There are some very important lessons God has taught me over the last two years since writing my first post on spiritual warfare. I wanted to share them with you. My original post has been getting a lot of views each day, pair that with the fact that a large majority of my clients and friends are reporting an increase in demonic oppression and warfare. This indicates the need for more light to be shed on this topic. 

I’m going to keep this simple, as it truly is simple when you choose to deal with these things according to God’s Word, vs superstition and extra biblical teachings. I’m not here to bash those things, but to simple share what God says to do, and how I have seen incredible victory and miracles for myself, my family, my friends, and my clients. For the sake of confidentiality I won’t be sharing client stories, but don’t worry, I have a whole lot of other examples to share with you that I hope and pray will offer insight and help with the spiritual battles you are fighting.

In my first post I introduced you to the topic and also went into a lot of detail about the armor of God. I encourage you to refer back to that post as you read and apply this one. You can find it here. In this post I will share the lessons God has taught me through incredible, sometimes overwhelmingly painful, circumstances. Some of you reading this might walk away from it thinking I’m a little nuts, and some of you will walk away with the encouraging realization that you are not only not nuts, but you are also not alone. Be ready to apply what you read here and walk forward in the freedom God desires for you. 

Lesson #1

The number of people who have told me they not only feel at times as though something very dark and frightening was in their room at night, but have also told me specific details of demonic things they have seen, is growing tremendously. These individuals are desperate for relief and unsure of what to do to get it. The first point here is by far the most critical. And it can be found in James 4:7. It states “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.“ What does it actually mean to be submitted to God. Obviously the answer to this question is vitally important. I wrote about this topic years ago, you can find that post here. In case you don’t feel like reading it I will give a brief explanation of true submission. To submit is to fully surrender to God’s authority and will in your life. It is to live each day to please God and not yourself. It is to give up what you want for what He wants. If you don’t fully believe in God you can’t submit. But believing is not enough, once you believe you have to make the choice to surrender your life fully to Him. If you are not submitted, resisting and overcoming the devil is very difficult. Well, actually impossible. Trust me. I’ve seen it. It has broken my heart on several occasions when helping tormented people who simply can’t get free because of their own lack of submission. There was a time when I was very frustrated by this, and God reminded me that even Jesus couldn’t deliver people who were unwilling to submit. Remember when Jesus went to his home town to minister? Scripture says He could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief (Mark 6:4-6). One of the primary works Jesus did when traveling from town to town was to deliver people from demonic forces of evil. Sadly, many were left in torment because of their lack of submission to God the Father. The same is true today. The same will be true for you if you do not choose to submit.

After submission comes resisting. I talked a lot about our thoughts in my first post, and how imperative it is to take them captive and to not give into the lies of the devil. When under attack and oppression the tormenting lies in your mind will be plentiful. You have to resist this by taking them captive, rejecting and rebuking every lie and suggestion, every imagination, to obey Jesus Christ. Only then will the Devil flee. 

Let me add a very important point here that God recently reminded me of, resisting also includes recognizing that God is your deliverer, your strong tower. The one who contends with your enemies and defeats them. I can’t take thoughts captive and tear down strongholds on my own. It is the power of God that enables me to do this. Always call out to God for help when fighting and resisting the enemy. Never try to do this on your own. Psalm 50:15 says “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” 

So how can we sum up applying James 4:7? Submit fully to God in the way I explained, call out to God for help, and fight the enemy and his lies with the truth of God’s Word. The devil WILL flee. He has to. Be honest and evaluate if you are truly submitting to God. If you feel stuck and incapable of fully submitting, confess that to God and ask Him for help. Ask Him to change your heart.

Lesson # 2

Part of calling out to God when you are in trouble is asking for revelation of anything that you might need to know regarding what is happening to you. God will reveal it. Let me share a few stories that highlight this lesson well.  

