C I R C L E O F H O P E

The Bible says (Galatians 5:1): “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” This is quite the interesting verse. It implies that Christians can be in bondage and need to be set free. Also, having been set free, Christians can find themselves returning to bondage. Which raises the question, “What kind of bondage are we talking about?” We are going to look at six of the most common bondages that Christians are prone to, and how to break them and receive freedom.

Sin is the most obvious of the bondages in which Christians can find themselves trapped, and it is the one area that Christians tend to understand. All that will be added here is to say that there is a difference between being tempted and sinning. Whereas we tend to know that, we don’t always understand it. For example, is every bad thought that pops to mind a sin? Christians often believe that all ungodly thoughts are sin, and they confess them. But Jesus had bad thoughts in the wilderness, yet He never once sinned.[1] They were put in His mind by Satan and are called “temptations”.[2] Christians often lose the battle to keep bad thoughts away by treating them as sins when such thoughts are really temptations. They confess, which is what we do with sin, but not what we do when confronted with temptation. And then they wonder why they lose the battle.

So what is the difference between a sin and a temptation when it comes to impure thoughts? When an ungodly thought first arises, it is a temptation. It is a lure to us to keep thinking more about the thought or worse, put the thought into action. At some point after a wrong idea comes to mind, we realize that what is in our heads is not good. At that point, we must make a choice: welcome the thought or resist it. If we resist the thought and successfully rid ourselves of our ungodly thinking, we have not sinned. But if we welcome the thought, either to think further about it or to put it into action, then we are in sin and need to confess.

Once we realize we are being tempted with impure thoughts, what do we do? How do we resist them? The thing not to do is to try hard to not think those thoughts. That is a sure way to lose. Why? Because Romans 7: 22b-23 says: “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” In other words, when I see the right course of action (stop thinking those kinds of thoughts), but approach the problem by setting a standard for myself and trying hard to meet it (a “law of my mind” - I will must not think those thoughts and am going to force myself to not think them), then sin at work in the members of my body starts a war that I am guaranteed to lose.

So what is the proper way to deal with temptation? First of all, we need to realize that temptations can come from two places: the devil and ourselves. With temptations from the devil, James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Practically speaking, what I do is to rid myself of demonic influence. I say: “Satan, in Jesus’ name, if this is from you, then I command you to stop putting these thoughts in my head and to leave me right now.” That is the resisting part. The submitting to God part is explained Romans 6: 13-14, and is also the way to overcome temptations which arise from within ourselves. Those verses say to “offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” In other words, my job is to turn to God and say: “I know You expect me to ________. I also know that there is nothing in me that is able to live up to that. Would You do whatever You need to do in me so that I live this way?” It is now God’s job to work within me by His divine power to produce godliness. We may mistakenly think that this will take Him a long time and that we will be doing a lot of sinning before He is finished. Nothing could be further from the truth. He can change things within us quite dramatically and quite quickly. Those pesky thoughts can evaporate in the blink of an eye. Of course, submitting to God doesn’t mean saying the words that are given here. It is simply asking God to fight this battle for you in whatever way you see fit to ask. Sometimes temptations come so hard and so quickly that “Help” is about all you have time for, but it is still submitting to God for the victory.

When we are hurt, we are prone to judge the offender out of our hurt; that is, we may, either verbally or in our heart or both, put the person down, criticize that person, or otherwise demonstrate a negative attitude towards him or her. If we never deal with this bitterness, it may pass out of consciousness over time, but it lies buried alive and can spring up at any time. When it raises its head, it brings defilement, not only to us, but to others around us (Hebrews 12:15).[3] In addition, Scripture says we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7),[4] especially in the area of bitter judgments (Matthew 7:1-2).[5] Thus if we harbour a bitter root judgment, we may find ourselves the target of the same kind of bitterness and judgment. Or we may find ourselves doing the very thing for which we judged the other person (Romans 2:1).[6] Or the hidden bitterness may manifest in emotional/physical/spiritual problems and can be an open door to the demonic. We may take a judgment a step further and form a bitter root expectancy. For example, if as a child, I judged my Dad for never being home because of business, I may generalize that to an expectancy that the man in my life will never be there for me, and my husband may find himself undeservedly on the receiving end of my bitterness.

Jesus said ((Matthew 7:1): “Do not judge”. There could be no clearer statement on the subject. This does not mean, however, that we ignore other people’s sin. The Bible is very clear that we are to do something about other people’s sin. We are to confront them with it in the hopes of mending our broken relationship,[7] and we are to help them overcome it,[8] but we are not to put negative judgments on anyone because of their sin.

Why is that? Why is God is so against us forming judgments? In some cases, our negative opinions are simply the truth, are they not? Sometimes it is just true that the other person was rude and ignorant to us, or was stupid in what they did, or are just a burden on everyone around them. What is so wrong with calling a spade a spade?

