by Jim Croft
Here are some preliminary steps to precede the appropriation and application of the blood of Jesus Christ in such situations.
First, identify the fields of your life in which you are experiencing the effects of denouncements and vows. While you are taking stock of those fields, make note of any aspects that smack of the presence of demonic personalities.
Second, if a person cursed you verbally, and if it is feasible and safe for you to do so, seek a personal audience with that person. Luke’s testimony given above outlines the pattern of asking for that person to recant and withdraw his or her denouncements, as well as engaging in mutual forgiveness and a request for prayers of blessing instead.
Third, if you are divorced, and, again, if it is feasible and safe for you to do so, you may want to consider meeting with your former spouse to discuss the consequences from abrogation of your marriage vows. Both parties should repent with godly sorrow for breaking the marriage covenant. Forgiveness should be sought and mutually expressed. Wisdom demands additionally that you both come to equitable agreements about supporting and respecting one another in the handling of child rearing responsibilities.
Fourth, unfulfilled baptismal vows and the broken vows of baptism sponsors must be confessed directly as sins toward God. Forgiveness from the Lord can be obtained instantaneously. Afterward, the baptismal vows should be reaffirmed.
Fifth, consider prayerfully whether or not you have made ill-advised vows. Also consider whether or not you are one who habitually makes spontaneous vows. With unwise vows, repent and renounce the vow you made to any organization or person. Repent of any vow phrases regularly employed in your conversations. Confess faith that the Lord has nullified the effects of whatever your words called for. For example, with “Cross my heart and hope to die,” confess a healthy heart and a long life.
Sample Prayer
If you have identified fields where you know the seeds of a curse are at work and you have taken any appropriate steps relationally, the next step is to earnestly repent, confess any related sins, and invoke the forgiveness and power of the blood of Jesus Christ, asking the Lord to bring about “crop failures” among the curses in the fields you have identified.
Here is a sample prayer to help you place that desire before the Lord. It will help you express your thoughts to the Lord in a way that will bring His grace and help.
Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name. I have discovered that I am suffering the consequences of denouncements and vows. There are fields within my life circumstances that bear the evidences of this. (Name the areas of economic and relational stresses, any adverse health conditions, etc.)
Lord, I need for You to intervene on my behalf. I ask for Your help on the basis of all that Your Son accomplished for me through His atoning blood. At Calvary, He kept His vow of obedience to Your will. Jesus took all of the punishment due me that I might be liberated to enjoy all of the blessings due Him. His cleansing blood is Your divine agent to rectify my situation. I declare that His blood spoils the cursed harvest that I am experiencing. His blood brings true “crop failure” to the consequences of seeds of curses that have been planted in my life.
I declare that I am a new creation in Christ. The denouncements that (name the person) uttered against me cannot thrive where Christ’s blood has been applied. Due to Your forgiveness, the vows that I have broken no longer bear witness against me. The ill-advised vows that I have made carry no weight in the courts of heaven. I thank You that I am forgiven for interweaving flippant vows into my conversations. By Your grace I will not suffer any consequences. By the authority of Jesus’ name, I command any demonic parasites to leave my soul and body now so that I may be restored to wholeness.
Lord, I humbly accept the truth that Your will for me is spiritual vibrancy, mental acuity, physical health, relational wholeness and financial prosperity. From this time forward, I know that I will be blessed in all of my endeavors and relationships. I thank You, dear Father, for granting me liberation from further harvests of any seeds of curses that have been planted in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
A Proper Pause Before You Go On
What you have just declared is a powerfully effective prayer that will affect every aspect of your future. Please take a moment to savor the fresh air of freedom and release your prayer has brought to you.
Then take some extra time before going on to the next chapter to thank the Lord again for His power and grace to release you completely from the effects of denouncements and inappropriate vows in your life.
We are now ready to cover a topic about which most of us are all too familiar: control freaks. You will learn how to break the soul ties that keep you in bondage to those manipulating you.
Almost everyone knows someone who needs to be in control, who feels he or she must have the last word. It might be a boss, a “friend,” a spouse, even a spiritual leader. People like this are experts at manipulation, and they use a vast and effective arsenal of weapons to persuade and coerce others into compliance. The force at work in them, as we will see in this chapter, is often demonic in origin, and must be dealt with as such.
Manipulative Strategies
Manipulators use various strategies to accomplish their goals. Some play the part of the victim. They comment, with tears, that no one really cares about them. They bemoan how misunderstood and unlovable they are. Family and friends feel obligated to assure them they are loved and valued, and prove it by giving in to their wishes. Some manipulators employ outbursts of anger, scowling expressions and aggressive body language. They often gain control of their families with just a look. Manipulators who have significant verbal skills will sometimes use logic and persuasive arguments to win the day.
Religious manipulators are particularly bold. They twist Scripture and biblical principles to pressure families and spiritual devotees to accept their ideas. They use the name and will of God as their trump cards for almost every situation. Few conscientious believers are bold enough to voice objections when a manipulator declares, “The Lord has spoken.” No one wants to argue with God.