A few years ago one of my kids was coming under heavy oppression. I won’t share all the details, but I will tell you that I was freaking out and unsure of what to do. This was beyond anything I had ever dealt with before and I was giving into fear and insecurity. Because it was uncharted territory for me I honestly felt like I had no clue what to do. I felt helpless. Additionally, I didn’t know a single person I felt comfortable asking for help with this. Of course my husband was supporting us through it, but he had never dealt with something like this either. Eventually I talked to a friend who had an old mentor who she said could help me. I got her number and texted this complete stranger I had never met and asked if we could talk. She let me know she would call me later that day. After texting this woman I felt such intense conviction. I got on my knees and repented to God for believing He would speak to her and not me. That He wouldn’t help me with what was going on. I then prayed and asked Him to not let her call me. Later that night I received a text around 10:00pm from this woman. It read, “I didn’t forget call you. I was about to call and God told me not to. He told me that He wanted to tell you what you needed to know Himself.” I was blown away!! I could not believe it. How can God truly love us this much? Well, He does. Even when we are facing tragedy and hardship God is right there loving us through it, waiting for us to seek Him for help. What followed over the next few months were experiences and lessons from God in the area of spiritual warfare I never imagined I would face. It was unreal. He meant it when He said He wanted to tell me what I needed to know. He certainly did, and my life has never been the same.

Let me share another story. This one is a bit more intense, but the truth needs to be told. One night I was in bed about to fall asleep when suddenly I could sense in my spirit a demon in my bedroom. Let me clarify, although I did not see it, I could feel it and knew there was a demon hovering above me. I could feel its evil and torment. Maybe you have experienced the same but you’ve been too afraid to share this with someone  for fear of being labeled crazy, or simply not believed? You are not crazy, and you are not alone. Back to the story. I started to pray and asked God for help. All of a sudden the Holy Spirit showed me a picture of someone in my mind and I knew I needed to pray for her. It was very intense. In my mind I could hear screams and felt the evil coming against this woman. Words can’t truly describe it. I prayed and rebuked this thing until finally it was gone and I felt total peace. The next morning when I woke up I sent a text to her to check on her and make sure she was okay. She proceeded to tell me she had a very terrifying dream in which a demon was attempting to get her to harm her children. She screamed in the dream and the demon left. I was in shock. I then let her know what had happened to me the night before. The lesson here? No matter what, when you are under attack or sense the presence of demonic evil ask God for revelation and what to do. He will direct you. A key verse here is found in Jeremiah 33:3. It says “‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’“ God is the same today as He has always been. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Many people walk around tormented because they refuse to take God at His Word. They believe lies that have no biblical backing that God is different now and that somehow things have changed for us spiritually than they were for the New Testament believers. This is completely untrue, and there is no scripture that supports this. Pray and ask God to show you any lies you believe that are keeping you in bondage. Then reject them and accept the truth. 

I want to quickly point something out that’s important here. If you have the gift of discerning of spirits like I do that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10, you are likely more sensitive to spiritual beings. There is also a reason God gave you this gift, which is why asking Him for understanding and revelation is critical. 

How to apply this lesson? Start calling on God for understanding and revelation when you or your children are facing spiritual warfare. He will tell you what you need to know. Also, if your child tells you they are being tormented and are seeing things at night in their rooms, please, I urge you to believe them and fight for them.  Sure they could be making it up, but this is unlikely. I have helped many people with this. None of them were schizophrenic or delusional either. After applying the truth of God’s Word they all experienced freedom. 

Lesson # 3

Hatred, bitterness, jealousy, unforgiveness, and truly all unrepentant sin gives the devil access to your life. simply ask God to show you if you need to repent of any of these things. He will. If so, repent and turn from it. Then do whatever else you need to do to make it right. This takes away the enemy’s place and brings freedom. A while back one of my kids was being tormented nightly for about ten days. She was seeing a terrifying shadow. We would pray and the shadow would leave, only for her to be awakened each night around 3am by this tormenting demon. I sat down to pray for her and God reminded me of Psalm 50:15. She is a Christian with strong faith, so I instructed her to call to God for help and ask Him what to do. She prayed and then we waited. A few minutes later she began to cry and confessed jealousy toward her sister. She repented and asked God to forgive her. Then she prayed for her sister. The shadow left and never came back. She had total freedom, and not only that, she experienced the love and power of God! It was amazing. What’s even better? She heard directly from God herself, I didn’t intervene at all. This was a personal and powerful experience for her. Our children need to experience the love and power of God, not just be told about it.