To understand, we need to go back to Genesis and look again at what originally went wrong with our world.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were given the earth to rule in partnership with God:

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Meanwhile, Satan had been thrown out of heaven and was looking for some other place where he could have rulership. So he tried to get Adam and Eve to turn on God, give Satan their allegiance, and so forfeit their rule over the earth to him. The temptation was this:

Genesis 3:4-5 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

In other words, the temptation was not so much to eat forbidden fruit as to go for what the forbidden fruit might give them: to be like God and know good and evil for themselves. This is what Adam and Eve chose, and the knowledge of good and evil became the ruling force in the earth, under Satan. In North America, we call this the rule of law. Man makes laws and everyone lives by them; no one is above the law. We are very proud of the rule of law, and it is certainly a better rule than the rule of tyranny or anarchy. However, it is still Satan’s idea. And we wonder why, despite our best efforts, injustice still happens and the law lets us down. The rule of law is probably the best that sinful people can devise, but it still falls short of perfect justice. And it does nothing to make people good. In fact, the Bible says that even God’s perfect law does not make people good. Just the opposite: “The law was added so that the trespass might increase” (Romans 5:20). As Paul said (Romans 7):

7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

We all experience this. Someone tells us we can’t do something, and that’s the very thing we really want to do. We may not go ahead and do it, but the truth is, we really want to. Proof again that the rule of law is not from God.
Then why did God give the law? “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). The law was given so we would know how far we fall short of God’s standard of perfection and come to Jesus to receive grace and mercy and salvation by faith. God’s kingdom is not about law: it’s about grace (John 3):

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

When we set up standards to which we hold people accountable, and then judge them when they do not meet our standards, we are in fact operating in the ways of the kingdom of darkness. We are on Satan’s ground. God’s way is for us, when we see people going astray, to deal with that problem in mercy and grace (Luke 6):

27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

This includes how we deal with ourselves. Some people would never say a negative word about another, but continually put themselves down. They are still living as Satan would want them to live: filled with bitterness and judgment. We are called to love, forgive and bless all who do wrong – including ourselves.

Examples of bitter root judgments:[9]

q I’ll never succeed or, if I do, I’ll never be able to carry success through long-term.

(1) Forgive the offender (see the section on forgiveness). The offender could be another person, yourself or God.

(3) Repent of any other sins, e.g., anger, selfishness, self-pity, etc., which caused you to form the judgment/expectancy.

(4) Break the ungodly soul ties that linked you in bitterness to any third party offender (see section on soul ties).

(5) Tell any spirits that gained advantage in your life through the bitter root and the ungodly soul tie to go in Jesus’ name.

(6) Ask the Lord for the healing of any pain from the original situation. Pray that God would take an axe to the root of the judgment (expectancy) and cancel all reaping and sowing. Pray cleansing for the defilement caused by the bitterness.

(7) Ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh filling, especially into the areas which were formerly defiled by bitterness.

(8) Continue to walk in freedom. Resist Satan when he tries to whisper you back into bitterness. Jesus has set you free.

(If you made a judgment on someone else because of their sin against you, forgive that person and cut soul ties (soul ties are explained below.)

Father, I confess that, as a result of my hurt, I formed a bitter root judgment of (name judgment). (If applicable, add: I have also formed a bitter root expectancy of (name expectancy).) I acknowledge this as sin, and I now repent and turn from it. I also acknowledge and confess (name other sins attached to the bitter roots, e.g., self-protection, pride, self-image, etc.). I ask You to forgive and cleanse me.

In the name of Jesus, I break this judgment (expectancy) off at the roots. I declare it to be of no force, effect or influence in my life. I ask You, Father, to cancel all the reaping and to lift off all the parties involved, including myself, the defilement from the bitterness I sowed. Would You shine Your light into all parts of my old nature that fed this judgment (expectancy), cleanse me from all the unrighteousness that is there, and drive off every spirit of the enemy. Finally, I ask You to seal off any entry points to Satan that were opened into my life by these bitter roots, and to alert me to any future temptations of the enemy to reopen this door. Thank You, Father, for my forgiveness, cleansing and freedom from this sin. In Jesus’ name.

It is one thing to break judgments already made. It is another to not make them anymore. It sometimes seems like such a natural tendency, when we see sin or mistakes, to judge the people involved. We even do it with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And some of us do it most with ourselves. How do we stop that?

Let’s start with the judgments we make with regard to our fellow believers. Colossians 1:22 says: “But now he [God] has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation”. According to this Scripture, Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient to put an end to all accusation against us. To accuse one another is thus to live contrary to the gospel and to the truth of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. If we judge, we are living as if Christ’s death did not purchase our freedom from accusation.

