August 14, 2025

Experiencing the “Abundant Life” Jesus Promised

In yesterday’s post, we talked about an important Greek word used in the New Testament in the context of prayer. The word is dei, which means “that which is necessary, even binding, as in a legal sense; that which is right, proper or necessary in the nature of a case; that which is prescribed by law, duty, custom, etc.; from a sense of duty, one must.”(1) This word is used in Luke 18:1 to tell us prayer is absolutely necessary (dei) in order to overcome in life.

Another important passage using this word is Matthew 16:18-19: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

“Bind” (deo) is a different form of this same word. Jesus, King of the Kingdom of heaven, is referencing the spiritual authority He would give His Ekklesia (the church) to carry out His will on earth. An Ekklesia, of course, was a legislative assembly. The footnote in the Passion Translation makes this clear: “This is not a religious term at all, but a political and governmental term that is used many times in classical Greek for a group of people who have been summoned and gathered together to govern the affairs of a city. For Jesus to use this term means He is giving the keys of governmental authority in His kingdom to the church.”

The meaning of deo, the word for bind(2) in verse 19, is consistent with this legal spiritual authority Christ gave His Ekklesia. Deo speaks of rulings that are “legally binding;” they must be honored. This is why some translations, including the Passion Translation, use the word “forbid” to translate deo. The Amplified Bible uses the words “forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful.” We have the right to forbid demonic powers from interfering in our lives and in the spheres of authority God has delegated to us. 

We can also do so in broader areas of shared authority, such as natural government. The fact that government is a “shared” authority means that the will and authority of others come into play. This is why it takes longer and requires the prayers of more people to shift governments through prayer. Nevertheless, we have the authority to bind or forbid the powers of darkness from affecting us and our family. And the corporate body of Christ has authority to bind and forbid demonic powers from ruling their nation.

There is still another important and fascinating verse regarding prayer that uses the word dei. Romans 8:26 makes the point that we don’t always know how to pray as we “ought” (dei). The verse is stating that we don’t always know what is “legally right or necessary” spiritually speaking, in order to see some situations change. For example, we may not be aware of all the spiritual strongholds that control an individual for whom we are praying. We may not be aware of the “legal” ground the person has given to evil spirits, giving demons the “right” to operate. We may not know whether it is a demonic spirit controlling a person or their own fleshly appetites. When praying for a person’s healing, the sickness is at times caused by an evil spirit. (Matthew 17:18 and others). If this is the case, we would need to pray differently.

When praying for our government, we obviously don’t know all of the details of how to pray; we don’t know “what is necessary, right or proper in the nature of the case” (dei). 

This wonderful passage in Romans 8 says Holy Spirit will help us overcome this weakness by praying through us. He alerts us to pray, gives us insight as we pray, brings Scriptures to mind and releases revelation regarding the situation. His supernatural help is what causes the working together of all things for our good, mentioned in verse 28.

In her book Prophetic Intercession, Barbara Wentroble shares the following testimony of Holy Spirit’s help:

“My mother-in-law was sitting in her living room at 9:30 AM. Suddenly, she felt a sensation of fear, accompanied by an urgency to pray for her son (my husband), Dale.

“After asking the Lord to reveal to her how to pray, she felt a deep impression that Dale was in danger. She prayed for several minutes and then felt the ‘burden’ lift. Later that night, she called our home to ask Dale what he had been doing at 9:30 in the morning. ‘Oh, that’s easy,’ he replied. ‘I remember because I looked at my watch. Another man was talking to me while we were standing out in the plant at work. There had been some remodeling in the plant over the past several weeks, and we were discussing the progress. All of a sudden, I felt an urgency to move from the place where we were standing. We quickly moved to another spot about 20 feet away. Just as quickly as we moved, a large steel beam fell from the ceiling and landed in that very spot where I had been standing.’”(3)

That is Holy Spirit help when, apart from Him, we wouldn’t know that prayer was needed, or what was necessary in the prayer.

In summary, Jesus said it is required of us, it is absolutely necessary (dei), that we always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). He said we have authority to enforce what is legally right (dei), spiritually speaking (Matthew 16:18-19). And He told us that when we did not know what was legally right (dei), spiritually speaking, Holy Spirit would help us (Romans 8:26-28). These are just a few of the ways we experience the abundant life He promised (John 10:10).

Pray with me:

Father, You told us to pray and never lose heart. You delivered us from the authority of darkness, translated us into the Kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13), and told us we could forbid satan and his demonic forces from influencing our lives. We can stop him from causing us harm, stealing from us, and hindering our success in life. And You told us that Holy Spirit was always available to help us in our prayers. 

Therefore, in the name and authority of Jesus:

We forbid demonic attacks against our families from succeeding. 

We forbid diseases caused by demonic forces from affecting our bodies.

We forbid demonic forces from stealing our finances.

We forbid spirits of fear from overcoming us in our minds.

We forbid powers of darkness from controlling our government. 

We forbid spirits of murder from taking over our streets.

We forbid spirits of division from continuing to divide races in our nation. 

We forbid spirits of perversion and confusion from overtaking the children of America. 

(These are simply a few examples of things to pray. Let Holy Spirit lead you.)

We ask, Father, that You would increase revelation in the church regarding the authority given to us in Christ. We ask that the Ekklesia be taken to her highest level of functioning in Christ’s authority as we represent Him on earth. And again, all of this we do and ask for in His name. Amen.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 1163.

2. Ibid., ref. no. 1210.

3. Barbara Wentroble, Prophetic Intercession (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1999), pp. 68-69.