I want to point out that I myself have come under demonic oppression that was a result of my own bitterness and unforgiveness. I have also helped many others with the same thing. If you read Ephesians 4:25-32 this point is made very clearly. The key when under spiritual attack is to ask God to show you any sin you might need to repent of, and if He does, make it right. Confess it and turn from it and you will experience freedom. As mentioned in my previous post, sometimes we come under attack simply because we are follower of Jesus and we have an enemy. This is where focusing back on lesson 1 is key. Submit, resist the devil, and he will flee. 

Lesson #4

The devil will mimic things we experience in the natural. Listen, the devil is not stupid, but he is predictable. Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” Notice how this refers to forgiveness as I mentioned in lesson 3. We can learn, by relying on the Holy Spirit and by choosing to pay attention, to recognize the enemy and his attempts to destroy us. Once we do this it is much easier to overcome his attacks. 

Let me say this. Mental and physical illness are real things. I have healed from trauma, and have helped many others heal as well using clinical techniques. This is no different than a Christian with a broken leg or stomach issues getting help from a doctor. But what happens when your emotional or physical issue is actually a spiritual issue? Satan will often mimic these things to both torment believers and to confuse them. If you try to resolve a spiritual issue with physical means it simply will not work. Maybe you’re thinking this is a huge dilemma because how are you supposed to know? It’s actually pretty simple when you apply God’s Word to the situation. In Hebrews 4:16 we are told to go to God’s throne of grace for help in our time of need. When you do this God will help you. The key here is to get before God’s throne and ask for help. Ask Him if your problem is physical or spiritual, then ask Him what to do about it. He will answer and help you. 

One day last year my daughter suddenly developed a severe fever and stomach pain. She looked so unwell and I began experiencing significant fear. The whole thing felt very evil. I started praying for her and asked God what to do. God led me, very clearly I might add, to start worshiping. So I put some worship music on and she and I began to praise God. The third and final song we sang was raise a hallelujah. When the song ended she was completely recovered. No more fever and no more pain. It was incredible! My kids have gotten sick many times, and I prayed and asked God for help, and He faithfully got them through. After a week or so they recovered and got back to normal life. This was different. This was a spiritual attack on my child and God brought deliverance and help when I chose to seek Him and obey. To make this story even crazier for you. Later that same exact night my husband began to experience severe, and I mean severe, stomach pain. Honestly, he was close to going to urgent care which is saying a lot. He does not follow the stereotype of men being big babies when sick. He could be a 10/10 and I wouldn’t hear about it. This was on another level. Again, fearful thoughts started to flood my mind. When I prayed and asked God for help it was obvious this was spiritual. Through prayer and rebuking the enemy, his pain subsided and never returned. Any of the times I’ve reminded him of that night he shudders. Why? Because it was a demonic attack.

A year or so ago I went to a prayer meeting with a group of women from a new church group we were getting involved with. I met a woman that day who shared that she had been experiencing severe stomach pain for a few weeks. She had been to her doctor and had some tests done but they found nothing. After I left the meeting and was driving away God revealed that this pain was the result of a demonic attack. Why? Because this was a mighty woman of God who was faithfully serving the Lord. The enemy was trying to beat her up. At first I was really upset because God didn’t reveal this when I was with her so I could pray for her, but God quickly reminded me that I didn’t need to be with her to pray for her. I began to pray, rebuking the demonic spirit that was attacking her. While I was praying I had a vision of a dark figure on her body. As I prayed and commanded it to go eventually I saw this thing leave her. I want to add, in the middle of my prayer I began to pray in tongues. I had always believed in what the Bible taught about speaking in tongues, but I had never experienced it myself until that moment. It wasn’t something I was trying to do. It just happened. I plan to write more about that in a later post. After I prayed and saw this thing leave in the vision I actually felt freaked out and a little crazy. Things like this had happened before with prayer, but I was always unsure and questioned it afterward. I woke that night around 2am in severe pain. I quickly prayed and rebuked the enemy, the pain subsided and I went back to sleep. The next morning my family and I headed to Tampa to worship and serve the homeless with the new church group. When I got there the woman I had prayed for came over to me with the biggest smile. She asked me if I had prayed for her and I told her yes, I did. She then proceeded to tell me that the pain had become so severe she could hardly move. She cried out to God for help. When she woke up the next morning she was completely pain free, saw a vision of me, and knew I had prayed for her! I could not believe it. I was overwhelmed by God, His power, and His great love for me and for all His children. God is real and He has given us power to defeat our enemy through the blood and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Start believing this truth and walking with God, obeying whatever He tells you to do. These kinds of things only started happening in my life when I devoted myself fully to walking in truth, and allowing God to be exactly who He is. God deserves all the glory and honor for this and all testimonies of healing and deliverance!