What about the judgments we put on ourselves? First of all, Hebrews 9:14 says: “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” The blood of Christ alone is sufficient to cleanse our consciences of the guilt of sins committed. But what about perceived guilt as opposed to actual guilt, things like feeling stupid or unworthy or ashamed just because I’ve made a little mistake? Hebrews 10 says:

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

There is no mention here just of cleansing from guilt we have because of our sin. It says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from a guilty conscience, period. False guilt included.

The interesting thing about both the Colossians and the Hebrews passage is that they both end with a passage concerning holding to the hope that these passages talk about:

Colossians 1
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation -
23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

Hebrews 10
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

A soul tie is what holds us together in relationships. It is a bit of a misnomer, because relationship bonds can be established on body, soul and/or spirit ties. The marriage relationship gives a clear example of a body tie: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). With a soul tie, we are bonded emotionally, by sharing common interests, by being like-minded and so on: “… make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in … purpose” (Philippians 2:2). Finally, we can be bonded spirit to spirit: “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1). Some relationships are soul and spirit ties, like the relationship among Christians. Some encompass all three, like the husband and wife relationship. “Soul tie” is a simplified term used to describe any relationship bond between two people.

Soul ties in the original creation were completely godly. They were designed for the flow of blessing and nurture between people. When sin entered the world, however, other things started flowing between people in their relationships: sin, hurt, and other forms of ungodliness. Relationship bonds ever since have been a mixture of ungodliness and blessing. Where the ungodliness from a relationship results in bondage in one’s life, the ungodly soul tie should be cut in prayer so the bondage can be broken.

(2) wrong agreements (e.g., partners in crime; oaths binding a person to a secret society)

(3) domination/manipulation/control or any other way of overriding another person’s free will

(3) Break soul tie and deliver anything demonic which may have come in on it.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I break all ungodly spirit, soul and body ties which have been established between me and [name of other individual involved]. I sever that linking supernaturally and ask You, Father God, to remove from me all ungodly influence of [other individual] and to bring back to me every part of me which has been wrongfully tied in bondage to [other individual]. I ask you, Father, to place the cross of Jesus between me and [other individual] and to stop the flow of anything ungodly between the two of us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I now speak directly to every evil spirit that has taken advantage of this ungodly soul tie. You no longer have any rights here, and I order you to leave now without hurting or harming me or any other person, and without going into any other member of my family.

An inner vow is a statement of what we will or won’t do (e.g., “I will never trust that person again”; “I will get gold in the Olympics”). An inner vow may sound good, even godly (e.g., “I will never put my children down in front of others like my mother did to me”). However, the problem with a vow is that we yield that part of our lives to the lordship of the vow rather than the lordship of Christ. It creates a pocket in our lives that God cannot touch because we have already decided what will or will not be done. The danger here is that, what Christ does not control is fleshly and always a potential open door to the evil one (James 4:13-16).[10] Other problems can also be tied to the inner vow. For example, an ungodly soul tie may be created by the vow, as when people vow that they will be or will not be like someone else they have known. Or the vow may create a false god, as can sometimes be the case with an athlete driven to high success.

Father I confess that I have sinned in making the following vows: ______________________. I renounce these vows and ask you to forgive me. (Confess any other sins attached to the making of the vows: e.g., anger, bitterness, etc. Forgive anyone whose hurt toward you may have been at the root of your vows.) In the name of Jesus, I break these vows, I declare them null, void and without influence in my life, and, by the sword of the Spirit, I cut myself free from their effects. Finally, I ask You Jesus to seal off any entry points to Satan which were opened into my life by these vows. They are forever sealed in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Childhood vows with regard to parents:[12]

No parent is perfect. Because they aren’t, they sometimes hurt their children, and children, in their reaction, make vows. They then often grow up to forget those vows. However, the effect of a vow stays with a person, even though made as a child who didn’t know any better, until that vow is broken. For example, a child whose Dad took her childhood confession and ridiculed her for it, may vow in her heart never to speak out freely to another man as long as she lives, and find herself in later life unable to communicate freely with her husband and sons and wondering why. Sometimes the reasons for our childhood vows are less obvious. For example, if we as children do not receive the love we need, we may make a vow such as “I’m just not going to bother anymore” in order to stop the hurt of trying and never receiving, but then later in life have difficulty giving and receiving love in other relationships.

People can have difficulty renouncing and breaking childhood vows for two reasons:

(1) They cannot bring themselves to admit that their parents sinned or, in some cases, were quite frankly evil in their behaviour (e.g., childhood abuse). They may put a religious spin on this, saying that the Scriptures tell them to honour their father and mother (Exodus 20:12).[13]

(2) They can bring themselves to admit that their parents sinned against them or were evil, but they refuse to let them off the hook, feeling that this is the same as saying that their parents’ behaviour was really nothing serious at all.

