As believers in Jesus Christ, we are citizens of His kingdom and, therefore, subject to His justice. Unfortunately, we often suffer under the imperfect justice mediated on earth — much of it governed by Satan, prince of this world.

When this happens, it may be because in this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33), just as Jesus suffered unjustly in the religious court of the Sanhedrin and in the Roman Empire’s penal system. But sometimes we suffer because we do not ask for the justice due us (Matthew 7:7).

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

Redress is available to believers, however, through the courts of heaven.

Simply stated, these courts — depicted in several biblical books, including Job, Daniel and Revelation — are the spiritual places where the Lord God reigns and rules as the supreme judge over all things. In 2010, Robert Henderson, author and teacher, began teaching about these courts, ultimately publishing several books about the courts. In Accessing the Courts of Heaven, Henderson writes on pages 11 and 14:

“When Jesus spoke of a widow approaching an unjust judge, He was not saying God is an unjust judge; He was saying that if a widow could get a verdict from an unjust judge, how much more can we, His children, come before the righteous Judge, the Judge of all the earth, and see Him render verdicts on our behalf and in our favor.”

Since then, others, such as Dr. Bruce Cook and Dr. Francis Myles, have developed further prayer strategies based on the concept of the courts.

According to the Bible, Satan has a legal right to accuse the people of God (Job 1:6–12). Jesus, our advocate, refutes the accusations; most are thrown out of court based on His atoning work on the cross. However, believers with sin that is unrepented of (including any in the family line) remain vulnerable to enemy accusation and the resulting effects of that sin.

Repentance of such sin, which may entail “identificational repentance” (repenting on the behalf of those who cannot), destroys the basis upon which Satan can torment. Over many years, believers have availed themselves of this prayer strategy for themselves, for others, and for America.

National intercession often feels like a fruitless slug fest.

Some hand-to-hand combat may be avoided by appealing first to the courts of heaven. In Prayers for Cleansing Ancestral Bloodlines in the Courts of Heaven, Cook writes on page 7: “ … In order to beat Satan at his own game, it is much more strategic and effective to confront the archenemy of our souls in a courtroom in heaven first, before doing so on a battlefield on earth.”

Intercessors know that a critical key to effective prayer is living a lifestyle of surrender to the Lord. Similarly, according to Henderson, prevailing in the heavenly courts hinges on Revelation 12:11: The blood of the Lamb, the word of your testimony, and not loving your life until death. In Issuing Divine Restraining Orders from the Courts of Heaven, on pages 54–61, Myles uses Zechariah 3:5–7 to identify these attributes as critical for the intercessor: the mind of Christ, His righteousness, the Holy Spirit’s direction, obedience, death to self, and humility. Intercessors so surrendered can confidently call upon the courts of heaven for justice.

In his book, Myles developed prayer strategies designed to halt or restrain enemy action.

Like earthly restraining orders, believers go to court to request judicial action. Divine restraining orders issued by God limit Satan’s ability to effect evil actions against God’s people. In the book of Job, we see the principle of divine restraint in action as the Lord sets boundaries on Satan’s actions against the beleaguered but blameless man.

I have used Myles’ prayer templates to request divine restraining orders in a number of situations and have even prayed this way on Pray with Others Live. In many cases, God curbed the enemy’s action significantly in the area for which I was interceding. In some cases, many factors beyond my control — including the exercise of human free will and sin for which my repentance in proxy did not apply — affected the seeming success of the restraining order.

IFA intercessors, however, have identified and repented for America’s sin for five decades, establishing strong credentials to approach the Lord’s court. I propose, therefore, we request restraining orders on Satan’s activities in key areas of national import.

I’ve adapted the prayer template from Myles’ book Issuing Divine Restraining Orders from the Courts of Heaven to pray for America’s children, but you can further amend it for other issues by substituting appropriate scriptures and word changes.

“‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea’ (Matthew 18:5–6).

“Heavenly Father, we stand in Your royal courtroom because of the shed blood and finished work of Jesus on the cross. We have come to receive Your righteous judgment over the lives of the children of America.

