Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

35). Consider this. If we walk in unforgiveness and God does not hear our prayers, then Satan is not obligated to obey our warfare. I can yell, “Satan, I rebuke you … I bind you … I come against you … I cast you down … ,” and the prayer is empty words. If God is under no covenant obligation to hear the prayers of an unforgiving person, then what makes us believe that Satan is under scriptural obligation to obey our commands to depart? In order for Satan to “flee from us,” we are to “submit therefore to God and resist the devil” (James 4:7). Resisting the devil also means to resist the bitterness, strife, and unforgiveness he is attempting to send! Jesus gave His twelve disciples power over all demons and diseases (Luke 10:19). Yet, in Mark 9, the disciples encountered a boy who was having an epileptic seizure, and the demon was so stubborn that it would not come out of the lad. Jesus came off the mountain, spoke the word, and the evil spirit exited the boy’s body with great force. When the twelve disciples asked, “Why could we not cast it out?,” Jesus answered, “Because of your unbelief” (Matt. 17:20). But the root is more than just unbelief. Prior to this event the disciples had a heated argument concerning who was the greatest in the kingdom. Then they were rebuking others who were not in their inner circle for casting out devils. In short, there was a lot of strife among