Collene 
If you have ever felt like you were stuck in one of those sin-confess, sin-confess cycles, the cause may be a stronghold in that area of your life. Strongholds are like spiritual covenants or contracts that we make with Satan, that give him legal rights to that specific area of our life. Strongholds keep us from turning away from the sin we have come to hate; or they turn us back toward it after we have turned from it. Like a yoyo, they only allow us to go so far away before they yank us back. Satan’s legal right allows him to erect a stronghold inside our mind, much like a military bunker or fortress. These strongholds capture a pattern of thought, its accompanying action, and the demons attached to it, and keep us trapped in bondage.
Because strongholds are such an important principle to understand, I am going to elaborate on this
concept.
Footholds
A stronghold usually begins with the development of a foothold. Dictionary.com defines a foothold as “a firm or secure position that provides a base for further advancement.” Footholds are basically open doors in our life. Some things that open the door for the formation of strongholds are:
• iniquity or sin (ours and other’s sin against us)
• lineage (generational sin, curses, or traits)
• belief in a lie (deception)
• unjustifiable ignorance (willful spiritual blindness)
• involvement in the occult (including games like Ouija board, cursed or charged objects in our possession, certain video games)
• pain or broken heartedness (recurring crisis, trauma, divorce, accidents/pain, abuse, abandonment, rejection, unfulfilled dreams and expectations)
• attitudes of pride, disobedience, and rebellion; fear, doubt, guilt, shame and a sense of worthlessness; anger and unforgiveness; ungodly relationships and sexual immorality; curses; word curses; and laziness, apathy, complacency and fruitless busyness.
And there are many more. Each of these stems from a false belief system fed by the deception of the enemy about God, others, or self. Satan sees all of these as opportunities to gain entrance into our life. Paul defines a foothold as a place, and he specifically told us, “Do not give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:27) This place, or foothold, will give Satan a secure position from which he will be able to further march right on into our lives and influence us.
Probably the most common place or foothold that Satan tests or tries is in the thoughts of our mind. When we entertain his temptation, that thought becomes desire, and when acted upon, it gives birth to sin. James 1:15 and Genesis 4:7 give a word picture of this. “Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.” “If you do well, shall you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must rule over it.”
Since Satan cannot gain a stronghold without permission, many times he tempts us with an alluring snare, something that interests or entices us, or that is appealing to our fleshly desires. He will present it as something harmless or seemingly innocent, like a kitten. But when we pick it up and take it home, it gains a place and will begin to work its way into more of our thoughts and hearts. The longer we love and care for it, the bigger it grows until it is as a “roaring lion seeking to devour us.” (1 Peter 5:8) We accepted this snare believing that we could control it, and then realize that it controls us and has interfered in our relationship with Christ as all sin does.
Hidden snares are not as obvious. They creep in as thoughts or feelings that we deceptively believe are our own and we accept them as such, not realizing that Satan has placed them in our minds. Often, Satan uses other people’s sins against us to capture us in his hidden snares. Through abuse, abandonment, and rejection he whispers lies of self-condemnation and worthlessness; hatred, anger and unforgiveness appear to be justifiable; ungodly soul ties cause us to struggle with problems and issues that are not our own. It is easy to minimize or justify these snares and we are often blind to them, but when we accept, believe, or embrace these things, they entrap us in the bondage of the stronghold.
We suddenly realize that we are now held hostage in that area of our life by the very thing we invited in and gave a place to. And you can be sure that Satan won’t stop there. Once he has established a stronghold in that area, he will look for the next foothold to further advance from, and so on, until he has captured as much of our life as we let him. We will talk about defeating and overcoming strongholds in a bit.
Strongholds
Strongholds are fortresses of thought that can house godly or ungodly ideas. Thoughts that Satan plants in our minds are always rooted in deception and lies. When we give in to those thoughts and act on them, it is as if we are signing a legal contract with the enemy. Giving demons contractual permission to attach to our mind allows them to further control and manipulate our thinking; this eventually controls our actions because we do what we think. Dr. Michael Lake says that strongholds deal with thoughts and lies that the enemy has seeded into our lives to almost flip us to where we become an asset to his kingdom! Let’s look more closely at several other definitions of a stronghold.