Such people need to be lovingly discipled into a different way of seeing things:

(1) First of all, we are not to have blinders on with regard to sin, and naming our parents’ sin has nothing to do with dishonouring them. If we are ever to be free of the pain of what they did to us, we must forgive, and it is sin that is forgiven, not our vain attempts to try to rationalize why our parents did what they did or to take the blame that rightfully falls to them.

(2) Secondly, forgiving our parents’ sin is not the same as letting them off the hook. It is the same as letting them off our hook. However, they have a more serious hook to then be concerned about – God’s (Romans 12:9): “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

A third pitfall with regard to forgiving parents is that we forgive but we continue to expect them to change. To be truly free, we need to forgive our parents as they are for the sins they committed and leave the results in all our lives to God. We then need to hold ourselves open to God for Him to heal our wounds so that eventually we can come to a place where we have compassion on our parents even though they continue to be unrepentant and unchanged. That kind of healing is often a process and takes some time.

A prayer like the following can allow us to honour a parent not easily honoured, and from there go on to renounce childhood vows concerning that parent:

Father, thank You for creating my [father] in Your image. With all my heart I forgive [him] for not becoming all that you created [him] to be. I forgive [him] for the following sins [he] committed against me [name any list of things the Lord has showed you]. I realize that [he] needed healing like the healing I am now receiving from You. I accept [my father] as [he] is, an unhealed and needy person. Thank you for all you created [him] to be. By Your grace, would You reach out to [him] and show [him] how to become that person. I look to You now for all the things I needed [my father] to give me that [he] couldn’t give. Heal me of all woundedness and bring me to that place where I can love [my father] with Your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A curse is a word spoken which has the potential to bring into a person’s life something which is not God’s perfect plan and purpose for that person. A curse may originate with God, Satan or man:

(1) A curse from God is His decision to withdraw His hand of protection or to initiate judgment because of a person’s sin.

(2) It goes without saying that Satan will try to bring as many curses to bear on a person as possible because it is his driving purpose to oppose the work of God in everyone’s life and to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

(3) A curse laid by another person takes the form of words that are spoken either with or without the intent to curse. Once released, these words can curse a life in one of two ways: the person hears them and believes them and allows them to affect his or her life (e.g., the child who is told over and over that he is bad and then grows up to be bad), or the person does not hear them, but demons do and try to enforce them.

Proverbs 26:2 says: “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.” In other words, just because a curse is levelled at us does not mean it will have an effect on us (God’s curses are excepted because they are always deserved and so will always come to rest on the person to whom they are directed). However, two cautions need to be given lest we become overly confident to the point of not being wise. First, who among us is so confident of our spiritual walk that we are absolutely certain we are not giving the enemy cause to land a curse on us? In this regard, keep in mind Psalm 139:23-24,[14] where the psalmist asks God to search him and ferret out anything wicked of which he might be unaware. Secondly, ongoing verbal attacks from the people around us or from Satan can wear us down and make us more vulnerable to receiving the curse.

(1) Forgive the person who spoke the words. Cut yourself free from the effect of that person’s words. If you cursed yourself, confess that as sin.

(3) Pray for deliverance from any demons that may have entered on the ungodly soul tie, may have taken advantage of the pronouncement, curse or inner vow, or may have gained a foothold in your life through any of the sin attached to the making of those.

Thank You, Jesus, for dying that I might be forgiven, and for taking on Yourself on the cross every curse that could ever come upon me. By an act of my will, I now choose to express the desire of my heart and forgive [person] for saying [state cursing words]. I release (him or her) into the freedom of my forgiveness. [Or I confess that I have curses myself by saying that ____.]

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I break all ungodly spirit, soul and body ties which have been established between me and [person’s name]. I sever that linking supernaturally and ask You, Father God, to remove from me all ungodly influence of [other person] and to bring back to me every part of me which has been wrongfully tied in bondage to [other person]. I ask you, Father, to place the cross of Jesus between me and [other person] and to stop the flow of anything ungodly between the two of us.

In the name of Jesus and by the sword of the Spirit, I cut myself free from the effect of the words spoken by [other person], and I declare them null and void, no longer able to influence me. By faith I receive my release, and I thank You for it. I ask You, Father, to search out and expose to the light all the ungodly thinking and behaviour which is part of my life because of these cursing words, and to bring healing and wholeness.

