The Binding Prayer

Many times, people will ask about the "binding prayer" and what it is.  So, here is the binding prayer, as taught by Fr. Ripperger and as found within my book, Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know.

The binding prayer is, 

“In the Name of Jesus, I bind you, spirit of __________, and I cast you to the foot of the Cross to be judged by Our Lord.” 

"Spirit of __________" refers the temptation or evil thought or evil impulse or evil action that is plaguing you in your mind or in your will.  It is not the name of a specific demon but of the way they are manifesting in the temptation you are experiencing.  Some examples are:  spirit of lust, spirit of laziness, spirit of revenge, spirit of envy, or spirit of pride, etc. The ending could also be, “…to receive your sentence.” Fr. Ripperger says that you can add invocations to the prayer, inserting “by the power of the Precious Blood,” or “through the intercession of Saint Joseph,” for example.  So, the binding prayer could also be:

“In the Name of Jesus, and by the power of the Precious Blood of Our Lord, I bind you, spirit of __________, and I cast you to the foot of the Cross to receive your sentence.”

NB:  It is critical that you always follow the teaching that this is essentially a "self-exorcism" to be used on yourself alone.  It may also be used for people who are under your authority, like your children if you are a parent.  It may not be used in this direct form for other people who are not under your authority.  The wording may be changed to an indirect binding prayer which can be used for anyone.  That wording would be, "O Jesus, I ask you...to bind the spirit of...and cast it into Hell," following the same form, only speaking to Our Lord and not addressing the evil spirit.

Also, please enjoy this excerpt from my book, Slaying Dragons: What Exorcists See & What We Should Know, on the subject of "binding prayers."  To learn more, get a copy of the book for yourself and your loved ones.

There are two prominent mentions of binding demons in the Bible. The first one appears in the Old Testament in the Book of Tobit. Here, the archangel St. Raphael was sent to both heal and to bind a demon. The demon Asmodeus had been responsible for the deaths of the seven husbands of Sarah. Through the binding of Asmodeus, Sarah is freed to safely marry Tobias. In addition to healing Tobit of blindness, this binding of the demon is also referred to as a healing. (Tobit 3:16-17)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Our Lord says, “How can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.” (Matthew 12:29)  St. Thomas Aquinas presents the understanding of this passage, collecting the wisdom of the great minds in the Church. He says that Our Lord has entered the house of Satan, the “strong man,” and has bound him. Thus conquered, Satan is unable to defend his spoils and Our Lord has taken them away. These spoils are the souls who have been bound by the demons. Our Lord comes not to simply bind the demons but the prince of demons also. By thus casting out all the demons, He is also prophesying that He “will take away all error out of the world, and dissolve the craft of the Devil; and He says not rob, but spoil, showing that He will do it with power.” This binding also means that He has “taken away from him all power of hindering the faithful from following Christ, and gaining the kingdom of heaven.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea, Gospel of Matthew 12)

Satan and all the demons are thus bound by Our Lord. Like the gift of salvation, and the victory of the Cross, the binding of demons is playing out in time and throughout history. Our Lord gave all mankind the power to be saved but this must be accepted by all men. Likewise, His conquering of Satan was definitive, but it plays out in time and through the ministry of the Church. In our own lives, in Christ and with the power of His Most Precious Blood and His Holy Name, we participate in the conquering of the devil. First, though, we must fight him. Thus, through the binding prayer, we engage in this spiritual struggle with the forces of darkness, knowing that we are the victorious army.