First, a stronghold is a place of refuge or safety, a means of protection or defense that will prevail (Strong’s H4581, H5810). Nahum 1:7 says, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; and He knows those who take refuge in Him.” God desires to be our stronghold, our refuge (Psalm 9:9-10). He wants us to turn to him in times of need, to allow Him to be our place of safety, and to trust Him to be our defender and shield of protection so that we can overcome.
Strong’s Concordance also defines “stronghold” (G3794 ochyroma) as a fortress or “anything on which one relies,” along with the ideas of clinging to something, to possess or be joined with that thing. When we choose to rely on something other than God, we are joining ourselves to it, creating our own strongholds or defenses. These are the things that we run to for protection or comfort when we feel threatened, placing false hope and false security in something other than God. Many people turn to food, drugs, sex, busyness, or material possessions to bring comfort, security or escape from reality. Some defense mechanisms, such as dissociation, are allowed by God for certain periods of time in our lives. For instance, children who are abused and have no hope of help often survive or cope by blocking out the memory and/or emotions of the trauma. Yet, in time, Yahweh will ask us to repent even from these, for He desires to be the One in whom we trust.
Another Hebrew word for stronghold is Misgab (Jeremiah 48:1), which interprets as “pride, chaos, destroy, and division of house.” This stronghold is obviously not one built on Christ, but is rooted in Satan’s kingdom of pride, of lifting up oneself. Every demonic stronghold will end up causing us to be confounded and dismayed, in confusion, withering away in discouragement and defeat. There can be mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical strongholds, but no matter their position, there will always be chaos, destruction, pride, and division. That’s what the counterfeit roaring lion always does.
There are different levels of strongholds. There are those that are strictly mental and can be overcome
with the realization and application of the truth. Then there are those in which demons have become so
entrenched that there is a need for spiritual warfare that is born out of repentance, that breaks ungodly
soul ties, dismantles the strongholds, and kicks out the enemy; then fills the previously occupied place
with the Holy Spirit. It is also important to pray for healing of any damage done by the demons.
As Christians stuck in bondage, there comes a time when the Holy Spirit begins to reveal things to us that
He wants us to deal with, and He does not want us to use the old way of coping or surviving. He wants us
to trust Him and allow Him to show us a better way so that we can move from coping and surviving to
overcoming, living in hope and freedom. Up until this point, God’s grace and mercy has covered us as we
walked in our own way instead of His; however, once He opens our spiritual eyes to the issue at hand,
then we are responsible for it (John 9:41). When we hang on to those old ways of protection, we find that
they no longer work because they were founded on deception and misplaced trust, and they will lead to
a destructive lifestyle, and possibly death (Proverbs 14:12).
I am not talking about a salvation issue here, but rather about a Christian who is un-surrendered to the
work of the Holy Spirit in them, at least in the areas of their bondage. Their life tends to be characterized
by fear, insecurity, pride, isolation, lies, defeat, discouragement, depression, anxiety, stress, anger, etc.
instead of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control
(Galatians 5:22-23).
Second, most strongholds begin with a temptation or belief in our mind. Strongholds can be defined as
holding on to anything that ends up holding us. According to Connie Stoffel, author of “The Tameion
Chamber,” “A demonic stronghold is anything compelling enough or convincing enough to hold you in its power; to keep you from receiving God’s love and truth.”
Connie states, “Paul is discussing strongholds as mindsets that keep us in bondage. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6)
Even though demons are indirectly the cause of these and use these to gain control over our lives, in
context, the strongholds Paul talks about are:
• Erroneous beliefs, persuasions, and teachings that lead to acts of disobedience (verse 5)
• Religious lies and deceptions the enemy uses to enslave us to his ways of thinking, his attitudes,
and actions
• False arguments and pretensions that come against a true understanding (the knowledge) of God
In psychological terms, strongholds could be considered ‘practiced ways of habitual thinking that bind us
to bad habits, addictions, and lifestyles.’ They fill us with hopelessness, leading us to believe something in
our lives is unchangeable. A stronghold’s function is to control our thinking while minimizing anything that contradicts it.