I speak directly to every evil spirit that has taken advantage of these words and has sought to enforce them in my life, and to every spirit which has taken advantage of the ungodly soul tie between me and [other person]. I order you to leave now without hurting or harming me or any other person, and without going into any other member of my family. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A pronouncement is an authoritative statement make by someone who has no ill feeling and no intent to hurt the other person. For example, judges pronounce guilt or innocence based on evidence. Doctors pronounce people incurable or chronic based on a medical diagnosis. Pastors, teachers and parents may also make pronouncements. The problem with pronouncements is in their power to curse a person’s life. For example, the “incurable” who takes that in may not be able to exercise faith in God’s healing power. The person pronounced “guilty” may have difficulty receiving Christ’s free and full forgiveness.

One example of a very powerful pronouncement by a medical doctor a mother was their statement to a young lady, who came to see us because she couldn’t conceive, that with her erratic periods it would be very difficult for her to conceive, and her only answer was fertility drugs. When she forgave those people and we broke the pronouncements, she conceived shortly thereafter.

Pronouncements need to be forgiven and broken in the name of Jesus. They are dealt with in the same way as a curse of words.

Things come down family lines - physical characteristics like height and hair colour, tendencies to develop diseases like cancer or to emotional problems like depression, character traits and sometimes even gestures. Ungodliness can come down to us from our ancestors as well. Ever hear the expression: “He’s a chip off the old block?” Sometimes that means “he” has a good trait from his parents: his father’s good looks, his mother’s intelligence, his grandfather’s work ethic. Sometimes, though, it refers to ungodly traits: his mother’s anxiety, his father’s diabetes, his grandfather’s despising of women. These kinds of ungodly traits are what we call ancestral curses.

We break ancestral curses in the same way we break any other kind of curse: forgive, cut soul ties, pray against any demonic influence, and ask Holy Spirit to fill that part of the person’s life that knew the effect of the curse. A sample prayer would be:[15]

Father God, I come before You in the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour and Lord. I confess that I and my ancestors have sinned and done evil in Your sight. Thank You, Father, for sending Your only Son, Jesus, to die in my place, to pay the penalty for my sins through His shed blood, and to bear the punishment for the sins and iniquities of my ancestors in His bruised and broken body on the cross. Thank You, Father, that He was wounded that I may be set free.

I choose now to acknowledge and confess the sins of my ancestors, on my mother’s and father’s side, whether natural, adopted or foster, back to the [fourth or another number if the Lord gives an earlier generation] generation and to the tenth generation for sexual sins. I confess all ungodly thoughts and negative emotions which have had an ill effect on my family line and on me: pride, anger, arrogance, violence, fear, bitterness, resentment, shame, ungodly domination and control, emotional hardness, hatred of women and despising of men. I confess the operation of rejection in my family line in whatever form, especially that which is now affecting me and my family. I confess all mental illness in my family line: anxiety, depression, phobias, obsessions, schizophrenia, and manic depression. I confess addiction in my family line to alcohol, drugs, gambling, caffeine, nicotine, food and all other false comfort for pain. I confess sexual sin in my family line, known and unknown: fornication, adultery, incest, bestiality, obsessions, perversions, pornography, masturbation, homosexuality and lesbianism, and I renounce the pleasure from these sins. I confess the destruction of marriage through divorce. I confess all untimely death in my family: death in the womb, early death, sudden and traumatic death, suicide, murder, fear of death, and death from war. I confess unresolved grief from death. I confess the effects of war on my family. I confess lying and deception in my family line. I confess the effects of guilt, feelings of guilt and false guilt in my family line. I confess the feelings of needing to be punished or blamed. I confess all religious restrictions, whether from a Christian denomination or church, from different false religions, or from occult involvement. I confess all involvement in and tampering with occult power and the hidden things of darkness. I recognize that supernatural knowledge and power not coming from God are sinful. I confess pronouncements, inner vows, false judgments and curses in my family line. I confess where the fathers in my family line have not taught the children the ways of God. I confess ungodly attitudes and belief systems in my cultural background. I confess all hereditary illnesses and weaknesses in my family line.

Father God, I come before You in the name of Jesus, confessing these sins in my family line. I now lay the punishment and inherited weakness on Jesus, my Scapegoat, on His bruised and broken body on the cross, and I release myself from their effect. Thank You, Lord, that I can cast my burdens on You. I receive my freedom. I now, by an act of my will, unreservedly forgive my ancestors for their sins and release my ancestors into the freedom of my forgiveness. No longer will I blame them for how I am. I confess and take accountability for my own sins in these areas. I repent and turn from them, and ask You to forgive and to cleanse me with the precious blood of Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for cleansing me. Please renew me and lead me in Your way. Amen.

I now renounce all the sins of my ancestors. I have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and placed into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son, and I cancel every work of the enemy that has come against me as a result of the sin of my ancestors.

