What Are Offensive Prayers And Defensive Prayers?

Knowing the difference between offensive prayers and defensive prayers, are going to be key in your prayer life! When spiritual events happen in your life (whether in a dream or even on your job) you have to know what type of prayers you need to pray at that moment to get the results you need from the heavens. In this post, we are going to discuss what are offensive and defensive prayers and how to use them. Let’s go!

What is The Difference Between Offensive and Defensive Prayers?

So when I think about offense and defense, I think about football. The offense is trying to move the ball forward towards getting a touchdown. The defense is trying to stop the offense from scoring the touchdown. 

Think of prayer the same way. If you are saying a defensive prayer, you would be asking God to protect you from the enemy. You also could be binding and paralyzing the enemy and his assignment from manifesting in your life.

It’s the complete opposite when you are praying offensive prayers. YOU are going after the enemy with spiritual warfare prayers. I LOVE OFFENSIVE PRAYERS! I absolutely enjoy doing drive-bys on the devil. If you want to become a warrior in the spirit realm, keep reading, because TODAY you are going to learn some war tactics!

Defensive Prayers

The most popular defensive prayer is Psalms 91!

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

As you know, we are suppose to pray scripture. Yes, God hears us when we talk to him, but the angels respond to scripture. 

Psalm 103:20 

Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that exels in strength, 

That do his commandments, hearkening (listening) unto the voice of his word.

So praying this psalm amongst others is a defense tactic when the enemy comes after you! 

Another defense tactic is worship or staying in his presence. Check out the first verse in  Psalm 91.

 The shelter is the secret place of God. When you dwell (live in or at a specified place) in the secret place, this means you are always worshipping, praying, or checking in with God about every little thing that goes on in your life. 

It’s only the ones who actually DO Psalms 91:1 that qualifies for the rest of Psalms 91:2-16. 

Keep that in mind!

Psalms 121 and Psalm 18 are good defensive prayers as well!

Now there is a clause with the rules to praying scripture. There will be times where you will pray to God for things to happen and you may not necessarily have a scripture on hand to pray. Call on Jesus (as long as what you are asking for lines up with God’s will) and that will get through to the heavens too!

Here’s the rule to back that statement up:

John 16:23

Verily, verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name he shall give it to you.  

Here are some examples of defensive prayers that one of my mentors, Whitfield Harrington gave me and they work!! Feel free to use your own prayers, but these are a great example of how to close any open doors and to stay protected from the enemy.

1. My Father forgive me for any sin that has taken my name out of the book of life in the name of Jesus.
2. Lord reveal unto me any sins that have open any doors unto the enemy in the name of Jesus. 
3. Lord show me any doors and openings that the enemy can use to access my life in the name of Jesus.
4. Father I shut and bind every door and opening that the enemy can use to access my life in the name of Jesus
5. I close and lock every opening for my enemies to enter my dream in the name of Jesus.
6. I command my body soul and spirit to reject evil covenants in my dreams in the name of Jesus.
7. Holy Spirit teach me how to prevent dream attacks, in the name of Jesus.
8. Holy Spirit teach me how to defeat my enemies at the dream level, in the name of Jesus.
9. I cover my name and image with the blood of Jesus int he name of Jesus.
10. I cover my body, soul, and spirit with the blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus.
11. I cover my family and property with the blood of Jesus in the name of Jesus.
12. I place on myself the Armor of God in the name of Jesus.
13. Lord let there be an invisible shield of fire around me and my family that my enemies cannot penetrate, in the name of Jesus. 

A good time to pray defensive prayers is, right before you sleep , when you are being attacked, traveling, and the list goes on. 

Offensive Prayers

There are so many examples in the New Testament, of Israel going to take what was theirs. God promised them the “Promised Land” but they could not sit on their butts and just delight in it. They had to go in and TAKE IT! Israel was on the offensive side of the war. They went in, uprooted, and destroyed the inhabitants.

Now think about all of the things the devil took from you. Did you cry and pout about it? Did you complain about it to everyone you knew or did you rank up in the spirit? Did you double up in prayer time to kick the devil’s door in and take back what was yours? What did you do to get the promise that God told you was yours, back from the devil??

YOU CAN NOT MOVE FORWARD IN THE THINGS GOD HAS FOR YOU, IF YOUR STAY IN DEFENSE!! THE ONLY WAY TO MOVE THE BALL FORWARD, TO GET A TOUCH DOWN, IS IF OFFENSE IS RUNNING THE BALL!!! 