On a demonic level, a stronghold can be defined as an influence or grip; a persistent oppression, obsession, hindrance, or harassment.” In her teaching on strongholds, Connie Stoffel goes on to explain that there are two categories of demonic strongholds, “the tempters and the tormentors.” She says, “Their names are self-explanatory. They have an assignment. It will either be to tempt you to sin or torment you. They may torment your mind, emotions, physical body or all three. Even in this division you will still find them showing up in both camps because they are all in the same army of hell. The type of stronghold is defined by the strongman ruling over it. If the strongman’s assignment is to tempt the person to sin, the person will have a stronghold of temptation, even if they are also tormented by their sin. If the strongman is a demon of torment the person will have a stronghold of torment, though he may compel the person to sin in order to torment them.”
Satan is responsible for the temptations we face, not God. God never tempts us, and He always provides
a way for us to escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). What Satan means for our destruction, God uses to build our
faith. When Satan tempts us, he is lying, hoping we will believe it, providing an open door for him to enter.
The goal behind every temptation is to keep us from God’s love, from relationship with Him and others,
and to hinder His will and plans from being accomplished within us. Basically, Satan wants to restrain
God’s Kingdom which lives in us to make us ineffective reflections of Christ.
Third, strongholds are cords or ties that lead us. God leads with cords of compassion or human kindness
and love (Hosea 11:4). Satan leads with cords of deception and lies. He cannot make us do anything, but
he can lead us to do things. Strongholds are the cords by which Satan attempts to lead us. For example,
when we are bound up in anger, we will be led by anger. The thoughts we think, the decisions we make,
the actions we take will all be influenced by that cord. We may think we are controlling it because anger
gives us a sense of power, but as with all bondage, it is actually controlling us. Connie further explains,
“The existence of a stronghold can be recognized because it will be that area of your life in which you
consistently have problems and cannot walk in victory.”
Lastly, Bob Larson, in his article titled “Learn the Six Steps to Freedom,” explains strongholds this way: “Legal rights are the entries of evil, the ways that demons actually enter a person…basically six that the
devil uses most frequently:
1. Willful sin – things you’ve done in rebellion to God
2. Ancestral sin – curses brought on your life through the blood line of your family
3. Occult entanglement – any act of sorcery or divination
4. Addictions – a bondage which controls, like alcohol or pornography
5. Abandonment – the neglect of those in spiritual authority, like parents
6. Abuse – a severe shock to the mind and emotions when trauma occurs
“Just because the devil gets in doesn’t mean he can stay in. To keep control over a person, he needs a
stronghold, something he can hang on to. The six strongholds are:
1. Fear – the failure to walk in faith and confidence in God
2. Anger – retribution that anticipates revenge
3. Rejection – the emotions that result from abandonment
4. Depression – hopelessness that comes from spiritual despair
5. Self-Hatred – the loathing and despising of one’s own identity
6. Abuse – the emotions of bitterness that result when one is abused
“…Beyond legal rights and strongholds, some demons totally dominate their victims. Here are six
ways…that demons dominate:
1. Bitterness and resentment – persistent ill will
2. Condemnation and worthlessness – contempt for oneself
3. Doubt and unbelief – a complete lack of confidence in God
4. Guilt and shame – a sense of self disgrace
5. Hate and rage – uncontrolled anger
6. Death and destruction – the end of all spiritually vital functions”
Tearing Down Strongholds
We must destroy Satan’s strongholds in our lives just as the idols and detestable things in Judah had to be destroyed before the people could be free to worship God. (2 Chronicles 34:33) In order to overcome a
stronghold, a person will not only have to set their mind to do differently, but they will also have to
renounce, through verbal confession, old patterns of thinking and then turn away from them. They will
have to take on the authority of Jesus/Yeshua to detach from the entities connected to that action or
thought pattern and declare them severed by the power of the blood of Jesus. Next, they will need to
attach, or bind, themselves legally to the Truth and the Way of Yahweh.
Strongholds are torn down as we ask God to forgive sins. They are demolished when we wield our spiritual weapons of repentance involving these components: Recognize the problem. Confess it and turn from it. Return to God. Renounce it and demons attached to it. Replace lies with truth. Rebuild on the foundation of Christ and the truth of His Word. Practice thinking and acting on the truth.