I have been crucified and raised with Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20;[17] Colossians 3:1),[18] and I sit with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6),[19] I have authority over the enemy, and I renounce all assignments that he has directed against me and my ministry. I cancel every curse that has been put on me. Christ became a curse for me (Galatians 3:13)[20] when He died for my sins on the cross so that I can now be free.

I reject every way in which Satan may try to claim ownership of me. I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, who purchased me with His own blood. I reject all other blood sacrifices whereby Satan may try to claim ownership of me. I belong only to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the only seal of ownership on me is the seal of the Holy Spirit.[21]

By the authority that I have in Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came in the flesh, I now command every familiar spirit and every enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ that is in or around me to leave my presence. I commit myself to my heavenly Father, to do His will from this day forward.

Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins and the breaking of every curse of the law from my life, so that I might receive all the fullness of my inheritance in Christ Jesus by the promise of the Spirit (Isaiah 53:4-6,[23] Galatians 3:13-14,[24] 1 Peter 2:24).[25]

In the name of Jesus, the name that has all authority in heaven and earth and beneath the earth, I renounce every sinful word I have spoken or thought about You, God, and I ask You to forgive me. In Jesus’ name, I break all curses on me due to blasphemy or cursing You, by me, my family, or prior generations. I forgive all offense that I have taken at what You did or did not do. You are Sovereign Lord. You alone are Most High God. I love You and do not resist You (Matthew 28:18,[26] Philippians 2:10,[27] Exodus 16:8).[28]

In Jesus’ precious name, I renounce every sinful thought or word against any servant of God. I ask Your forgiveness where I have lifted my hands against Your anointed ones. I forgive all Your servants for giving offense, and I pray Your blessings on every servant of Yours that I have ever known. In Jesus’ name, I claim the release of the cross for every curse passed down to me by my family or prior generations for cursing Your servants. The blood of Jesus is between them and me (Exodus 22:28,[29] Psalms 105:14-15,[30] Acts 23:5,[31] Romans 13:1-2,[32] 14:4).[33]

In the name of the Lord Jesus, I renounce and ask You to forgive me for every sinful word or thought about Israel, Jerusalem, or any Jewish person. I break all curses on me brought on by myself, my family, or prior generations. I forgive all Jewish people who have offended me, and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Genesis 12:3,[34] Psalms 73:1,[35] Zephaniah 2:10,[36] Psalms 122:6).[37]

In the powerful name of Jesus, I renounce and ask You to forgive me for every sinful word I have spoken or thought about my parents and any act that I committed that dishonored my father or mother. I forgive my father and mother for every offense against me. I apply the redemption and release of the cross and break all curses on me brought on by myself, my family, or prior generations due to cursing father or mother (Exoodus 20:12,[38] Deuteronomy 27:16,[39] Matthew 15:4).[40]

In the name of Jesus that is above all names, I renounce and ask You to forgive me for every sin of participating, willingly or in ignorance, in occult practices, witchcraft, sorcery, spiritism, and any other work of the kingdom of darkness. Those sins are nailed to the cross, and the blood of Jesus covers them. There are no unsettled claims on me because of them. All is settled for me in Christ Jesus. I break all curses handed down to me by my family, prior generations, or any other person by participating in or invoking the occult, witchcraft, sorcery, spiritism, or any other work of the kingdom of darkness.

In the name of Jesus, I renounce and ask Your forgiveness for every sin I have committed, spoken, or thought in rebellion, disobedience, weakness, or ignorance. In Jesus’ name, I break all curses brought on me by these sins. I renounce all curses on me handed down by my family or prior generations. I do not choose to practice any sins of my parents or my ancestors. I forgive my parents and ancestors for causing any curse to come upon me.

I break all other unnamed curses caused by the sins of my parents and ancestors. Any curse put on me by another person is broken in Jesus’ mighty name. Jesus was manifest for me to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus in me is greater than the works of the enemy. Jesus has swept my house clean and seals my victory over Satan as accuser, hinderer, robber, deceiver, liar, destroyer, perverter, counterfeiter, defeater, discourager, sower of unbelief, author of confusion, jailer (one who keeps me in prison), darkness, oppressor, depresser, alienator, divider, tempter, setter of snares, seducer, betrayer, enemy, and minister of wrath and death (Exodus 20:5,[41] Exodus 34:7,[42] Proverbs 14:1,[43] Jeremiah 32:18,[44] Lamentations 5:7,[45] James 3:9,[46] 1 John 3:8,[47] Colossians 2:15,[48] 1 John 4:4).[49]

Father God, You have washed me clean of all curses, guilt, and consequences of iniquities of prior generations. In Jesus’ name, I am loosed of any bondage to any person or thing caused by any curse. I am healed of all affliction caused by any curse, and these curses are turned into blessings. I am released to the blessings of my new family bloodline in Christ Jesus my Lord. Establish me in the opposite blessing of each curse on this list as You fill me continually with Your Holy Spirit (Revelation 12:11,[50] Matthew 16:19,[51] Jeremiah 17:14,[52] Deuteronomy 23:5).[53]

Thank You, Lord. I give You all glory, honor, and praise. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgetting may be the result of forgiveness, but it is never the means. While God says He will remember our sins “no more” (Hebrews 10:17),[54] because He is all-knowing, He cannot forget. Remembering our sins “no more” means that God will never use the past against us (Psalm 103:12).[55] In the same way, when we forgive, we are saying that we will not bring up the past against the other person again. When we bring up the past against others, we are saying we haven’t forgiven them.

