Corresponding actions are necessary for prayers to be successful. Simply praying without taking essential actions may not yield results. This aligns with the warning in the Book of James that faith and action must be combined (James 2: 14-17)
Due to an excessive focus on spiritual warfare prayers, including binding and losing in certain cultures and even among believers, it is essential to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For instance, rebuking the devil while engaging in the sin that causes the warfare is counterproductive. Additionally, rebuking and binding witchcraft while holding on to unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, contention, lying, control, or manipulation will have no effect. If the root cause of the warfare is not addressed, it gives the enemy permission to persist.
Before embarking on any prayer, it requires self-examination, repentance, and removing any contributing factor. So, if confronting contentious, adversarial, witchcraft, jealousy, or accusatory spirits, first examine if you are the individual participating in these areas. When these issues are renounced and repented, their power and influence on the individual are destroyed; the individual, in turn, now has the power to break their influence and cast the demons out. So, a corresponding action in spiritual warfare is to walk in the light by doing the opposite. If soul ties were formed with the wrong people, break the connection, sever contact, and discard anything in your possession that keeps you linked to them. When God shuts the door, keep the door closed!
A mature Christian once advised a new Christian to periodically inspect her home for items that could be associated with demonic spirits. In some cultures, for instance, people with wrong intentions can visit someone and “plant’ charms under seats, beds, closets, and gutters or bury them on someone’s property. Other items include decor, jewelry, gifts, collectibles, souvenirs, and charms given for fortune or protection, as they can hinder prayers. The corresponding action is to remove any item the Holy Spirit highlights, regardless of its beauty or sentimental value.