“We ask the courts of heaven be seated according to Daniel 7:10. We ask this in Jesus’ mighty name. Heavenly Father, We call upon Your holy angels to be witnesses to this legal and righteous transaction. We also decree and declare all demonic entities, institutions, and human beings who will be impacted directly by the divine restraining order we are requesting be duly notified by Your holy angels who serve the courts of heaven, in Jesus’ name we pray. We decree and declare every demonic entity, earthly institution, and human being will respect, honor, and abide by Your righteous judgment, in Jesus’ mighty name.

“Heavenly Father, we repent for any and everything that would be stopping the destiny of our children from becoming a reality. Heavenly Father, even as we stand in Your royal courtroom we present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable before You according to Romans 12:1.

“Lord, we repent before You for any place of sin concerning wrong motives, wrong intentions, or any place where we have not guarded our hearts. We also forgive the educators, school board members, administrators and members of the National Education Association, the Department Of Education, the medical community, the American Medical Association, and the media for leading our children astray and harming them. Forgive us for letting unforgiveness, and evil thoughts and ideas cling to our minds. Wash us with the blood of Jesus so Satan has no legal footing to resist any divine restraining order we need from Your supreme court.

“Your Word says Jesus is our faithful advocate before the righteous judge in the courts of heaven. Lord Jesus Christ, we summon You as our advocate to help us plead our case before the righteous judge for a divine restraining order over actions designed to damage children in the American school system. Lord, it is not Your will for our children to be harmed and fall prey to spiritual forces of darkness, in Jesus’ name we pray.

“Heavenly Father, we present before Your court the following Scriptures as evidence for granting a protective order over our children.

“It is written:

‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea’ (Matthew 18:5–6).

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate (Psalm 127:3–5).

“Heavenly Father, based upon the aforementioned Scriptures, it is clear if the court does not impose a protective order over actions taken against the children, Satan would cause great injury to them, our country, and American families and inflict irreparable damage to the purposes of God.

“We repent for our sin, apathy, transgressions, and for the iniquities of our bloodlines that may have opened a door for demons to attack our children. Lord, we ask You to cover with the blood of Jesus every sin of our forefathers Satan is using as a legal right to build cases against us and our children. We ask You to revoke every legal right the devil has over our children, in Jesus’ glorious name.

“Heavenly Father, we also repent for any covenant with demons that has existed in our ancestral bloodline. Lord, we ask You to rescind any agreement with demons in our lives. Lord, any demonic legal right to claim our children and our bloodlines is now dismissed before Your royal court. Thank You, Lord, for revoking these demonic covenants and altars, in Jesus’ mighty name!

“Heavenly Father, we divorce ourselves from all and any spirits of darkness assigned to our children. We give back everything the devil and demonic altars would say came from them. We only want what the blood of Jesus secured for us and our children.

“We now ask Your royal and supreme court to issue a divine restraining order against spiritual darkness over our children. We decree and declare any and all forms of spiritual attack Satan is orchestrating against our children through any means, but especially through the educators, school board members, administrators and members of the National Education Association, the Department of Education, the medical community, the American Medical Association, and the media is now cancelled in Jesus’ glorious and powerful name.

“Heavenly Father, we receive this divine restraining order by faith, in Jesus’ name. We decree and declare You shall fulfill all ‘the days of our children’s lives’ that You wrote in their books of destiny long before You formed them in the womb, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!”

Here are possible Scriptures to use when interceding for other issues:

For election integrity: Exodus 20:15–16, Proverbs 20:10, and Psalm 43:1.

For sanctity of life: Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 20:1–3, and Psalm 127:3–5.

For communism and authoritarianism: Exodus 1:11–14, Exodus 3:7–9, and Leviticus 19:13.

For religious freedom: Exodus 20:1–6, Galatians 5:1 and Revelation 6:9–11.

For identity issues: Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13–16 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Lord, Judge of all the earth, thank You for Your justice which is perfect, righteous, and holy. Thank You that we can appeal to You to restrain evil on earth. Teach us Your ways, and enable us to approach You boldly for the establishment of Your kingdom in America, even as it is in heaven. Thank You in advance for the results we will see. In Jesus’ name.

For which national concerns are you seeking a divine restraining order? Do you find this article helpful? Please share with a friend.

 New York City–based Joyce Swingle is an intercessor and a contributing writer for IFA. With her husband, Rich, also a contributing writer for IFA, Joyce shares the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through theater, speaking, writing, and film. Prior to going into full-time ministry, Joyce worked for about 20 major magazines and now works in pastoral ministry and Christian counseling.