If you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will lead you to pray all kinds of prayers—not just one specific type. This is why those who, in the Body of Christ today, overemphasize the “militant” aspect of prayer cannot pray “with all kinds of prayers and supplications in the Spirit.” They claim that there is an anointing of the Holy Spirit in prayer, a language the devil understands, used to fight against him and wage war in the Spirit.

However, there is no biblical passage that confirms we are to pray against or fight the devil in tongues. Nowhere in the Bible is the manifestation of tongues associated with Satan. Even if the Holy Spirit were to anoint someone in prayer to come against the devil, it would only be under His guidance, but it cannot be made into a doctrine (1 Corinthians 12:11).

In other words, you cannot tell an audience, “Let everyone fight the devil in tongues!” If there is an anointing, it must come from the Holy Spirit in prayer, under His direction—not man’s—and always in agreement with the Word of God.

Here’s another reason why this doctrine of “combat tongues” or defeating the enemy in prayer is unscriptural: the main focus of this kind of prayer is not communion with God the Father, but “warfare” against the devil and evil spirits in the heavenly realms. Thus, it’s not God who holds the believer’s spiritual attention, but Satan and his activities.

The idea behind this doctrine is that “warfare tongues” are a way to “break through” demonic spirits that infest the heavenly realms above the earth. Yes, they are indeed there, but those who teach Christians to pray in “warfare tongues” are trying to use carnal weapons to carry out spiritual work.

This teaching overlooks the Bible’s emphasis on tongues and the finished work of the Cross. The apostle Paul says that the believer who speaks in tongues speaks mysteries to God (1 Corinthians 14:2) and magnifies Him (Acts 10:46). The Bible also says that the believer edifies himself when he prays in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:4; Jude 20). Moreover, God sometimes speaks to man through the spiritual gift of diverse kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28).

These are the biblical uses of the gift of tongues.

By ignoring them, the “combat tongues” teaching attempts to make tongues a weapon against the devil instead of a praise to God, and it shifts the believer’s focus away from God and onto the enemy.

Thank God for the gift of speaking in tongues. But don’t waste your time speaking in tongues to defeat an already defeated enemy.

Rather, yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him make you a blessing to humanity as you pray in tongues. That’s the most effective way to advance God’s kingdom and wreak havoc on the domain of the prince of darkness.

As you can see, in theory, the Bible never teaches us to pray in tongues against the devil. In practice, we see nowhere in Scripture where believers did so.

Every time believers pray, they address a faithful and loving heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers. Jesus Himself showed us who we should pray to: “…whatever you ask the FATHER in My name, He will give you” (John 16:23). This extreme teaching on “combat tongues” ignores the biblical position and turns speaking in tongues into an instrument against the devil instead of using it for God.

Rather than leading the saints into deeper spirituality, this doctrine and its practices push them into extremes and carnal excesses, as they place undue emphasis on prayer experiences. They mislead believers; instead of focusing on what Christ has already accomplished for them through His redemption, they make them believe they must still achieve victory over the enemy.

As you see, instead of highlighting Jesus’ triumph over Satan, the finished work of the Cross, the believer’s triumphant position in Christ, and the authority that resides in each of them, this teaching presents Christians as still oppressed, defeated, and under Satan’s lordship, struggling through “warfare” to reach a place of victory.

The emphasis is not on what Christ has already done but on what the believer must still do to defeat the enemy. Thus, they are taught to “groan” and “fight” in tongues to obtain victory.

Study for yourself the New Testament instructions on how to deal with the devil (Ephesians 4:27; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9). When believers submit to God and give no place to the enemy in their lives, they will be able to resist him and take a stand against him based on the Word of God—and only then. The evil one will flee. It is only by doing their part that Christians can effectively deal with him and resist him through God’s Word.

The core error of this doctrine lies in its goal and position.

True biblical authority over the devil is exercised from the believer’s victorious position seated with Christ, far above all principalities and powers—a position in which the believer recognizes the enemy’s defeat and that he has been stripped of his authority.

This does not mean we should react excessively by neglecting or ignoring what is genuine and scriptural. For example, the Church cannot afford to turn its back on true intercession and true spiritual warfare that come from the Holy Spirit. The Body of Christ must be led into the genuine and biblical operations of the Spirit of God and remain fervent in prayer, as the Scriptures teach. There is a true prayer and supplication that the Church must engage in.

Yes, spiritual battles must be fought and won in prayer—but prayer warfare is a fight of faith. Spiritual battles are fought and won from our position as believers seated in Christ, above principalities and powers, where we acknowledge that the enemy is under our feet (Ephesians 1:3, 22), and from where we look down upon a defeated foe.

Because of a lack of solid biblical teaching on this subject, the Body of Christ has suffered great damage. The Bible declares that the Word must dwell in us “...richly… in ALL WISDOM…” (Colossians 3:16).

It is the wisdom of God’s Word, dwelling richly in the believer, that brings the maturity to deal with the devil biblically. The lack of scriptural teaching and wisdom has led to senseless practices in the Body of Christ—practices that harm believers. They are harmful because they are extreme and cause people to fall into the ditch, off the road, into fanaticism, excess, and error.

The Body of Christ must be cautious about those who teach certain practices not supported by the Word of God. Just because some ministers perform certain practices in their meetings does not mean they are correct and biblically sound.

Preachers must be very careful about the kind of “food” they feed to God’s people. Paul said to Timothy: “Preach the Word…” (2 Timothy 4:2). Christians need to be taught what the Word says about the enemy so that they are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes.

Stick to the Word—don’t rely on opinions or experiences. Experiences may help, but only if…

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Triumphant Church: Dominion Over All the Powers of Darkness” by Kenneth Erwin Hagin.

We invite you to read the following article: “Waging War in the Spiritual Realm.”

COMBAT LANGUAGES. COMBAT LANGUAGES. COMBAT LANGUAGES.

COMBAT LANGUAGES. COMBAT LANGUAGES.