Quite often, servants of God and ordinary Christians have cast out demons from people who were possessed or oppressed. But scarcely had they finished casting them out when the liberated individuals were once again oppressed by the demons that had just left them. Many wonder why this happens after they have sometimes spent long hours casting out the demons.

The following Scripture passage sheds light on the matter. It is reported in Mark 9: 17-27:

“And someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.’ And he answered them, ‘O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.’ And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’ And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.“

What happened for the child to be permanently freed from the demons of muteness, deafness, and epilepsy this time? In reality, the disciples had the necessary authority to cast out the demons from the child; Jesus had given it to them, and they had successfully experienced it. The evangelist Luke reports:

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you‘” (Luke 10:17-19).

Faced with the mute, deaf, and epileptic child, the disciples probably used this authority and were able to expel the demons from him. Unfortunately for them, the child, his father, and the demons returned every time they were cast out. This situation was explained by the fact that the disciples were unaware of one thing: they needed, through a belt prayer, to close the doors that the demons used to return and torment the child.

This is what Jesus did when he commanded the demons to come out. He did not stop there. He also ordered them not to return when he added, “And never enter him again.” He thus closed the door to any return of unclean spirits. The belt prayer consists of surrounding a delivered person with a spiritual fence so that demons can no longer find a way back to oppress or possess the one who has been freed. It is futile to engage in deliverance work without making a belt prayer to close the door to any return of the unclean spirit.

In villages in Africa, people claim to protect themselves from diseases and evil spirits by drawing a line on the walls of their homes using diluted cow dung, thus encircling them with a spiritual barrier. This is a satanic spiritual belt that shows that the devil, who is behind these practices in the villages, knows the importance of the spiritual belt. The same goes for the prayers we make; if we omit the belt prayer, the devil will come and take away what we have asked for.

The belt prayer can also serve to spiritually encircle the enemy to better fight and finish him off without the possibility of escape. In this regard, we can draw inspiration from examples of combat in the Bible.

“As soon as Abraham heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people” (Genesis 14:14-16).

Here, Abraham and his troops encircled the enemy forces during the night and defeated them.

Gideon and three hundred men encircled the enemy camp of Midian at night, blew trumpets while holding torches. Surprised and panicked, the enemies ran in all directions and ended up killing each other. This is what Judges 7:15-22 tells us:

“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, ‘Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands.’ Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. ‘Watch me,’ he told them. ‘Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, “For the Lord and for Gideon.”‘ Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, ‘A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!’ While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.”

Thus, through the belt prayer, you provoke confusion in the enemy’s camp, and there is no possibility of escape.

But always remember that after every victory over the enemy through the belt prayer, you must make another belt prayer for yourself so that the fleeing enemy, when he returns with allies, cannot reach and defeat you.

Concretely, how do you make the belt prayer to subdue and defeat the enemy? You can take a sheet of paper and draw the enemy you want to fight, whether it be a person or a demon. With your prayer partner, place the sheet between you, join hands, and start the belt prayer by invoking the corresponding verses and praying in tongues. You can also anoint the situation you have just drawn with anointing oil before starting to pray. This ensures that the enemy cannot escape spiritually, and you will have victory over him. Practice the belt prayer from now on, and you will be amazed at its effects.

This text is an excerpt from the book ” The 40 Different Kinds of Prayers ” written by Prophet Emmanuel SAWADOGO.