“Take communion as an act of spiritual violence,” I encouraged my friend. She was a bit puzzled by that. Understandably, she needed me to explain what I meant.
Would you like to know too? Wonderful! Cuz I’m about to tell you.
I mentioned in a previous post that eating the Lord’s Supper is a prophetic act. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes” (1 Cor 11:26, NKJV). For those with ears to here, this verse does not mean that we are simply making a heartfelt remembrance of His dying. One definition of the word proclaim is “to announce officially or publicly.” Holy Spirit is encouraging us to take communion with deeper understanding in our spirit of what we are doing. We are issuing a loud and clear PROCLAMATION when we do.
To whom are we making this proclamation? Both to our own inner being, and to the spiritual realm around us. We are first of all, reminding our own soul of all His benefits. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Ps 103:2, NKJV). Lovingly admonishing your own soul is a powerful practice modeled for us in the Psalms. Speaking out loud all that Jesus purchased on the cross for you feeds your faith and strengthens your spirit. Our English word “proclaim” comes from the Latin proclamare, “to cry out.” This gives you an idea of what passion is to surge through our hearts as we give vocal expression to the tremendous power available to us through Calvary.
This proclamation of His death goes even further than that, however. When you proclaim the Lord’s death, you are also exercising your authority over the spiritual realm around you. You are “subduing” and “having dominion” as we were commanded to do from the very beginning (Gen. 1:28). You are delivering a mighty, binding legal announcement of what the Lord has done for us.
Angels and demons alike hear the pronouncement, and respond to its force. Your proclamation shackles the enemy. It also looses angelic assistance to “heed the voice of His word” that you have just proclaimed and “do His pleasure” (Ps. 103:20-21) on your behalf. They hear His word when it goes out from your mouth. They joyfully act on it. It thrills them to do their jobs as “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). His word puts them on specific assignments to help and minister to us. Yes, all of this really is available through the Lord’s Supper!
When a proclamation is made in a kingdom, that proclamation holds the force of law. For example, when a prominent leader is proclaimed emperor, from that moment on, he IS the emperor. The Lord has put a mighty Kingdom tool into our hands, inviting us to proclaim His death. When we do so, we are actually legislating in the heavenly realms. We are not only reminding our own soul of His many benefits; we are at the same time actively, legally enforcing those same benefits as kings and priests here on the Earth.
Every time I take communion, Holy Spirit prays prophetically through me in a distinctive way. As I am slowly chewing and swallowing the unleavened bread that I use, I tune in to what He is praying. I plug into the prayer of His heart that I am picking up with my spirit in that moment, and I engage with it. I pray what I am hearing. It usually relates to a practical situation in my own life, or in the life of someone that I love. The same is true as I hold the fruit of the vine in my mouth for a moment and then mindfully and purposefully take it into the depths of me through swallowing.
Here is a sample prayer that you might use when eating the Communion bread/cracker:
“Lord, in Matthew 15, You made reference to healing and deliverance as ‘the children’s bread.’ I need healing in my mind and emotions from this traumatic issue that has been causing me great stress. I am Your child. Your healing and deliverance is my bread. Right now, I take this bread into me [chewing mindfully and activating your faith]. I receive Your healing now! [swallowing, and feeling the bread go down into you]. The virtue of this bread is now going to every cell of my body, every fiber of my being. Thank You, Jesus, for by the stripes You took in Your flesh, of which I am now partaking, I am healed.”
This is another example of a practical prayer, one that could go along with drinking of the Cup:
Thank You, Jesus, for pouring out Your life’s blood for me and for my son. As he goes to school today, I cover both myself and him in Your blood. Just as Your children long ago applied the lamb’s blood to their doorposts and the destroyer could not touch their homes, I now apply Your blood to our lives. I draw a blood line around my son and proclaim that the enemy may not pass it, and may not touch him today!”
You have just proclaimed the Lord’s death. You have just activated His benefits. The blood line you just drew is exceedingly real. The enemy sees it, and knows. He may not pass. He may not touch your son. You have lawfully bound him to obey. Just as the Israelites had to actually apply the lamb’s blood for the protection to work all those years ago, you have just done the same. At the same time, angels on assignment to your family heard you speaking out the Lord’s word. They are put on attention through your prayer to Him, to vigilantly guard your son from all attack.
I am not implying that you specifically have to take communion in order to invoke the power of Jesus that is available through His body and blood. Certainly not. But there is unquestionably something very special in using this provision that He has given us. I believe that this is a key weapon He is calling us to implement in this day and age in which we live. The unique virtue and power released as we do is vitally strategic for all that we are facing today.
I have no doubt you have noticed how aggressive our enemy has become in forcefully shoving his agenda forward in the nations of the world. I am not specifically referring to politics, though he has indeed been ferociously active in all sectors of society. Rather, I am talking about the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples…” (Isa 60:2, NIV).
Do not be afraid! We were put here not to just survive, but THRIVE in these last days before the Lord’s arrival. In order to do so, we urgently need to lean into the voice of His Spirit. We must learn to be filled with His dunamis power. We have got to develop proficiency in the use of the weapons that He has generously provided for our fight. These are the weapons He had in mind when He taught us, “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt 11:12, NKJV).
I am convinced that the personal practice of communion as part of our spiritual disciplines is one of these devil-terrifying weapons intended for the destruction of strongholds. When we proclaim His death, we unleash the power of His might into the spiritual battles that are raging around us. I would even suggest that it would be foolhardy not to take full advantage of such superior, indomitable armaments that are put into our hands for such a time as this!
I will add this. Be Spirit led. Don’t just pray something because it seems like it would be a good idea to do so. Let Him pray through you as He feeds you the Living Manna and you drink deeply of His covenant. He has life changing, prevailing prayers ready to pour through you each and every day. Make your time alone with Him the most important part of your life. Close the door, turn off your phone, quiet your heart. No exaggeration, He is at the edge of His seat, yearning to have you at His table. It really is an astounding thing that the most exquisite times of worship and intimacy with Him have the wonderful side effect of rendering shattering blows to the enemies opposing you! Take communion as an act of spiritual violence today!
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