Understanding Binding Prayers

Deliverance in the Catholic Church is a hot topic these days. But when I was under the influence of witchcraft, the deliverance ministry was not as easily available to the laity as it is today. It was out there, but you had to know exactly what you were looking for to find it, and I didn’t. There were very few priests who were trained in deliverance at that time, so most priests did not have the knowledge to help people who suffered from spiritual attacks. That meant I had to figure it out on my own. Once I finally found information, I learned a lot about spiritual warfare. One important thing was that deliverance prayers can reverse the damage demons inflict on people. These afflictions are always negative and attack people’s emotions, thoughts, desires, and spirits. Demons can cause people to become ill, both physically and mentally. They can also infest homes, which creates a host of psychological and spiritual issues. So, becoming proficient in deliverance prayer, specifically binding prayer, is necessary if we want to protect ourselves and our families on a spiritual level.   

“For prayer is the means by which we obtain all the graces that rain down upon us from the Divine Fountain of goodness and love. By prayer, if you use it {a}right, you will put a sword into the hand of God, with which He will fight and conquer for you.”

Spiritual Combat: Lorenzo Scupoli

A binding prayer is a simple deliverance prayer that targets a specific problem. Through our faith and the action of praying the prayers, we call on Jesus to command the demons to leave. Jesus works through us. In praying these prayers, we enter into spiritual warfare by actively fighting against these dark forces. However, there are some rules to follow when praying them, and not everyone knows them. I didn’t. I am going to try and make them clear and easy to understand. Living a holy life, remaining in a state of grace, and knowing who you can and cannot pray for are very important. There are two forms of binding prayer in deliverance, imprecatory and deprecatory. Imprecatory prayer is when a person commands the demons (to leave) directly, and deprecatory prayer is asking God to cast the demons out for you. Which form to use depends on whether the person praying the binding prayers has authority over the other individual. Knowing the answer to that question is the key.

According to Father Chad Ripperger, this depends on the “Natural Law,” meaning the hierarchy in the family designed by God. Demons know how the natural order works, so if we don’t follow the natural law, the prayers may be ineffective, or demons may retaliate, either against the person praying the prayers or someone in the family. God made the man head of the household, so they have authority over the whole family, which (believe it or not) includes the wife. Because of this, husbands and fathers have the right to pray imprecatory prayers for their wives and minor children, biological and adopted. The mother is above the children, therefore she can pray imprecatory prayers for them. Father Ripperger says that even though the wife is not above the husband, “she has rights over his body” because of the marital bond. So she can pray imprecatory prayers or a prayer of command for her husband. He also states that “Siblings do have the ability to command the demons in relationship to their other siblings not because they have authority over them but because of the fact that they have obligations under the fourth commandment (honor thy father and mother).” Imprecatory prayers can be prayed for oneself and by priests and the hierarchies of the Church. Parents are forbidden to pray imprecatory prayers for their adult children, which is very disheartening, but they can pray deprecatory prayers instead, trusting that God will hear and answer them. Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti composed a prayer for this purpose, which I will include in this article.

I want to talk a little bit about retaliation in deliverance prayer. Retaliation is revenge. The demons are mad that we are interfering in their evil works, so they can cause all kinds of problems for us, for example, computer and phone issues, things breaking in our homes, car issues, illness, anxiety, and so on. They can even inflict us with whatever the person we are praying for is suffering with. Meaning, that if they are angry and you bind the spirit of anger, you could get angry, and so forth. Praying any kind of deliverance prayer is going to open us up to retaliation. Therefore, binding the spirit of retaliation after praying deliverance prayers is a vital step not everyone remembers. If you do experience retaliation, it is an indication that you are on the right track. You know the prayers are working if you get a little backlash. Do not let this stop you from praying the prayers. They empower us to foil the evil Satan tries to inflict on us and our family members. When we pray binding prayers, we are no longer victims but warriors entering the battle against Satan and his army of demons.

I also want to bring attention to the fact that the devil likes to waste our time. He knows who is on to him and will come at them in a less obvious manner so as to continue his destruction. There are a lot of different deliverance prayers. You don’t need to pray them all, only the ones that pertain to you and the problems your family is encountering. The devil will try and trap you by convincing you to pray every single deliverance prayer you can get your hands on. You do not need to do that. Just pray the prayers that apply to your situation. God hears your pleas and will answer them. Do not fall prey to these deceptive tactics.  

I want to share one last thing. I recently learned through some cloistered nuns that there are a few small additions we can add to a binding prayer that will make it more effective. The first is to include a petition asking Jesus that the person respond to the grace of the prayer. The second addition shocked me, but it makes sense since demons are so literal. The nuns said, “If you send the demons to the cross, they could go to any cross, even one in your home. But if you send them to the Cross at Calvary, there they must go.” Isn’t that interesting? The demon/problem indicated in the prayer can be anything, like anger, swearing, smoking, or whatever weakness a person is dealing with. You will find this prayer below, and also Father Ripperger’s binding prayer. Just remember you can bind for yourself, your spouse, and your minor children. If your children are adults, you can pray Father Rosettie’s prayer and add your intentions in the specified place.  

Binding Prayer

Cloistered Nuns

Jesus, I place (person’s name) in your Sacred Heart and I ask You to triumph over (problem).

Jesus, I pray that (person) responds to this grace in (his/her) life.

In the name of Jesus, I bind the demons of (problem) from attacking (person) and put these demons at the foot of the Cross at Calvary for Jesus to deal with them as He wills. Amen

Binding Prayer

Father Ripperger

Spirit of (name of spirit) I bind you in the Name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Cross, by the power of the most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Michael the Archangel, the blessed Apostles, Peter, and Paul, and all of the saints, and I command you to leave (Person’s name) and go to the foot of the Cross (you can add “at Calvary” if you choose to) to receive your sentence, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

A Parent’s Prayer for Adult Children,

Monsignor Rossetti

Heavenly Father, I invoke the full authority you have given me as a spouse and a parent and I lift any curses, spells, seals, hexes, vexes, consecrations, voodoo, or any occult action or any evil affecting me or my spouse or my children who are minors. In Jesus’ name, I cast out all evil spirits that are harming us. In Jesus’ name, I reject them, I rebuke them, I renounce them, and I cast them out! For my adult children, I beg you, Heavenly Father to hear a parent’s plea and free them from any of these occult actions or any evil, and cast out all evil spirits. Father, I beseech you to send a spirit of unity and peace to my family. Heal the divisions in our family; may those family members who are estranged from each other be reconciled in forgiveness and love. May we live together in your peace. I pray for special healing graces for each one of us. Heal the wounds that plague us- heal any depression, anxiety, fears, compulsions, addictions, angers, resentments, and any and all mental and physical illnesses. Restore us to full health. I especially ask for the following specific grace for my family, if it be your holy will (here mention the specific intention silently or out loud). Most of all, may you infuse into our hearts the gift of faith, always trusting in you. Bring back any of us who have wandered from the faith. May we be fully protected from all harm and evil by the Shield of Faith and the Sword of Truth. I make this parent’s prayer in the holy name of Jesus begging the powerful intercession of the Holy Family with the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, and all the saints. Amen

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