Breaking Strongholds in Your City [IMPORT] (Paperback)

~ C.Peter Wagner (Author)
Key Phrases: prophetic prayer actions, spiritual territoriality, spiritual mapping, Holy Spirit, New Age, City Dedicated (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Monarch Books (July 23, 1993)
• ISBN-10: 1854242180
• ISBN-13: 978-1854242181
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,976,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Summary, May 3, 2005

By	Kainam Wong "LBB" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Breaking Strongholds in Your City: How to Use Spiritual Mapping Tomake Your Prayers More Strategic, Effective and Targeted (Prayer Warriors) (Paperback)

This book consists of nine independent, though complementary, chapters penned by nine authors on strategic spiritual mapping's theology, methodology, and case studies. These multiple authors speak with one voice, enriched by their varied perspectives. Much overlapping in substance exists across chapters. The book's tone is informal throughout, like a series of "prep talks".

George Otis, Jr. defines "spiritual mapping" as superimposing Christian "understanding of forces and events in the spiritual domain" to see beneath geographical patterns of evil and spiritual oppression. This assumes in the practitioner "a keen understanding of the spiritual domain" and "a skill born out of a right relationship with God and a love for his world". Spiritual mapping's conclusions, to be verified by the Bible and sociological-historical observation, can enhance the effectiveness of ministry. George Otis, Jr. further describes a "territorial stronghold" as an evil spiritual being ruling over an explicitly proscribed area (e.g. a home, a village, a city, a valley, or a nation), possibly with hierarchies of deities and spirits. Such a territorial spirit may exercise extraordinary power over the area's local people. A "territorial stronghold" wards off divine influence and may invade unprotected targets abroad. A territorial stronghold, allowed into an area by earlier generations' misplaced choices, may be consciously affirmed in the contemporary generation's religious festivals and ceremonials and pilgrimages.

Cindy Jacobs (of a prayer networking organization called Generals of Intercession) enumerates nine additional strongholds, where Satan exalts himself against human knowledge of God and against God's plans. A personal stronghold (such as personal sin, pride, selfishness or desire for power) needs be repented of. A hopeless mindset stronghold "causes the believer to accept as unchangeable something he or she knows is contrary to the will of God." A sectarian stronghold causes pride in doctrines, idolatry of denominations, and divisions among churches. Moreover, instead of a church's "us versus them" mentality, the church should lend itself as a helpful resource to its local population. A social stronghold exists when poverty or oppression (such as injustice, racism) causes "people to believe God does not care about their needs". An ideological stronghold influences entire cultures and societies. An occultic stronghold (such as witchcraft, Satanism, and New Age religions) is "an overt evil application of many ideological strongholds". Cindy Jacobs cited her experience in breaking occultic strongholds: once through corporate repentance among Christians in the Argentine city of Rosario of earlier generations' worship of the Queen of Heaven, and once through Christians' intercession against a "curse" on Cindy Jacobs' personal health. A "seat of Satan" is a "highly oppressed and demonically controlled" geographical location from which Satan wars against a larger region. A "stronghold of iniquity" stems from earlier generations' sins producing weaknesses or iniquities in later generations.

Kjell Sjoberg of Sweden emphasized that spiritual mapping helps to target intercession. Among his insights are the followings: A believer's unconfessed guilt invited demonic influence on that believer; a believer's confession must precede his/her spiritual warfare. God's promises in the Old Testament for particular nations can be used in prayer for those nations. God might sometimes urge believers to gather for prayer without the believers knowing why; later those occasions might turn out to coincide with high levels of occultic activities. Human opposition could signify correct targeting in the Christians' spiritual warfare.

Harold Caballeros, a pastor in Guatemala, had been reading Matthew 12:29 , Mark 3:27 and Luke 11:21,22 . A believer told him of her dreaming of three rough rustic hands holding transparent ropes joining three specific Guatemalan cities. Another believer, upon hearing this dream, named the three persons holding the ropes. Subsequent investigations revealed those three persons were conducting "evil works of the devil" in those three cities, through money, politics and drug dealing. After "on-site prayer", the first was jailed awaiting trial, the second lost his office, and the third's power was greatly diminished. There was then less violence and more fruitful evangelism. In another situation, Caballeros' research team identified an archaeological site of Mayan idolatry and witchcraft, plus a vacant house there where contemporary idolatry and witchcraft was occurring. Caballeros' prayer team reported that God described to them the person responsible, including his appearance. Caballeros' prayer team was also told on what page of the next day's newspaper that person's name will be identified. All these came true; and further research indicated that person named in the newspaper indeed owned the aforementioned house.