Forgiveness is a choice, an act of the will. Since God requires us to forgive, it is something we can do. It is true that forgiveness can be difficult. It pulls against our concept of justice. We naturally want revenge. However, we are told never to take our own revenge (Romans 12:19).[56] We may say, “Why should I let them off the hook”, but that is precisely the problem. We are still hooked to them, still tied to them by past hurt. We need to let them off our hook, but they are never off God’s hook. He will deal with them in perfect justice, something we cannot do.

We may say, “You don’t understand how much these people hurt me!” But the truth is that, until we let them go, they are still hurting us. We can stop the pain by releasing them into forgiveness. We forgive for our sake, so we can be free. Our need to forgive isn’t an issue between us and the offenders; it’s between us and God.

Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of the other person’s sin. Forgiveness is costly. No one really forgives without bearing the consequences of the other person’s sin. However, we have to admit that we are going to live with those consequences anyway. Our only choice is whether we will do so in the bitterness of unforgiveness or the freedom of forgiveness. Where is the justice? It is in the cross, which makes forgiveness legally and morally right: “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all” (Romans 6:10).

How do we forgive from our heart? We acknowledge the hurt and the hate. If our forgiveness doesn’t acknowledge our emotions, it will be incomplete. Many feel the pain of interpersonal offences, but they won’t or don’t know how to acknowledge that pain. We must let God bring the pain to the surface so it can flow over to Jesus who carries away our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4).[57] This is where freedom from the past happens.

We must decide that we will bear the burden of the other person’s offences by not using that information against that person in the future. This doesn’t mean that we must tolerate sin. We must always take a stand against sin, and we have the right to confront in love (Matthew 18:15-17).[58]

We must not wait until we feel like forgiving. We will never get there. Freedom is what is gained from forgiveness, not a feeling. However, feelings will heal over time as forgiveness is released and Satan loses the influence he has in our life because of unforgiveness (Ephesians 4:26-27).[59]

As we pray, God may bring to mind offending people and experiences we have totally forgotten. We must let Him do this even if it is painful. We must remember that we are doing this for our sake. God wants us to be free. We must not rationalize or explain away the offender’s behaviour. Forgiveness is dealing with our pain and leaving the other person to God. Positive feelings will follow in time; freeing ourselves from the past is the critical issue for the present.

We must not say “Lord, please help me to forgive” because He is already helping us. We must not say “Lord, I want to forgive” because that would be bypassing the actual choice to forgive, which is our responsibility. We must stay with each person until we are sure we have dealt with all the remembered pain: what they did, how they hurt us, how they made us feel (rejected, unloved, unworthy, dirty, etc.).

How often do we need to forgive the same person? We need to forgive as often as we remember the pain, and some people will need to be forgiven many times before we are truly free: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’” (Matthew 18:21-23). What are the results if we stubbornly refuse to forgive? Jesus said, as he taught a parable about a servant who was forgiven a huge financial debt by his master but refused to forgive a fellow servant a very small financial debt: “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:32-35). Even our prayer life will be affected by unforgiveness: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:24-25). Jesus calls us to drop all our resentments and bitterness toward others, to release them from what they owe us, and to let go of all our expectations that they will ever make things right by us: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37); “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). Then, having forgiven, Jesus calls us to do the opposite of what we were doing in our bitterness: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). “Love” in this passage is not an emotion, but our treatment of others.

Thank You, Jesus, for dying that I might be forgiven. By an act of my will, I now choose to forgive those who have hurt me. I forgive (person’s name) for (name deeds) and making me feel (list feelings). I release (name) into the freedom of my forgiveness. I give up my right to be paid back for what I suffered when (name) sinned against me, and in so doing, I declare my trust in You alone as my righteous judge. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Father, I confess that, as a result of being hurt, I have allowed myself to hold (name attitude: anger, resentment, bitterness, etc.) in my heart against (name specific individuals). I acknowledge this as sin, and I now repent and turn from this behaviour. Please cleanse me from these evil attitudes. I do not want them in my heart any more. And please heal me where I have been wounded. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Forgiving yourself

Thank You, Father, for forgiving me for (name sins). I now choose to forgive myself for these things which You have already forgiven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To break the lie/inner vow that “I can never/I will never forgive myself for”

Father, I confess that I have believed the lie that (name lie or vow). I now repent of this sin and revoke those words. In the name of Jesus, I break the power of these words and declare them null and void, no longer able to influence me. By the sword of the Spirit, I cut myself free from them and all their effects. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“Forgiveness” of God

I confess that I have blamed You, Lord, for things which were not Your doing. I recognize this to be sin, and I ask You to forgive me. I know that You hate what Satan has done in my life. Thank You for loving me and promising to set me free. In Jesus’ name.

