One of the first things we do when we move to a new home is anointing our home to make sure it is cleansed of anything that is not of God. While this process is extremely helpful and effective, the results will only be temporary if you are allowing the enemy to have a legal right to be there. Before working through the process of anointing your home, it’s helpful to start with an examination of the ways that you may have given the enemy a right to be there in the first place.

Start with Prayer

Start by asking the Holy Spirit to reveal anything to you that may be inviting the enemy in. Sometimes this can be something you overlook or have become desensitized to. Many times, it is our own behavior that invites the enemy in, even if we don’t realize it. If nothing is coming up, it may be helpful to walk room by room, praying and asking God to show you anything you need to get rid of. Don’t forget things like:

Media or Books: Watching paranormal shows, TikToks, movies, etc

Pornography: Magazines, movies, etc

Jewelry: symbols of other religions, pentagrams, skulls, etc

God may reveal something to you that wouldn’t seem significant to anyone else but may be a personal idol or hold a memory that leads to sin.  

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5

When you get rid of the things that depict sin and evil, you are coming against those spirits. You’re renouncing permission for those things to occupy your home.

In Scripture, we see the example of how Jesus even cleansed His own house when He cleansed the Temple. As He went through the Temple, He got rid of the things that were not honoring to God. Just as Jesus had the authority to cleanse the Temple, you have authority over your own home. As a believer in Jesus, you have authority over evil because Jesus gave us that authority.

Gather Some Oil

“Get the anointing oil. Anoint the holy tent and everything in it. Set apart the holy tent and everything that belongs to it. Then it will be holy. Exodus 40:9

Olive oil is what we use in our home. Anointing of oil is used and talked about much in Scripture- in both the Old and New Testaments. 

Oil symbolism was used throughout the Bible.

• Oil often signifies blessing and stability.
• Oil had sanctifying (cleansing) properties. Whenever someone poured oil on someone or something, they had set apart that object as a blessed object of the Lord.
• Oil was used for beautification processes.
• Oil was used on the head of the priests and throughout the Tabernacle.
• Mary anoints Jesus’ feet as an act of worship.
• The pouring of oil on the sick was used as a part of the healing process (Mark 6:13).
• Oil symbolism was linked to the Holy Spirit’s presence. When a person is anointed in the Bible, the Holy Spirit descends upon that person.
• When Jesus is called “anointed,” we believe it means by the Holy Spirit. 
• When someone sanctifies something with oil, the meaning has often been used as set it apart for God’s use. 
• Other uses of oil included anointing corpses and refreshing bodies.
• Oil is often a foreshadowing of the work of the Holy Spirit.
• The Hebrews would anoint the top and side posts of every door with blood at Passover.

The prayer and anointing are more about your faith and the work of the Holy Spirit than it is about the oil.

It’s important to remember that there is nothing magical about the oil. The oil serves as a point of contact for you in your prayer. We stand in faith, like the Hebrews did, that as we pray and anoint our homes, the Lord will protect us from anything evil coming into our homes.

Anoint Your Doors and Windows While You Pray

“Behold, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy and to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall injure you.” Luke 10:19

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Don’t overcomplicate this or think you can’t do it. The enemy wants nothing more than to convince you that he is stronger than you. But the truth is that through Jesus, the Holy Spirit that is in you is more powerful than anything the enemy can throw your way. 

Start by taking a little bit of oil on your finger and rubbing it on the corners of your doors and windows as you pray. If possible, have your whole family participate. It’s important to teach our children about the power of the Holy Spirit. Here is a sample prayer to guide you, but listen to the Holy Spirit in this and pray as you are led.

Dear God, 

Please bless this entryway in Jesus’ name. Please guard all who enter and leave. Let nothing enter this house that is not of you, in Jesus’ name. I command any unclean thing that is not of you to leave immediately in Jesus’ name. May this home be blessed by you and honor you.

Amen

Now repeat the process on all doors, windows, and closets of the home. We also walk the property and anoint all corners of our home, the corners of the property, the driveways, etc. 

As you are praying, it’s also important to remember that you are not asking spirits to leave; you are commanding them to. 

You could say something like:

In the name of Jesus, I command right now every spirit that is not of God to leave this place.

You can also ask out loud for the Holy Spirit to fill your home, protect your family, and for God to send angels to protect your family. 

Finish With Prayer

Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit, through Jesus, as our helper in this world:

Dear God,

We thank you for your faithfulness and protection. Thank you for taking care of our family and for sending your Son to die on the cross for us so we can be in relationship with you. And now, we thank you for being present with us and for making our home a place of peace.

Amen

I would also suggest reading out loud Psalm 91 and playing some worship music. Scripture teaches that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. If you still feel evil spirits in your home, you want to reach out to your pastor and ask for help. 

Would you like to learn more on this topic or hear some of my experiences? Check out a podcast episode where I talk about it:

Ghosts, Demons, and the Power of the Holy Spirit