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) To get a visual understanding of what this scripture is saying, think back to the image of a stronghold as a fortress that houses demonic spirits as well as our own thoughts. Can you see yourself reaching inside that fort and literally taking hold of your thoughts, attitudes, and every prideful thing that is working against the knowledge of God, His truth, His Kingdom? Pull each of those things out one at a time and examine them. If they are your own thoughts that are believing a lie, then renounce the lie, reject it. Give it the boot! Then erect a new stronghold of Truth by choosing to believe and act on the truth no matter if you “feel” it or not. Feelings change. Truth does not. By clinging to and joining ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, we will overcome. Next, if you pull out ungodly attitudes, then ask the Holy Spirit to show you what the root cause is, and deal with that in truth, repentance, and obedience to Christ. Then repent from whatever opened the door for the enemy, command that spirit leave and go wherever Jesus sends it and tell it not to return.
But don’t stop there. We must be willing to cut the cord that connects us to the stronghold. Jesus advised
us to pluck out our eye or cut off our right hand if either of these was causing us to sin. (Matthew 5:29,
30) That’s radical amputation! He was speaking in terms people could understand. He wanted us to
understand the seriousness of this message, not that we should literally cut off limbs, but rather that we
may need to sever ourselves from certain things. What does this look like? Well, what do we trust in and
rely on? What causes us to sin? Fear that isolates us? Ungodly relationships? Our phone or computer?
What do we love more? This thing we spend our time on? The obsessions in our life? Our sin?
Once we sever ourselves from those things, then we must demolish the strongholds so that we don’t do
an “about face” and return to it. Elisha gives us a beautiful example of this. He was plowing his field when
Elijah called him to become his disciple. Before he left, he hosted a BBQ. He made a fire using the yoke as
wood, he killed and boiled his oxen, then fed them to his neighbors. He had cut off ties with his old way
of life and everybody knew it. There would be no going back for Elisha. Instead of trusting in his oxen, he
had erected a new stronghold, a future that seemed unclear and probably a bit scary, but one that he
knew was grounded in His God. (1 Kings 19:19-21)
Soul Ties
Soul Ties are some of Satan’s most powerful strongholds, and they are an often-overlooked doorway of
ungodly influence. But not all soul ties are bad. Yahweh created us to have intimate or close relationships,
to be joined with others emotionally and spiritually which establishes soul ties. Therefore, every person
experiences soul ties whether they are aware of them or not. There are godly and ungodly soul ties. 1
Corinthians 6:16-17 describes this for us. “What? Do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is
one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord
becomes one spirit with Him.”
Godly Soul Ties
The Lord intended these cords of love to be a source of blessing and encouragement as we relate in godly ways. The most important soul tie we can have is with the Lord Jesus Christ. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” (Luke 10:27) These healthy bonds also give us the ability to connect with others, which allows Holy Spirit to freely move in between people, including Him in that relationship. This makes it possible to accomplish the rest of Luke 10:27 that says, “love your neighbor as yourself.”
Godly soul ties transfer God’s Spirit between Himself and us, and then between us and those He connects
us with. When we are deeply connected with another person, our souls seem to become blended, shared
together. This is the “one flesh” that Jesus described in Mark 10:8. We see these godly ties in marriages
between a husband and wife, in parent and child relationships, in healthy relationships and friendships as
with David and Jonathan. 1 Samuel 18:1 says, “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and
Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
Godly soul ties join us together at a deep level and help us in the sanctification process as we become
more like those we are bound to. Investing in and guarding our relationship with Christ is key so that we
become more like Him in nature and character. This is also true of the people we choose to connect
ourselves with. Godly soul ties will affect us spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. The fruit of
the Spirit will be exhibited in our lives, creating love and unity while encouraging each other to love and
good works, turning weaknesses into strengths, and building up God’s kingdom.
Ungodly Soul Ties
Satan loves to use God’s gift of connections to his advantage. He perverts and defiles their meaning and
purpose, then offers counterfeit rewards that lead right into bondage.