For those who have been betrayed by a parent and transferred that mistrust to their heavenly Father:

Lord, I renounce the lies I’ve believed about You because of the way my earthly parents treated me. I declare the truth that You are not like my earthly father/mother. You are totally loving and faithful.

For those who feel responsible for holding their dysfunctional family together and for being a parent’s emotional support:

Lord, I renounce the lie that I am responsible for being a saviour to the people around me or that I must always be responsible for others by being the strong one. Thank you that it’s all right for me to be honest about my own needs. Thank you that when I am weak, You are strong within me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).[60]

For those who have been constantly put down by the authority figures in their lives:

Lord, I renounce the lie that I am unworthy and insignificant. I declare the truth that I am (name), your special child, and I am precious to You, and I bind myself to that truth.

Lord, I renounce the lie that I am a helpless victim like I felt when I was a child. I announce the truth that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13),[61] and I bind myself to that truth.

[1] Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.”

[2] Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

[3] See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

[4] Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

[5] [Jesus speaking] “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

[6] You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

[7] Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”

[8] Matthew 7:5b “…first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

[9] Lists based on the work of John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Victory Books, Inc., 1982) and Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Victory Books, Inc., 1985), as edited by Valorie Boyko.

[10] James 4:

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

[11] List based on the work of John and Paula Sandford, The Transformation of the Inner Man (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Victory Books, Inc., 1982) and Healing the Wounded Spirit (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Victory Books, Inc., 1985), as edited by Valorie Boyko.

[12] For a more complete discussion of his topic, see Leanne Payne, Crisis in Masculinity (Grand Rapids: Hamewith Books, 1995), pp. 56-65.

[13] Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

[14] Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

[15] Prayer developed by Ellel Ministries (Canada) Inc.

[16] Paraphrase of a declaration from Neil Anderson’s Seven Steps to Freedom in Christ.

[17] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

[18] Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

[19] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus . . .

[20] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

[21] Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession - to the praise of his glory.”

[22] Reproduced with permission from Sylvia Gunter, Prayer Portions (Ó Sylvia Gunter, P.O. Box 380333, Birmingham, Alabama 35238, 1995), pp. 128-9.

[23] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

[24] Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

[25] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

[26] Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

[27] . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth . . .

[28] Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

[29] Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

[30] He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

[31] Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

[32] Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

[33] Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

[34] [God speaking to Abraham] “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

[35] Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

[36] This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the Lord Almighty.

[37] Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.”

[38] Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

[39] “Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

[40] For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

[41] You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me . . .

[42] . . . maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

[43] The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

[44] You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the LORD Almighty . . .

[45] Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.

[46] With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

[47] He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

[48] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

[49] You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

[50] They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

[51] [Jesus speaking] “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

[52] Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

[53] However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

[54] Then he [Holy Spirit] adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

[55] . . . as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

[56] Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

[57] Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

[58] [Jesus speaking] “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

[59] In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

[60] But he [God] said to me [Paul], “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

[61] I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Hardness of heart	Death	Lying
Apathy	Injury	Deception
Hypocrisy	Disobedience	Physical abuse
Rebellion	Emotional abuse	Perversion of God-intended roles
Lawlessness	Sexual abuse	Trusting in people
Stubbornness	Sickness	People-pleasing
Idolatry	Fear	The occult
Witchcraft	Unforgiveness	Bitterness
Sexual immorality	Demon worship	Lust
Freemasonry	Selfishness	Perversion
Cults	Pride	Homosexuality
Unbelief	Covetousness	No fear of God
Unworthiness	Robbing God	Sins of the past generations
Rejection	Poverty	Guilt
Stealing	Accusation	Condemnation
Perfectionism	Addiction	Judgment
Control	Alcoholism	Blame
Manipulation	Drug abuse	Competition
Smoking	Self-hatred	Confusion
Self-destruction	Suicide	Legalism
Profanity	Murder	Perverting the gospel
Other__________________

Examples of bitter root judgments:[9]

Childhood vows with regard to parents:[12]

Forgiving yourself

To break the lie/inner vow that “I can never/I will never forgive myself for”

“Forgiveness” of God