning to commit suicide.

Whatever the report may be, we cannot allow it to change our position of faith. There is a reason that the New Testament is full of instructions to “hold fast.” The Bible tells us to keep a firm grasp on the declaration or profession of our faith.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised) (Hebrews 10:23 KJV).

You must hold the words of faith—the sword of the Spirit—in your mouth. Your faith-filled words maintain the connection to God’s power supply, but when you begin to speak in line with the problem, you break the connection.

In Hebrews 10:23, we have a basis for our steadfast declaration—God is faithful! Because the One who promised is steadfast and trustworthy, we don’t have to change what we believe or what we declare to agree. No matter what it looks like, God is faithful.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (Hebrews 4:14 KJV).

Here is additional insight as to why we maintain our declaration of faith. We have representation at the right hand of God. Jesus is our High Priest. He receives our faith-filled words, records them as evidence of our faith, and releases His power to bring them to pass.

Jairus patiently waited while Jesus ministered to a woman who had been hopelessly ill for twelve years. During the time he waited, his little girl died (Mark 5:35). It seemed like all hope was gone.

But Jesus heard the report and immediately spoke up, saying, “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36 KJV). Faith is still connected! It is not hopeless!

We do not walk by sight or base our decisions on sense knowledge evidence because it will cause us to choose defeat. Anything we could see, feel, or think is over in the temporary realm. Remember, there is a difference between things that are temporal and things that are eternal.

While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

We have learned that temporal means temporary or subject to change. So, the situation is subject to change. Therefore, we cannot allow temporary conditions to determine our decisions, thoughts, or prayers.

The faith of this father rescued his daughter from death. Without the faith that Jairus brought to the table, Jesus would have been limited in what He could accomplish. Your faith is the connection!

Your Intervention Prayer

Father, in Jesus’ name, I choose to focus on Your Word. The temporary situation will not move me. I am strongly connected to Your promise. I have already made my faith connection for (insert your loved one’s name)’s salvation. I refuse to fear and worry. Instead, I maintain my focus on the promise by declaring Your Word and praising You.

I pray Psalm 90:16, “Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children.” Let Your work of salvation be revealed to (insert your loved one’s name). Draw them to Jesus Christ by Your Holy Spirit. I pray that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Tim. 2:10). I ask for an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit over (insert your loved one’s name)’s life that causes them to be saturated with Your peace, joy, and love. Let Your ways be made known to them.

I thank You, God! Your kindness will not depart from (insert your loved one’s name) (Isa. 54:10). You are the Lord who has mercy on (insert your loved one’s name), and Your covenant of peace will not be removed from his/her life.

Lord, cause satanic deception to be revealed and let the truth be honored in (insert your loved one’s name)’s life. I send the light of God’s Word to (insert your loved one’s name)’s mind to illuminate the truth of God’s Word. I thank You, Father, that he/she walks in the light as You are in the light.