Ungodly relationships join and blend our soul together with another person’s soul. Without discernment
and knowledge, it is easy to enter into them because they appeal to our flesh or sin nature, to the desires
of our soul. They sound good, look good, and feel right, and if we take the bait of this alluring counterfeit,
we feed our pride, the love of “self,” while we justify our rebellion against God. This is a not the love of
Christ and is in fact a rejection of His love that is beautifully explained in 1 Corinthians 13. Over time, these ungodly connections will affect us spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and/or physically in negative ways.
We usually associate the formation of these ties with ungodly sex, and that is one of the main factors.
However, we can become bound to another person or persons in other ways such as by choosing to hang
out with ungodly people and joining in their lifestyle. Abusive, over-controlling, manipulative relationships
also develop soul ties. Fear, abandonment, rejection, and addictions can cause people to depend on
others in unhealthy ways, which establishes ungodly soul ties. The occult, cults, mind control and
witchcraft also create links. There can be soul ties with ancestors through generational sins and curses
that were passed down that hold us in bondage to the physical, emotional, mental problems that we may
mistakenly accept thinking they are just “genetic.” And I’m sure there are many more. It is even possible
for soul ties to form with fantasy spirits through things such as pornography, masturbation, and the
settling for unhealthy companionship born out of extreme loneliness, etc.
Yep, just as Holy Spirit uses soul ties, Satan also uses them. These ties are like chains with hooks on them
that connect us with someone else, and they are portals that demons use to transfer back and forth
between people. And it’s not just the demons, but emotional, mental, even physical problems, and the
traits of one’s personality or character can also be transferred to the other through soul ties. For example,
if one struggles with fear, the other person, who never experienced fear in that way before, may begin to
be fearful. They might say, “I sound just like so-and-so.” The bondage of one will try to work itself into the
bondage of another.
The transference of demons and the linking of souls in ungodly relationships is a huge hindrance in our
walk with the Lord. When we recognize the mess we’re in and confess our sin and repent, we may find
that even though the relationship has ended and we’ve done everything we can to follow God, we still
feel stuck in spiritual, emotional, mental and physical bondage rather than freedom. Unbroken soul ties
are often the cause of those relationships that you just can’t seem to “get over.”
These ties can be like a bungee cord that allow us to move forward only so far before we are pulled back
toward what we are trying to move away from, even when we have truly repented. You know that cycle
of sin-confess, sin-confess? If after fully repenting we find we are still struggling with that cycle or with
certain sins or lines of thought, it may be because it’s not our issue, but someone else’s. It may be an
indication that there are ungodly soul ties that haven’t been broken.
This doesn’t mean that we are not saved. It means that Satan has at least one of his hooks in us. It is not
a matter of ownership, but of bondage. Breaking off the physical relationship doesn’t guarantee the
breaking of soul ties, and unless we know to ask the Holy Spirit to sever the ungodly soul ties; the issues
of the other person as well as demons, curses, and generational curses on the other end of that line can
be transferred to us. If we want to be totally free, we need to make sure that we “unpack our past” as
Peter Horrobin calls it, and allow God to reveal and break off all ungodly soul ties.
The good news is that Jesus came to set the captive free and to open the prison to those who are bound!
He’s got an amazing Sword of the Spirit that can sever these ungodly soul ties. When we confess our part
to God, repent, and remove ungodly relationships, then we can ask the Lord to sever the ties, to cut the
cords, and He will!
A note of caution here. We must be on guard because it is possible for godly soul ties to become ungodly. For example, in counseling situations, sharing creates a certain intimacy or bond between the two involved. This can happen between pastors and members of their congregation, between people on
worship teams, co-workers, and anytime there are people sharing their lives together. This is not wrong.
However, you can be sure that Satan will try to take advantage of godly soul ties and begin to plant sinful
thoughts with “justifiable” excuses inside our minds. Godly relationships can quickly become ungodly. We
must be alert and watchful.
When an ungodly soul tie is broken, it is important to establish or put on a godly relationship in place of
the old. A fundamental principle of God’s Word is to always put something on when we take something
off. So of course, the first relationship to pour our love into is with the Father through worship, His Word
and prayer. Then we need to get connected with godly people that will disciple and encourage us.