We shouldn’t be like the people who act as though every hard thing and every illness is spiritual. I will say however, most people ignore the spiritual and suffer for it, as a lot of what we go through can be attributed to spiritual warfare. We are spiritual beings with a spiritual war raging around us. Don’t ignore this. Simply pray and ask God for wisdom and insight, when He gives it obey what He says. When my oldest was born with a heart condition we prayed and prayed. She was eventually healed through open heart surgery. This was not a spiritual attack, but God did use this trial to test and strengthen our faith. He always does. Trust that God will tell you what you need to know if you seek Him.

Having suffered from trauma and being a trauma therapist, I understand and have recovered from PTSD clinically, and have helped many others do the same. I’m going to share a more vulnerable personal story with you of how the devil and his demons can attack a believer with what appears to be mental illness. My little brother has been in a vegetative state for 2 1/2 years now. Seeing him in this state is very traumatic and devastating. After being severely impacted psychologically by this many times I began praying and asking God to protect my brain during visits to see him. The second to last time I went I experienced no issues afterward apart from the usual sadness and heartache. The last time I went I was less prepared. I hadn’t prayed like I should and I was feeling pretty apprehensive about it. After the visit I began suffering from what appeared to be symptoms of post traumatic stress almost immediately. For three days I was experiencing intrusive thoughts, panic, a burning in my chest, frequent crying, and dissociative symptoms. If you know anything about PTSD you know these are classic symptoms. On the third night I was so upset and told my husband I was once again going to need treatment, and it would take months to recover. To be honest I was pretty angry about the whole thing. When I laid down to sleep that night it hit me. What if this were spiritual? Now this is where my story gets vulnerable. I don’t love sharing this, but I have no choice. Why? Because my goal in life is to glorify God for what He has done for me and to help others overcome and defeat the enemy. Because of that I’m willing to share. Back to the story. I’m laying in bed in the dark and I say to my husband, “what if this is all spiritual?” The moment those words left my mouth I felt as though something were crushing my chest full force, I struggled to breath, was crying profusely, and could see in my spirit a demon standing next to my bed. I immediately told my husband to pray. He started praying and declaring God’s Word over me. Within what felt like seconds of my husband praying I felt total and complete peace and the demon was gone. All of my symptoms disappeared and did not return. Listen, I’m a trauma therapist. Recovering from post traumatic stress takes time and clinical care. Because this was a spiritual attack all I needed to do was call it out and fight it with prayer. None of the symptoms ever returned. What if I had believed this was clinical and chose not to consider the spiritual? I would have attempted to deal with it clinically and would have suffered until I dealt with it properly. 

If what you are dealing with is spiritual oppression and you ask, God will 100% reveal it. I have had countless sessions with clients where we weren’t getting anywhere clinically. The moment we considered it might be spiritual and asked God, things dramatically shifted, we battled the enemy, and freedom took place. I have seen miracles and many people delivered! God is so good and so quick to free and heal us if we let Him. So many people are terrified of this reality and they choose to ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist. They walk around oppressed when they don’t have to. This isn’t God’s will for His people. The minute I called it out God revealed it. And through prayer and God’s Word I had instant freedom from the oppressive spirit of Trauma. As a trauma therapist I know what it takes to recover from a trauma response. Let me tell you right now, demonic oppression can feel the same or worse, and is resolved very quickly when dealt with properly. So many people fight their problems mentally and emotionally and forget that we aren’t always dealing with flesh and blood. These battles will wage on until we courageously address the spiritual attacks we are facing. If you choose to believe the Bible you have to accept these facts. 

Breaking Strongholds: 

let me share what I use to help individuals identify and tear down strongholds, based on the truth in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. It reads “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 

Understand that as a child of God you have divine power to destroy strongholds and every single argument and lie in your mind. This knowledge is vital to using the weapons you’ve been given. 