Victor Lorenzo, of Harvest Evangelism in Argentina, was initially reluctant to obey God's call to strategic spiritual warfare. This opened his baby son to sickness due to demonic attack. As Lorenzo repented, an angel assured him of subsequent protection of his son. Based on information from five local professors and prominent murals of the city of Resistencia, the spirits of death, fear, sexual perversion, witchcraft/sorcery, Freemasonry, and the Queen of Heaven were discerned. Lorenzo's team's targeted prayers resulted in evangelistic success and doubled church attendance across all social strata, effective social service ministries, and positive media exposure. However, bitterness among certain pastors was not entirely healed in Resistencia. In a subsequent project for the city of La Plata, Lorenzo's intercession team members independently felt led by God to spotlight freemasonry. Lorenzo later found that La Plata's city center was indeed laid out as a freemasonry temple, with public statutes and monuments bearing Masonic symbolism. At the time of writing, many local believers were following up with fervent targeted intercession, sometimes on location in the city's Masonic landmarks.

Mark McGregor (a Seattle computer programmer) applied to Seattle the 20-question spiritual-mapping approach in John Dawson's Taking Our Cities for God; and Bev Klopp (of Gateway Ministries) planned follow-up prayers and actions of strategic spiritual warfare for Seattle.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Critical Insight into Fulfilling the Great Commission, March 22, 2001

By	Tim Nance (Swartz, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Strongholds in Your City: How to Use Spiritual Mapping Tomake Your Prayers More Strategic, Effective and Targeted (Prayer Warriors) (Paperback)

Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in high places, to paraphrase the apostle Paul. Salvation comes from the heart action of faith, not the mental grasp of facts. This is a spiritual process, and there are spiritual enemies obstructing that process.

C. Peter Wagner's great book, Breaking Strongholds in Your City, offers critical insight into "breaking the backs" of the enemies of the great commission. Illustrating to us the process of "spiritual mapping," Wagner shows how we can lay siege to the demonic garrisons that have ravaged the attempts to take our cities for Christ.

Reading this book will allow you to glimpse at the "hidden war" in the heavenlies. You will see how the "ruling spirit" in an Argentinean city was taken down. You will learn about common hideouts of demonic entrenchment. These places were often established by secret societies that have designed and built many of our cities, thus shaping our spiritual history. You will gain insight in how to gather information to perform spiritual mapping--mapping the strategic spiritual strongholds. Finally you will learn through example how to overcome these strongholds through prayer walks, prophetic prayer actions (PPAs), and strategic intercessory spiritual warfare.

Attempting to advance the kingdom of God without attacking on the spiritual level is like feeling for the light switch in a dark room while being punched at. I wouldn't advise it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Our struggle...is against the powers of this dark world.", October 24, 2000

By	Alan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breaking Strongholds in Your City: How to Use Spiritual Mapping Tomake Your Prayers More Strategic, Effective and Targeted (Prayer Warriors) (Paperback)

In the seven volumes of the "Prayer Warrior" series, C. Peter Wagner introduces the reader to what is happening on the front lines of the international prayer movement. This volume deals with "spiritual mapping", which uses a combination of research and spiritual gifts to identify demonic forces and patterns of sinful behavior that keep a city or region in spiritual bondage. This knowledge can then be used by intercessors to target their prayers to weaken and overcome these hindrances to God's work. Wagner acknowledges that, while there are biblical passages that support this approach, the real proof is in the results. In particular, Wagner cites tremendous breakthroughs in evangelism and church planting in regions formerly resistant to the gospel that result from spiritual mapping followed by targeted intercessory prayer. A fascinating, compelling book that should be read by anyone interested in missions, evangelism, or intercessory prayer.