When King Josiah was breaking generational soul ties- the sins of their ancestors that they had ignorantly
accepted- he didn’t stop there! He gathered all the people together to hear God’s Word so that they could repent, and then learn how to follow God instead. He reinstated worship of the One true God. He hosted the biggest and best Passover celebration in the land since Samuel. (2 Kings 23) Identifying soul ties and tearing down strongholds can be a process, especially for people who have suffered for years under abuse and trauma or who have led a lifestyle of sin. Don’t give up. Don’t focus on the process; instead, live to love and please the Lord Jesus Christ and He will faithfully guide you through to victory over each one.
Prayer for Release
These prayers are not meant to be a formula but are to help you think through some of the issues that
may need to be addressed so that the strongholds or contracts can be broken. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through the prayers, and to help you know if there are other things that He wants you to pray through. You will probably not need to pray every prayer but read through them to make sure. At the end, there will be a final prayer and declaration that is applicable to all. Most prayers will wait until the end to deal a final blow to the demons.
Introduction:
Lord Jesus, I am Your child and I want to be free to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength,
and to love others with Your love. I am being hindered, and so I come to You right now in humility and
surrender. You are the Overcomer. Please help me to overcome. I ask for Your holy angels to assist me. In
Jesus’ name and by the power of His blood, I bind all evil and demonic spirits that have had influence in
my life. I intend to cancel and terminate all legal contracts and covenants that I have either knowingly or
unknowingly, willingly, or unwillingly made with the enemy of my soul. Jesus, please cover and protect
me, my family and friends, pets, home, property, ministry, and all that You have entrusted to me, under
Your blood covering.
My Own Sin:
Father, I confess that I have engaged in ungodly relationships. I repent from my sin of pride and rebellion.
I confess that I have believed the lie that ______. I renounce this lie. I renounce my relationship with
______ (name each one comes to your mind), and I choose to separate myself physically from all
influences associated with them. Please forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness as 1 John 1:7
& 9 describe.
I choose to believe the truth that______. I choose to walk in Your light, and as You lead me, I will establish
godly relationships. Please forgive, cleanse, deliver and heal me. You are the Son of God and Your blood
paid the price for all of my sin. Thank You for Your forgiveness, and I also choose to forgive myself.
As I obey You, I am asking You to sever all the ungodly soul ties that have been established in my life
through these relationships. I declare that I no longer accept the perks or benefits associated with these
connections.
Other’s Sin Against Me:
Father, I confess that I have been hurt, depressed, anxious, angry, and bitter because others have sinned
against me. I have experienced a form of rejection and abandonment by people who were supposed to
love and care for me. They have caused suffering and trauma in my life and have wrongly abused me. I
confess that because of what happened, I have believed the lies that ______. I renounce the lies and
choose to believe the truth that ______.
I understand that their sin against me has established ungodly soul ties between us, but I also now realize
that my own unforgiveness has actually been nurturing the soul tie! I therefore choose to forgive ______
(name each one) for ______. I choose to release them from my own corrupt sense of justice, and turn
them over to You, Lord God, because You are the God of true justice, and You will deal with them
according to Your will. (Isaiah 59; Psalm 37:28)
I ask You now, Lord, to sever all ungodly soul ties between us. I will not be a doormat and I understand
that I may need to establish boundaries in these relationships, but I ask You to give me Your perspective
of these people and help me to love them with discernment and wisdom in my attitudes, words and
actions. I realize that forgiveness is a process, and I choose to take my thoughts captive and to forgive a
million times a day if I need to, until my thoughts align with Yours and this work is done in me.
Ancestral Sin:
Father, I understand that there are genetic problems that can be passed down through family lines, but
Exodus 20:4-6 also makes it clear that generational curses and ungodly soul ties as well as blessings can
be passed down through family blood lines.
Therefore, I confess the known and unknown sins of my ancestors which are ______ (list everything specifically that the Lord brings to your mind, even if you don’t have previous knowledge of it or
understand it). I choose to forgive them for their sin that has allowed demonic influence to affect me and
my children physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, and to cleanse me from their sin as well as
my own.
