By Ray Gano
When you are in the ministry, you get hit from every angle and at times the enemy just pounds you into the ground big time.
The biggest thing that you can do is start being aware of the enemy’s attacks and then battling back.
How do you battle back?
Well, let me say what you don’t do.
One of the biggest mistakes that I see out there are people going around “binding” this evil and that evil.
Example “ I bind you evil spirit in the name of Jesus.”
Another thing is seeing people “rebuke” the evil.
Example “ I rebuke you evil spirit in the name of Jesus.”
I am not saying that this does not work, but it does not have the effective power that one needs to battle the spiritual. It also does not cause the evil to leave. All one is doing is “binding” and “rebuking.” That means that the evil is still there, just bound and rebuked.
Most of the time I know when I am being attacked, but I have to admit that there are times where the enemy gets the best of me because I was not prepared or I am not mindful of who / what was attacking me.
What we need to remember is that there is only one thing that has the ultimate power and that is God’s Word.
Remember when Satan was tempting Christ in the wilderness? Every time Satan tempted Christ what was Christ’s response?
He did not say “ I bind ye” nor did He “rebuke thee.”
The only thing Christ did was quote God’s Word.
God’s Word is our sword. It is what we use to go to battle against the enemy and the only true weapon we have that we can use.
When the enemy is hurling his fiery darts at me, many of them bounce off me because I am consciously wearing God’s armor, and that is a key right there, wearing the armor and knowing that you are wearing and operating in it.
The only real way to beat back the enemy is by using God’s Word.
One of my favorite scriptures that I use when the enemy is attacking is Psalms 23.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
This is a great set of scripture to memorize because it comforts as well as pushes back the enemy. This is one of those portions of scripture that I recommend everyone learning and memorizing.
Every time the enemy hits me, I start quoting this in my mind or even speak it out loud. When I do, I can feel that oppression / temptation flee from me.
We are told in James…
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
This is what we are doing when we battling the enemy properly, we are called to seek God’s help and resisting the enemy and when we do, he does flee.
Praying Over Your Home & Anointing It With Oil
This is something that I do believe in, praying over one’s home and anointing it with oil.
When one does this you create a strong hold for the Lord that the enemy has a hard time breaking through.
Why Oil? Because oil in scripture represents the Holy Spirit and when one anoints their home in oil we are stepping out in faith asking the Holy Spirit’s protection on the home.
Now I do want to issue this one warning… When warring against Satan and his demons then stay within our God given boundaries such as our homes, families, belongings, ministries and property.
I know of people that walk around with bottles of oil anointing everything in their path.
Now is this wrong? No, but operating outside of this realm of authority and attempting to tackle Satan over larger areas usually results in unnecessary attacks.
There are people who are called to this type of ministry, but not everyone is called. There is usually an anointing given from God with instruction to do at a where a strategic level warfare is to be done.
If you are not called, you are just opening a can of worms that can turn into a bunch of problems that one does not need to be dealing with.
How I Make Holy Anointing Oil
Just so you know, there is no power in the oil itself, the power is in our faith, understanding and supplications unto God. That is where the power is. The oil is just a symbol or tool that we use to help focus our prayers.
So with that said, simple olive oil can be used and is used at times in scripture.
Other times there is fragrant anointing oil that is used. I have seen this sold at Christian book stores, but I prefer making my own and praying over it as I make it. This anointing oil what I use on our home, personal items and property, but I also use it on myself and wear it as a fragrance or use it to anoint myself.
Here are the oils that I use…
Frankincense – http://amzn.to/2mj0foR
Myrrh – http://amzn.to/2n0Ol7M
Lavender – http://amzn.to/2miIo2t
Clove – http://amzn.to/2miIGGB
Jasmine – http://amzn.to/2n0EM8T
Orange – http://amzn.to/2mS4GuX
Cedar wood – http://amzn.to/2n0wiOQ
Rose – http://amzn.to/2nlKhvW
Feel free to use any oils that you wish to use. I also use a lite base oil like grape seed or sweet almond. You can use lite olive oil, but I do not use virgin or extra virgin because it will battle with the other fragrances. I then put my mixture in a one ounce bottles.
Base Oil , Grape Seed – http://amzn.to/2nlvkKp
Base Oil , Sweet Almond – http://amzn.to/2lTeh5e
1 oz Amber Glass Bottles – http://amzn.to/2nlxM3u
Blending The Anointing Oil
This is where your own personal preference comes into play. I mix what I think smells good to me. But the one thing I make sure that I have is frankincense, myrrh, lavender and clove. The lavender and clove have healing properties in it and can help the healing process if you are using this oil on a sick child or other family member.
To start, take one of your empty bottles and start dropping drops of the oils you have selected. You can count your drops and write down your recipe if you want. Me, I tend to blend on the go and my anointing oil is never the same twice.
While I am doing this I am usually humming praise songs. I also pray asking God to bless the oil and bless and protect everything that I anoint with this holy oil.
Why Do I Use It As A Fragrance?
By doing this, it helps me to reflect more on the Lord. I smell the sweet smell and it reminds me to think about the Lord, pray, praise, sing, etc. The fragrance helps me stay in a state of holy awareness, if that makes sense to you.
Often when I am at a speaking engagement I will anoint myself and the aroma helps me maintain a full on mindset for the Lord.
For the women, I have seen some nice necklaces that are diffusers. Meaning that you can place drops of your oil on little porous stone balls and put them in a broach and you can smell the aroma all day.
For example here is one that looks like a heart with a cross.
Heart diffuser – http://amzn.to/2lTiKVC
In today’s very busy world, we tend to not think about God all the time. This is why I like wearing my anointing oil. The key is to be able to use the aroma as a trigger to help you stay in a conscious state where we are thinking about the Lord all through the day. This in turn helps us to praise Him, thank Him and continue to talk to the Lord all day long. At least that is what it does for me.
Anointing Your Home and Property
NOTE – It is a good idea that if you feel your home is strongly oppressed, do not do this alone. It is better to have other strong mature Christians with you, praying with you as you go through your home. At the least, you and your spouse go through the home together and pray over it.
What I do is start praying out loud that God protect our home. I let any evil that may be in the home know that they are no longer welcome and they are commanded to leave. I walk around anointing the doors, windows and vents in our home. I also anoint the door to our bedroom and our bed itself and ask God’s blessings, favor and protection while we sleep. I anoint any other doors like the bathroom or closets asking God’s protection.
Before anointing the final door, I commanded, in the Name of Jesus, that every evil spirit in the house leave through that un-anointed door.
Finally I anoint / seal (draw a cross with the oil) over and on the sides of the last door. I ask God to protect our home and that our home remain being a holy place where God via the holy spirit abides. I ask that His favor, mercy, blessing, protection in and over our home. I also ask that He give us and everyone who comes into our home wisdom, patients and love for one another.
I have found this to work every time and it provides a safe haven for me and my family.
Now, with that said, you may need to do this once a year or several times a year. In our modern day and age we are ignorant as to what we may bring into our home that might create an opening for evil to come in again. If that is the case, you and your spouse pray over the home and go through the anointing process again.
IF you find that you need to do this often, you might be dealing with something bigger like demonic strong holds or territories. There is also a possibility that there are objects in your home that are creating “portals” where evil can come in.
This is a topic for another article which I will write in the near future.
I hope that I have helped answer this question.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Like my Pastor says “how can you rebuke the devil if you can’t control the flesh!”. Start first with repentance, praying in the Holy Ghost, calling on the name above all names. Faithful, believing, trusting in His will and His way. Stand by for results. Good job Ray & enjoy your post.