The only way to get your stolen goods back is to go to WAR with SATAN! God gave you big powers in Luke 10: 19-20!

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

And if that wasn’t enough, God told you He and the Heavens had your back in Matthew 18:18

Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Before you go into the enemy’s camp to get your stuff and the things he stole from your mother and grandmother, make sure you get dressed. Ephesians 6: 14-17

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Now, did you read up on the weapons that God gave you? Oh, you didn’t? Let’s get a brief overview of how the weapons work…. 

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

One more clause before we knock the devil head off his shoulders. WE DO NOT PRAY THESE PRAYERS AGAINST HUMANS BEINGS!! Only evil spirits!! If you pray these prayers against a human, you are in direct violation of Luke 6:27-38 KJV and God will not grant you the desire you want.  

(If you are praying to God against a human, that means you have unforgiveness in your heart and you might want to clean that up before you go to war. Winning the war only works when you are living a holy lifestyle and the devil can’t accuse you of any sin. We sin everyday, I know, but before you pray any warfare prayers clean your slate with God first!) 

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

Ephesians 6:11-12

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Now, remember the rule is whatever you BIND and LOOSE, God is going to back you up in the heavens which is the spirit realm. So let’s take finances for an example.  (Everything takes place in the spirit realm first. Remember God is a spirit and He spoke the physical world into existence.  See how spirit comes before natural? It still works this way. The physical realm is a by product of the spirit realm, but remember, God gave us the dominion and authority to crush the enemy.) 

You can say, I BIND the spirit of poverty and I loose it into the pits of hell or you can say, I loose the spirit of poverty off of my life in the name of Jesus!! Ok!!! Let’s try it again! 

I BIND the spirit of poverty in my life and I loose the spirit of wealth over my life and over my bloodline!! 

Now, to back that statement up even more, follow it up with a scripture. Here we go…

I bind poverty from my bloodline and I declare and decree that wealth and riches shall be in my house and my righteousness endureth forever! (Psalms 112:3)

The word of God is POWER!! Straight Power!!

Now hold on, I’m about to let you in on a little secret. Psalms has the most offensive prayers in one book that you can take from and use. I mean it’s full of offensive prayers! Let’s check some of them out!

Prayers of the Psalmist

(DO NOT PRAY THESE PRAYERS AGAINST HUMAN BEINGS! WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD BUT AGAINST EVIL SPIRITS ONLY!)

Let the angels of the Lord chase and pursue the enemies of my soul. Psalm 35:5-6

Let God Arise and let all his enemies be scattered Psalm 68:1

Lord Stretch forth your hand against my enemies Psalm 138: 7-8

When the enemy bend his bow to shoot his arrow let them be cut into pieces. Psalms 58: 7

Lord, swallow the oppressors and persecutors in Your wrath and let your fire devour them. Psalm 21:9

Let my oppressor be beaten as small as the dust before the wind. Let them be cast out as dirt on the streets. Psalms 18:42 (I used this one while casting out a demon and that demon came out!!)

Arise, Oh Lord in your anger and lift up yourself because of the rage of my enemies. Psalm 7:6

There are so many more!!!

Psalms has so many of these prayers! I have won MANY spiritual trophies with prayers from Psalms.

(Spiritual Trophies- Christian terms for a battle won while knocking the devils head off his shoulders.)

I have prayed prayers like this after the enemy has given me dreams, trying to make a covenant with me in my dreams. I get up, rebuke the dream, and go to war! I will also pray prayers like this if God shows me what the devil is planning to do in my life. I GO TO WAR!!!

You don’t say those little cute prayers when it’s war time! You have to get very dirty when you are fighting for your life, your children’s life, and your marriage! The devil don’t play fair, so you can’t either. God don’t want weak Christians! It’s an all out fight for me and my family’s life, and the devil will not have his way in my life! So, make the commitment that he will not have his way in your life either!

Read Three Prayer Strategies To Elevate Your Prayer Life and Maintaining A Discipline And Consistent Prayer Life and apply it to your life and it will help you too!

If you take these tips, gather some more scriptures and incorporate them into your prayer life. Stay consistent. I promise you, your prayer life is going to flourish! You will see big changes in your dreams and physical life almost immediately.

Using defensive prayers has blocked the enemy from doing what he wanted to do to me and my family, so many times. It’s amazing! Offensive prayers have gotten me so many spiritual trophies and breakthroughs in my life. Try these out for at least thirty days and let me know how they worked for you! 

With Love, 

Your Sister Tiffani!