Once again the subject of binding and loosing came up in a conversation I was having with someone. I once prayed with a woman and she was "binding" this and "loosing" all kinds of things. Are believers given that kind of authority by God, to "bind" Satan or his pals? My answer would be without question------no.

When people "bind" Satan when they pray, they are acting out a flawed hermeneutic. No binding of Satan has taken place. That will only happen at the outset of the millennial reign of Christ on earth. Satan will at that time be bound for 1,000 years. Jesus Christ alone will dispatch an angel to bind Satan, not people who are running around today. James tells us to, "....submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) The Lord was offered everything by Satan and He resisted him, using some Scripture verses. The devil took a hike. Once again the Lord not only set the standard, but He lived by it too. We're supposed to follow His example.

The binding and loosing thing is approaching a 'cosmic bellboy' view of God. "God is around, but I can take care of it myself." Before anyone tells me that they are using God's power to do this, then why do people say, "I bind," and "we bind" when they pray aloud, claiming the power for themselves? This tends to make God less personal, like He's a weapon they are wielding, instead of the Infinite, Almighty Maker of heaven and earth on whom they are dependent for the life of their very souls.