Help me to recognize any lies that I have believed so that I can renounce them and can choose to know
and believe the truth instead. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to break all bonds and ungodly soul ties within my
family line and to cancel all generational curses, word curses and satanic assignments on me and my
children that have come to us through my blood line.
Father, I ask that You will bring healing and restoration to me and my family from physical issues such as
abuse- especially sexual or violent in nature, and infirmities- heart attacks, auto-immune diseases,
addictions, ______(etc.); from emotional problems like anger, depression, fear, anxiety,______(etc.);
from mental strongholds in lies we believe or mental illness like schizophrenia or bi-polar; and from
spiritual or heart attitudes such as a judgmental, critical and religious spirits, doubt, fear and unbelief.
In Jesus’ name I break covenant with these ancestral spirits, I separate the demons from all satanic
assignments and functions, and I command them to leave me and go before Jesus to await His judgment.
Addictions:
Lord Jesus, I confess that I have wandered into a lifestyle of addiction, and I now find myself trapped in
bondage to ______. I choose to repent, to destroy all items associated with this addiction, or as in the
case of technology which I may not be able to completely remove from my life, I choose to take the steps
necessary to use it wisely. These steps are ______. I choose to untangle and remove myself from all the
people connected with this bondage, and to turn towards You, to cling to You, trust in and rely on You,
and to obey Your Word.
I renounce the lie that I need ______, and I confess that I have used this as a defense mechanism. I choose
to believe the truth that You love me, Lord God, and that You are all I need. I choose to cling to, trust in,
and rely on You instead. I renounce the lie that ______ and choose to believe the truth that ______. Please
shine Your light and expose the root of this addiction. Help me to deal with it Your way so that You can
deliver and heal me, and so that the things hidden in the darkness of my soul won’t have power or
influence over me.
I ask You to break all ungodly soul ties with the people associated with this addiction, to break all ungodly
soul ties with the paraphernalia involved, and to break all soul ties with the demons and fantasy spirits
connected with this addiction that I have engaged with.
Occult Involvement:
(Note: If you were not directly involved in the occult, but were intimately associated with someone who
was, it may be important for you to also pray this prayer with appropriate adaptations.)
I confess, renounce and repent of all forms of occultic involvement. Lord God, I acknowledge You as
Jehovah Yahweh, the Most High God. I confess that I have trusted in and relied on counterfeit gods to give me satisfaction, power, hidden knowledge, or ______. I now understand that this is all deception and lies, control and manipulation, which is witchcraft, and I renounce all these things. I renounce the lies that ______ and choose to believe the truth of Your Word which is ______.
Please forgive me, Lord Jesus, for all the acts and forms of witchcraft that I have participated in. I renounce alchemy, sorcery, magic, divination, necromancy, sexual orgies, demon revels, blood pacts, sacrifices, fire walking, or ______. I ask in Jesus’ name, that all curses, hexes, vexes, spells, incantations, ritual power, voodoo, Wicca, Santeria, threats, ______, and all other satanic assignments on my spirit, soul and body will be cancelled and broken off me.
I renounce Satan, Lucifer, and all other false gods, principalities, powers, spiritual forces of evil, rulers of
darkness, fallen angels, dark spirits, familiar spirits, demons, astral entities, and ______ that I have been
connected to and engaged with. Please forgive me for worshipping other gods, especially the god of self.
I choose to believe in and worship You alone.
I choose to untangle myself from these relationships, and to break off my relationships with those who I
associated with, specifically ______. I ask You to cancel all contracts, and to break, sever and destroy all
ungodly soul ties with them. I now choose to rely on the Holy Spirit, to be guided by Him alone, and no other.
Cults, False Religions, and Gangs:
(Note: If you were not directly involved in any of these, but were intimately associated with someone who
was, it may be important for you to also pray this prayer with appropriate adaptations.)
