Encourage Identity: Authority Against Satan

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4‭-‬7 NIV
http://bible.com/111/eph.2.4-7.NI

When we're praying with others, it's important to encourage a Christ follower's identity as one who is:

• Saved through the cross, Jesus' death, blood, and sacrifice
• Raised to a new life through Jesus' resurrection and empty tomb
• Given authority against Satan through Jesus ascension, the authority he has and has shared with us, and his subsequent seating at the right hand of the Father 

Because we've been raised with Christ and seated with him, we actually get to use his authority. Therefore it's not Jesus who fights our spiritual battles, but we with Christ in us. We have authority, in Jesus name, to defeat our enemies. This is something relatively new to me, but is rooted in scripture and exemplified in Jesus and his disciples. Unfortunately it's not a principle that is often taught or taught well in the Western Evangelical Church.

God raised us up with Jesus and seated us with him (Ephesians 2.) Jesus has all authority in heaven on on earth (Matthew 28:18) given to him. And we are his, we are in him and he in us. Encourage people with whom you pray (and consider yourself) to believe and leverage this authority, an authority that allows us to bind up and cast out the enemy.

As you pray with others, it's important to be aware of our actual identity in Jesus. For those who are Christ followers, they have authority over the enemy. You must might have to walk them through their story in order to identify where the enemy has something going on, help them name it, and ultimately help them "break any chains." Let's walk through a fictional story to help illustrate this.

Let's say you're talking to a friend, Sally. As you're hearing Sally's story, or maybe preparing to pray with or for her, you identify something that doesn't sound right. Maybe Satan is coming against Sally. As you dig into her story, it does indeed seem Satan is bringing an accusation; Sally says "I am just unlovable" and it's because of something in the past. You'll need to probe deeper, trying to uncover what has happened in her story, and lead Sally to identify, name, break, and heal.

Here are some random ideas to help you in the process:

• ​Identify the accusation. Name it.
• Explore her story. Maybe ask "When is the last time you felt loved? Was there something that happened after that, that maybe was the start of you feeling not loved?"
• If she can identify it, lead Sally to confess & repent.
• Reiterate that in Jesus Sally's sins are paid for, her debt is cancelled through the blood of Jesus.
• If she's dealing with further shame or condemnation:"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus"
• Now that the sin issue has been addressed, it's time to destroy the accusation - name it as from Satan
• Remind Sally of Ephesians 2. We are raised with Christ, seated with him. All authority in heaven and on earth is his & we, being raised with him, have that same authority.
• Lead Sally to pray, herself, against Satan & the accusation. "I reject my enemy's accusation that I am unlovable." It's so very important to name it! "I stand against all accusation and this spirit of being unlovable in the name and authority of Jesus Christ."
• Lead Sally to break any internal agreements. She might have agreed to Satan's accusation and come to believe something false through an internal dialogue like this: Satan: "That was a terrible sin." To which Sally agreed, "Yes, it was quite bad." And Satan continues, if only in an internal whisper "You know, God may still care for you but, man, aren't you really a horrible person because of this? You might not want to share this, or be yourself anymore. If people find out they definitely won't like you." Sally ponders, becomes fearful of exposure, and agrees, "Ya. That is probably true. I am pretty awful, and nobody can love someone as awful as me."
• Lead Sally to specifically break those agreements, too.

Have you ever walked someone through something like this? Share any advice you might have from your prayer partnering experiences.