Land and the Spiritual Realms
Each place on earth comes under spiritual influence. We see the earth divided up by rivers, seas, and mountain barriers. It is further divided by the boundaries of nations and states. If we looked from the spiritual realms, we would see it divided by spiritual influence. The key to interpreting what happens in the world is to understand the distribution of spiritual authority.
The spiritual forces of evil work through the political and economic powers that control the world. Their authority works in parallel to the authority of political powers and the owners of land.
The owners of land have authority over their land. If the owner of a tract of land is being influenced by a spiritual power, it will have some control over what happens on their land. Political powers have much greater authority than those who control land. If they can be manipulated by the spiritual powers, these spiritual powers will have a much stronger influence over events in the territory.
When we enter a place, we should be careful to discern what spiritual authority is at work. If we submit to the owner's authority, we can make ourselves vulnerable to the spirits with control of that place. If we enter a shopping mall, we do not need to submit to the owners of the mall. However, when we take employment, we are submitting to the owners and opening ourselves to their spiritual influence.
Every earthly authority with significant scope can have evils spirits trying to control it. We should be careful about how we submit.
Working in the Dark
When Naaman was healed of leprosy by washing seven times in the River Jordan, he had a problem. He had switched his allegiance to God, but he would still have to take his master the King of Aram into a pagan temple of Rimmon. Namaan did not understand the nature of spiritual reality, so he took two mule-loads of soil from Israel back to his home town (2 Kings 5:17). He would have spread it on the floor in the pagan temple where ihs master worshipped. It would probably appear like dust on the floor, so no one would realise it was there.
By this symbolism, Naaman created a space in the pagan world that belonged to God. When he went into the pagan temple as part of his work, he could worship the true God. His solution was not ideal, but he understood the problem of submission, and his heart was right.
People at the bottom level in a business have very little authority. However, they should try to create an area that belongs to God. It might be limited to the space around their desk, or the counter where they serve. By quiet prayer, they can claim this spot as a place where the Holy Spirit is welcome. They can invite him to be there every day. This gives them freedom to walk with God. It also allows other people to come into contact with the Spirit. They should expect to see them touched.
Some people will not be able to control a space, but they have authority over their words, and their smiles. They should dedicate what they do control to God, each day.
Cleansing Land
When cleansing land, it is important to focus on authority. Someone has authority over every piece of land on earth: usually the owner, or owners. Some pieces of land (and the buildings on them) have evil spirits attached to them. There will often be more than one spirit, but they work in hierarchies, so one will be in control. The spirits will usually have got a hold on the land through their inference with a past or present owner. This often occurs when traumatic events, like a war, massacre, or unjust events happened there, especially one that creates fear or trauma for the person with authority over the land.
These evil spirits can only remain with the permission of the person who currently has authority over the land. That person often gives that permission unwittingly, by allowing the evil spirits to influence/control/dominate their life. If the person with authority over the land is a political entity, the position may have tactical importance for the spiritual powers of evil.
Insights into the identity of the spirit attached to a piece of land can be gained by looking at the history of the owners. Common patterns of behaviour might be obvious. These might show up in mottos and messages on tombstones and buildings.
People praying against these spirits need to know what they are doing. The spirits are there with permission of the person exercising authority over the land. We have authority to enforce them out, but the person with authority will be implicitly allowing them back, unless they have a change of heart, so our prayers may not have much effect.
Authority is crucial. The owner of the land usually has more authority in the situation than the person praying, so it is hard to triumph. So spiritual warfare must be accompanied by evangelism to be effective.