Lord Jesus, I confess that I have participated in a false religion, gang, cult belief system or “family” code. I
renounce my involvement with Jehovah Witnesses, Mormonism, Scientology, Freemasonry, Christian
Science, Children of God, all forms of Satanism, Juggalos, Street Gangs, Mobsters, New Age ideologies,
Kabbalism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, or ______. Please forgive me for this
idolatry. Also please forgive me for placing myself under the spiritual, physical or emotional cover of
counterfeit, unsafe shepherds and giving up my will for theirs. I reclaim my soul in Jesus’ name.
I renounce all covenants, oaths, contracts, relationships, and ungodly soul ties that were established
within this family, cult, or religion- including soul ties with its leaders, masters, or handlers. I choose to
align myself only with godly people who know and practice the truth of the Word of God and worship Him alone in spirit and in truth.
I renounce and remove myself from all counterfeit forms of worship, and choose to worship only Yahweh,
the Lord my God. I renounce all false teaching and doctrine, and I will destroy all books, literature, clothing, jewelry, objects, and ______ connected with it. I commit to diligently study Your Word daily.
I renounce the lies that ______, and I choose to believe the truth that ______.
As I cleanse my home and life of these things, please break off all of the ungodly soul ties with ______. I
ask You, Lord Jesus, to cleanse and heal my spirit, soul, mind, and body. I ask that you break off all mind-control ideologies I have been under as a result of these relationships.
Technology:
Father, I understand that not all technology is under Satan’s influence, but much of it is. I confess that I
have allowed my soul to be connected with this domain and with the entities that rule this realm either
knowingly, ignorantly, or through acquiescence or passive acceptance and agreement. I renounce all ties
with ______. I repent and choose to stop engaging in this realm. Please sever these ungodly ties in my life
and release me from their influences.
Declaration and Prayer
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I declare that I am reclaiming my life, out of the hands of
the enemy. I do not want any ungodly soul tie or the evil spirits that accompany them. I ask You Lord, to
reveal any other emotional, mental, physical, or spiritual issues that have come to me through my
involvement in these things. If there are any other ties or rights of the enemy that I have missed, I ask that
You will bring those to my mind. In renouncing all these things, I am disowning them, and declaring that
they have no more rights, power, control or influence in my life.
Jesus, please send any fractures of another’s soul that is still found in me, back to its rightful host, and
return and restore all the shattered fragments of my own soul. Close all opened doors that have been
portals for the enemy, and set the seal of Your Holy Spirit on those places.
I declare that Satan’s rights and strongholds are now cancelled, and I bind all spirits of retribution, retaliation and revenge that will try to keep me bound. In the name of Jesus and by the power and
authority of His blood, I cancel all ungodly assignments on my life and on my family. I separate all demons, evil and familiar spirits associated with these strongholds and soul ties from their functions. I say to you Satan and all your minions, leave me now and go before Jesus to wait for His judgment.
Lord Jesus, I commit myself, my body, soul, subconscious, and spirit to You. I ask that You set me free from all the influences, power, control and manipulation of the enemy that have been given a place in my life.
By the power of the Yeshua’s blood, I ask that You cleanse, purify, and heal my spirit, soul, subconscious
and body. Holy Spirit, come live in me, and fill all the places that were previously occupied by something
other than You. Please bring complete restoration so that I can be free to love and worship You with all
that I am. I ask You to show me how to walk in Your holy ways as I seek You daily through reading Your
Word, relationship with You, and in fellowship with Your people. Lord of Hosts, please complete this work
in me. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Blessing
May the cleansing, healing blood of Jesus, His life, His love, His righteousness, His purity, His truth, His
forgiveness, His light, His peace and joy, His grace and mercy, flow through you and your blood line from
this moment on. May you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and may
the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all without hindrances. May you
be established in your faith, standing firm even when shaken. May you choose the path of obedience,
forgiveness, truth, surrender and humility. May the Lord establish (strengthen, set firmly) you and guard
you from the evil one. May you be full of discernment, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. May you
walk worthy of God in His authority, power and victory through the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the power
of His blood. May you do even greater things than Jesus, fulfilling His will, enlarging His kingdom on earth.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body
be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will
do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
(This article is a chapter from “The Lie Effect: Overcoming Soul Abduction” by Collene James and Nancy Bowser and is adapted from “Watchman Warrior,” by Nancy Bowser)
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