Parental manipulators often inflict emotional wounds on their children. Children whose emotions are continually contorted in attempts to convince parents of their affection or win their acceptance are at risk of developing severe insecurity and uncertainty about their identity. In adulthood, those victims have trouble making decisions and commitments.
Manipulation is different from convincing people to embrace an idea through reasoned arguments. The persons who are won over in such cases will not feel pressured and will often feel good about the decisions they have been convinced to make. It is quite another matter when the force of human personality is used to coerce persons against their wills. In those cases, the people who have been “played” never have a sense of satisfaction. Instead, they feel used and abused.
Spiritual Forces Employed
The word manipulation is not a biblical term. There is, however, another descriptor for this sinful work of the flesh that is surprisingly akin to it. The term is witchcraft.
Witchcraft could be described as the effort to get others to behave in a certain manner through the use of covert mental or spiritual powers. This activity is sinful in that its primary goal is to establish control over another person’s actions and thoughts without considering the will of either God or the other party. Anyone who regularly engages in deliberate manipulation can attract spirits of witchcraft.
First Samuel 15:23 notes two common forces behind manipulation. These two forces, which are described as being the same as witchcraft and idolatry, are rebellion and stubbornness. A rebellious person seeks to establish his will in a situation where the authority belongs to another. A stubborn individual values his personal opinions to the point of overruling any other.
Persons who are operating in witchcraft manipulation are both rebellious and stubborn, subordinating God’s will and the wishes of others to their own goals. They consider those in their spheres
of influence subservient to them. Their chief pursuit is always to achieve their own self-centered ends.
Spiritual “Umbilical Cords”
Infants in the womb draw life-giving nutrients from their mothers through umbilical cords. At birth, the umbilical cord is severed, separating the infant from that direct lifeline to the mother and symbolically launching the little one into life on his own.
There are also umbilical cords in the realm of the Spirit. Solomon spoke of a silver cord that is detached at death (see Ecclesiastes 12:6). Throughout a person’s life that connection extends from the individual’s spirit into the presence of God, symbolizing a cord of communication from the Lord with the person’s spirit to enrich and sustain his life. At death the silver umbilical cord is severed, and the spirit of a person ascends back to God.
The devil, unlike God, has no respect for a person’s free will. For the enemy, the concept of people operating under the influence of God is abominable. Instead, Satan wants to control and dominate people’s lives. A major way he does so is by mimicking God’s silver umbilical cord phenomenon. He uses something called soul ties.
What Is a Soul Tie?
A soul tie is a corrupt spiritual connection between the soul of one individual and the soul of another. When a soul tie has been established, the “infant” end of the connection draws life-influencing powers from the “maternal” end of the connection. Unbeknownst to all involved, the soul of the person on the maternal end has an umbilical attachment to the devil and to his demons of manipulation.
In other words, witchcraft-empowered manipulators are soul-tied to Satan. When the people they have targeted for their manipulation succumb to their influence, soul ties are established. By extension, the individuals are actually creating umbilical soul ties with Satan. In various aspects of life, then, the manipulated persons become dominated not only by the manipulator’s witchcraft, but by the devil and his demons. In that event, they are being influenced by Satan rather than by God in whatever venues of life their manipulators control.
The devil is a cruel taskmaster. If he had his way, all of us would have tentacle-like soul ties with multiple individuals who are all soul-tied to himself. His goal is to pervert and to confuse the communications that come from God through the silver cord spoken of in Ecclesiastes.
There are no restrictions on the kinds of human relationships that witchcraft soul ties can affect. Umbilical bondages can be established in a variety of circumstances. It is especially common, for example, for soul ties to be established between former lovers, particularly when the relationship has been long-term and included promises of eternal endearment.
The solution is to employ faith and to sever every suspected soul tie, cutting off the influence of controlling evil spirits of witchcraft.
Activating the Scalpel
There are clear signs of soul ties.
How can you tell if you have been entangled with a soul tie? The main evidence of soul ties with a long-term manipulator is that you feel as though you are living under the manipulator’s shadow. In the various tasks of life, you are always haunted by thoughts of whether or not the person with whom you have a soul tie would approve. It seems like perpetual bondage, and you may feel resentment or general misery. With former lovers, for instance, it can be unwanted sexual fantasies about physical intimacy years after the relationship has ended.
There are several actions required to sever soul ties. The first is to cast out spirits of witchcraft and control. I have found it helpful to use the name of the manipulator when commanding the spirit of witchcraft to depart, such as “I renounce the spirit of witchcraft that operates through Winifred or Herman.” Some people’s identities are so entwined with their manipulators that there is an imprint of that person’s image on their souls. That is why I recommend using the name of the individual.
Next ask the Holy Spirit to cut that person’s image out of you. Afterward, envision taking the sword of God’s Word to sever the umbilical cord between the two of you. From there, praise God for the fact that all soul attachments have been severed. Thank Him for the reality that your only remaining attachment is that which runs through your silver cord into His glorious presence.
