Scripture says not to give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27).
Jesus specifically says about himself, that the devil had no place or hold on him (John 14:30).
When we have a sin habit, we give ground to the devil in our lives. There is a breach in our lives and Satan has a place in our lives that he can harass and tempt us more than he should. Think of it as an intruder that we allow to live in a closet in our house. The intruder has no right to be there. But we have allowed him in. From the base of the closet, he has greater access to harass us. Eventually, if we don’t oppose him, he will not be content with the closet but will want the whole room.
My mentor, Harold Burchett, has used the mnemonic of BLAST to walk through a prayer designed to take background given to Satan.
The BLAST prayer provides an effective formula to blast the devil out of an area he does not belong.
B – stands for the Blood of Christ. We name the sin by its biblical name and claim the blood of Christ over it.
L – stands for Lord. We declare that Jesus is Lord over this area of our lives.
A – stands for Authority. In the authority of Christ, we order Satan out of this area of our lives.
S – stands for Spirit. We ask for and claim the filling of the Holy Spirit in this area and in our lives.
T – stands for Thanksgiving. We start aggressively giving thanks for all that the Lord has done and will do.
I have used the closet analogy with my children to help them think of it and to remember it.
B – We confess that this closet is dirty and claim the blood of Christ to cleanse it.
L – We declare that Jesus is the Lord (Boss) over this closet (area) of our lives. It belongs to him. We give it back to him by faith and declaration.
A – In the authority of Jesus, we order the devil out of this closet in our lives. He must flee. It has been cleansed and Jesus is Lord over it. Satan must submit to the authority of Jesus.
S – We ask the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into this closet in our lives.
T – We start thanking the Lord for all he is going to do.
Are you having trouble with a sin area? Have you given over a “closet” in your life to the devil through habitual sin? It is in your house. Satan has to flee. Take back the ground through the blood of Christ. And let’s teach our children to do the same.
