“Possessing the Gates of the Enemy” is a book written by Cindy Jacobs and published by Chosen in 1994. The book provides the reader with information on praying and performing as an intercessor. Some of the key areas in the practice it covers include dealing with the call to intercede, the creation of a spiritual map of one’s journey, and utilizing prayers as a means of breaking strongholds over one’s city, town, village, and locality (Jacobs, 1994). Its purpose is to assist intercessors, pastors, and spiritual leaders while tutoring them on the principles of spiritual warfare.
The book is split into 16 chapters covering all of the major parts that go into intercession. Possessing the Gates of the Enemy is actually a concluding chapter of this book, which is presented to the reader only after they managed to internalize the information presented beforehand (Jacobs, 1994). The book makes a strong case for militant spirituality and spreading the faith through means available to the organized religion. It touches upon the morality and spiritual righteousness of such a cause and places that the world exists in a state of confrontation between the ideals of good and evil not only in the physical but spiritual ways. As such, the Church and all good Christians have a duty to bring and spread their faith to others as well as engage people to help them realize their own path to God.
The book puts prayer as one of the strongest tools in an intercessor’s arsenal, as it taps directly into the power of an individual’s faith when connected to that of God, bringing it potentially immeasurable power (Jacobs, 1994). As demonstrated in the example situation, when a prophetic dream told the author of a threat to her friends’ life, she prayed for days for their safety. It channeled the power of God to make the mechanism in their car hold, despite the likelihood of it failing is more than certain (Jacobs, 1994). The book shows how different prayers can be used to different effects and how their power can bring more people to see the power of Jesus Christ.
When I first read this book, I had a different perception about intercessors, ministries, and how the Church works altogether. Before this book, I assumed that although God seeks to help everyone, we are largely reliant on our own voices to be heard by Him, which does not happen on a regular basis. God has a Divine Plan for us all, and sometimes that plan includes hardship. However, Jacobs makes a strong argument for the necessity of intercessors not in just rescuing people from situations beyond a single prayer’s voice is able to reach, but in stopping natural disasters, helping stop wars, and engaging in a spiritual fortification of one’s own locality against the forces of evil. The book taught me a lot of new things and inspired me to look more into the practices of intercession.
I would recommend this book not only to those who are studying Christianity on a deeper level but also to those who seek to spread the faith to the faithless, as it provides concrete and proper examples of how praying assists individuals and communities in everyday life. It is a deeply-spiritual experience well rooted in Biblical verses as well as personal stories and anecdotes to further the reading’s cause. However, I would not recommend it to people with only cursory theological knowledge, as they would miss on many insights this book has to offer.
Reference
Jacobs, C. (1994). Possessing the Gates of the Enemy. Chosen.