Cutting out or smashing the manipulator’s dominant image in your psyche functions as deliverance, but you can command it to leave as a follow-up measure.
It is possible that the manipulators are not aware of the trouble they have caused. If you choose to approach someone for forgiveness, correction and reconciliation, which is scriptural, remember that it is always important to be diplomatic. Any such conversation should take place without accusation or condemnation.
It is also important to be safe. Unfortunately, some people are so addicted to being in control that they will not listen to reason. It may be the case that you should avoid contact with them in all but life-and-death matters. It is a tough call, but this is often necessary to protect one’s family and to ensure one’s own peace.
Some controllers have a change of heart after long spans of formal separation and become willing to discuss the matter. Most often that happens when those who have broken contact with them pray for them faithfully and persistently.
Interestingly, though, there are times when the most expeditious route is to withdraw prayer from manipulators. If they are accustomed to having others cover them with prayer, they can sense its absence just as significantly as they can miss the physical presence of those whom they have manipulated. Sometimes naked exposure to the price tag for their thirst for dominance is sobering unto repentance.
In the next chapter, we will talk about powers that dominate the lives of millions. Specifically, we will discuss deliverance from the power of sexual perversions.
I was in my early thirties when my cousin, Jeffrey (not his real name), told me he was gay. He said that most of the people to whom he told his secret would begin to lecture him about changing his orientation, and he would counter by going into detail about torrid affairs with well-known individuals who were living double lives.
Jeffrey was caught off guard when I told him that he had always been and would always remain my favorite cousin. With tears in his eyes, Jeffrey told me how his “holier-than-thou” neighbors had persisted in yelling catcalls every time they saw him or his partner. I apologized on behalf of those neighbors. I told Jeffrey that I could give him a biblical explanation for why I believe homosexuality is wrong, but would not do so without his invitation. He sighed with relief, but, frankly, the invitation never came.
The New Testament does not commission Christians to judge and condemn the people of the world for any sins, sexual or otherwise. The apostle Paul stated emphatically that it was not his place or ours to condemn deviant behavior among the unconverted (see 1 Corinthians 5:9–13). We are, however, charged to gently approach fellow believers when it becomes apparent that they are snared by aberrant behavior.
What Sex Symbolizes
After God created Adam and Eve, He commended His handiwork by saying it was very good. The goodness God spoke of included their capacity to enjoy sexual relations. The bond of physical intimacy between a husband and wife typifies the degree of relationship, though non-sexual, that the redeemed are to have with the Godhead through the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 5:30–32).
Husbands and wives are one flesh. Those who are joined to the Lord are one spirit with Him. Salvation’s mystical union unites believers with the Trinitarian oneness of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The measure of vulnerability and authority that a man and a woman entrust to one another during the intimate act of marriage represents the vulnerability and authority that Christ shares with His Bride, the Church.
Vulnerability and authority are appropriate words. Through the mystery of redemption, Christ purposely committed His reputation and divine authority to His Church. The depth of unwavering trust the Godhead has exhibited toward the Church has never been available to Satan or his demons. The devil and his minions, ther
efore, are insanely covetous of that quality of trust that sexual intimacy between married couples of the opposite sex represents in the eternal realm of the Spirit. That is why demons concentrate so much effort on inserting pollution into sex acts. The unholy and unnatural defilements that mankind invents at the urging of evil spirits are designed to insult God.
Origins of Perversity
Romans 1:18–32 outlines how sex perversions evolved. Subsequent to the fall of Adam, mankind began a downward spiral. The motivating factor was pride. It caused mankind to suppress the truth that God’s invisible attributes and the path to godliness can be clearly understood by observing creation. The facets of life that are designed to reflect God’s glory are countless. The devil enticed humans to become preoccupied with self-centeredness. One of his first steps was the perversion of sex.
According to the Bible, the natural sexual functions of men and women were exchanged for that which is unnatural. Both sexes began to crave sex acts that were “against nature.” At first, the experimentations were likely with those of the opposite sex. Then the practices expanded to those of the same sex. By definition, activities designed to implant seed emitted from the reproductive organs of one sex into that of the opposite sex for fertilization are natural. Emissions with those of the same sex are unnatural.
Rebellion by committing unnatural sex acts led to other sins such as greed, deceit, strife, unforgiveness, violence and hatred for God. Mankind was permitted to go its own way. All the while the voice of conscience warned that those who sow such acts chance reaping self-inflicted judgments.
To make matters worse, humans became so numb to the sensitivities of conscience that they applauded one another’s sins and perverse escapades (see Romans 1:32). This has been demonstrated over the past several generations by our educational system and the entertainment industry. Without question, Satan has employed both to serve as his well-oiled misinformation machine. In the name of diversity, schoolchildren are instructed about alternative lifestyles and sexual release techniques. Girls as young as eleven give in to peer pressure to have oral sex—touted in some areas as “the new good-night kiss.” Educators and show business personalities assert that homosexuality is a natural choice for individuals predisposed to its inclinations.
