Review of - Possessing The Gates Of The Enemy

I have just finished reading the fourth edition of - Possessing The Gates Of The Enemy - by Cindy Jacobs, which deservedly is considered one of the classic books on intercessory prayer. Her original edition was first published in 1991 and Jacobs has both updated and included some new material for this latest version. The publishers (perhaps reflecting the type of language now used by some of the better know intercessory prayer ministries) have added a new subtitle - A Training Manual For Militant Intercession.

Intercessory prayer is when someone prays on behalf of another so that that person, group or region may experience what God desires for them. One of the most common descriptions of an intercessor would be that the person praying is "standing in the gap" for another, i.e. either calling out to God to move in a situation, binding the forces of evil that have been oppressing or declaring a freedom from bondages.

Including both Scripture and many personal examples, plus incorporating stories from others, Jacobs does a very thorough job of defining what intercessory prayer is and should be, what type of person does or should be involved doing it, how does the Holy Spirit operate in this area, what opposition does one encounter, how does one most effectively intercede for either a person, place or region and much more. There is a study guide in the back to help any small groups that might want to get together to read, discuss and better learn how to pray in this manner.       

This was my first time reading a book on intercessory prayer and I learned quite a bit, even though I have been praying and fasting for well over 45 years. Praying for long periods of time for someone or something until the victory is won has always be difficult for me and I was surprised to learn that there are many people who actually have a passion for this. They have long prayer lists and spend most free minutes in prayer interceding for someone else.

Another interesting thing I noticed is that sometimes people who intercede for others receive information from the Holy Spirit about who, what or how to pray. They might get a picture in their mind or a deep conviction about something and then they pray for that person or about that situation until the burden lifts. What's funny about this is to me is that there certainly must be a lot of people who are intercessors who are not active in the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, maybe they don't even believe the gifts are for today, and yet here they are experiencing prophetic revelation.

There are a couple things Jacobs brings up that I find a little hard to grasp or comprehend and the examples she provides are not backed up sufficiently. One example is that a group binds a certain evil spirit over a particular school district and the proof that the spirit has been bound is that average test scores went up the next year. I get the concept but I still have a lot of questions.

Thanks to Chosen Book Publishers who provided this wonderful book for me to review.