Should We Plead the Blood When Dealing with Demons?
No. It suffices to them to be quiet and come out in the name of Jesus. Demons don’t care if you say, “I plead the blood” but they have to submit to the authority you have in the name of Jesus when you invoke it.
We don’t see anyone in the Bible saying, “I plead the blood!” when dealing with a demon. This would more typically be what you’d hear from a Christian who is afraid of a demon and who is trying to stop the demon from “getting” him, which should be of no concern anyway, given Jesus’ statement in Luke 10:19 that none of the enemy’s power will hurt you. You should never fear a demon – that demon is extremely afraid of YOU! It might try to sass you and say, “I won’t come out!” but it knows that it HAS TO leave at the name of Jesus – it just hopes that you aren’t convinced of that.
Saying “I plead the blood” does not confer any additional authority – but you don’t need any additional authority beyond what Jesus has already conferred on you – “In my name they shall cast out devils” (Mark 16:17).
Actually, no one in Scripture ever prayed an “I plead the blood” prayer for ANY reason. So you can live a successful Christian life without ever doing it yourself. If “pleading the blood” had ANY benefit, Scripture would encourage Christians to do it, and there is no such verse as “Brethren, remember to plead the blood.” Of course, the disciples in the gospels couldn’t “plead” blood that hadn’t been shed yet, but they were very successful casting out demons (Luke 10:17) in Jesus’ name!
I’ve heard the idea that Jesus’ blood was shed but now we have to apply that blood as they applied the blood to the doorframe during the first Passover. I suppose that you’d have to apply the communion “fruit of the vine” to someone to imitate that, which would stain the person’s clothing and waste his money buying new clothing. But the truth is that when you received Jesus, His blood was applied to your life at that instant!
Simply “pleading the blood” would not have saved your firstborn in Exodus. Blood had to be shed and applied. A sinner could say “I plead the blood” but remain unsaved by not receiving Jesus who shed that blood.
I have no problem with keeping in mind what the blood of Jesus purchased for you, part of which is redemption from the power of darkness. However, the idea that you must “plead the blood” as either a defensive or offensive weapon against the devil is a Christian superstition, if you’ll pardon the oxymoron. Your armor listed in Ephesians 6:10-18 does NOT include the blood itself – it includes what the blood BOUGHT you.
Now what about overcoming Satan “by the blood of the lamb?”
Revelation 12:11:
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
This verse doesn’t say that they overcame the devil by APPLYING the blood of the lamb or by PLEADING the blood of the lamb. I think it’s clear when you give it a little thought that it refers to faith in what the blood provided – they were saved by the blood and by the word of their testimony (of Jesus as Lord), as opposed to having each believer scream, “I plead the blood!” You become an overcomer in the New Testament the instant you confess Jesus as Lord, not some point after that in which you say, “I plead the blood!” This is proved by 1 John 4:4, where you have already overcome antichrist spirits by the mere virtue of being saved. The blood bought you the right to be saved, which in turn got you victory over the devil through the One who lives in you who is greater than the devil who is in the world. Satan is already under your feet (see Ephesians 1:22 and Ephesians 2:6). He and his hordes are ALREADY defeated (Hebrews 2:14, Colossians 2:15). It is unnecessary to “plead the blood” to win a victory that has already been won for you! So the recommendation in some faith circles to “plead the blood” every day does not have to be followed on ANY day for you to walk in victory. Just believe what the Bible says about Satan’s defeat and save yourself the time!
Let me say in closing that God is not a legalistic nitpicker. I heard a testimony of someone who was being robbed at home and the homeowner screamed “I plead the blood!” and the thief took off scared. I’m glad that we don’t have to pray technically perfect prayers every time, because if we did, we might not get any answers until we’ve been learning the Word for decades! God used me to heal people back when I was a very young Christian and I asked Him for His will concerning the healing of specific individuals. I now know that God doesn’t make individual determinations of who gets healed, but I didn’t know that back then and God used me anyway. God used me when I preached healing meetings in earlier years using the falsely humble line that I couldn’t heal the broken wing on a fly; people were healed anyway and my heart was right even though my theology needed a fix. (See YOU Can Do Miracles if you think that kind of false humility is proper!) Likewise, I have heard healing ministers whose attempts at teaching almost made me sick and in need of healing myself, but God used them mightily anyway. I’m glad He’s gracious!