Steps to take:

1st: Pray and ask God to show you the lies you are believing. If you already know, great! Sometimes, however, we are unaware of the lies we are believing and we need to ask God to show us. 

2nd: Write down every lie that comes to your mind as you pray. God is faithful and He will reveal them if you ask. Make sure to have a journal or notebook and pen while doing this exercise. 

3rd: You will do this step separately for each lie. First, state the authority God has given you as His child to destroy strongholds, then, reject and renounce each lie in the name of Jesus, finally, declare the truth. Do this all out loud, not in your head.

EXAMPLE: Thank you God that I have been given power and authority to destroy every stronghold and take every thought captive to obey Christ. With this authority I reject and renounce the lie that I will never be loved in Jesus name. Thank you God that the truth is You love me with an everlasting love, and nothing can or will  ever separate me from your love. 

EXAMPLE:  I reject and renounce the lie that I am a failure and will never succeed at anything in Jesus name. Thank you God that the truth is you created me in your image for a beautiful purpose, and with your strength I can accomplish all you crated me for. The devil cannot stop the work you are doing in my life.

EXAMPLE: I reject and renounce the lie that I will never be free of my suffering and pain in Jesus name. Thank you God for the truth that you are my healer and comforter. That you will restore my joy and restore to me your perfect peace as I shift my mind to you.

EXAMPLE: I reject and renounce the lie that I am worthless in Jesus name. Thank you God for the truth that I am your child. I am chosen. I am an heir to the throne of Christ. I am mighty in The Lord. I am worth so much that Jesus gave his life to save mine.

Continue proclaiming the truth you discovered through this exercise over your life each day. This is a supernatural and powerful exercise that will result in a transformation in your thinking. When you use the power of God’s Word and the authority He has given you to destroy strongholds and take lies captive to obey Christ, amazing things will happen. 

Suicide:

I want to talk about this for a moment because I believe it is very important. I’m sharing based on what I have heard first hand from many people. So many people have told me that when they were suicidal they experienced extreme demonic torment. Many have told me that they actually saw a demon who told them to kill themselves. This might be a scary thought, but it is a reality. More than once I have personally rebuked a spirit of suicide that was attacking a person, leading to victory. I have also helped people clinically process trauma that was contributing to suicidal thoughts. After the trauma was healed the thoughts stopped. Ask God to show you if your suicidal thoughts are spiritual or psychological. Don’t continue suffering alone. Ask God what you need to do to have victory. If it’s spiritual ask Him for deliverance and ask others to pray for you. If it’s psychological ask Him for healing and who, if needed, you need to see for help. God will lovingly direct you and help you. It is not His will for you to be tormented by suicidal thoughts and urges. This does not come from God and He wants you to be free. And so do I! I have seen so many people freed from suicidal thoughts and urges and want you to know this can happen for you too. 

Generational curses:

Many followers of Jesus are anxiously searching for clues as to what “curses” they need to break based on other people’s sins rather than walking in the freedom Christ brought them on the cross. I do not know everything, that’s for sure. God is always teaching me, and when I’m wrong He lovingly lets me know. In asking God for wisdom and understanding on this topic I have been unable to find Biblical evidence to support it. Ezekiel 18 makes it very clear we are not responsible for the sins of others, or bound by them.

I do not believe this exists for the believer in Jesus because He handled this on the cross. Our own choices, sin, and false beliefs can create strongholds and give Satan a foothold, but this is resolved through prayer, repentance, taking thoughts captive, our sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), and standing in the freedom Christ has already won for us. A demon who tormented our grandma might come around trying to attack us, but does not have rights over us simply because of what grandma did. We hand that power over ourselves by accepting what the demon is feeding us and acting on it. Jesus bought us with a price. We belong to him. The only power a demon has is the power we choose to give it. Yes, it is absolutely true that there are real live witches and warlocks (don’t believe me? do some research) who worship Satan and place curses on people. As you seek God regarding what you might be experiencing spiritually and He reveals something like this, simply pray, rebuke the curse and silence those enemies. Isaiah 54:17 says “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.” Condemn those enemies and cast off those curses. And remember no weapon formed against you as a child of God will prosper. Then pray healing, deliverance, and blessing over your enemies.

Verses on generational curses are in the Old Testament, before Jesus became a curse for us, taking on our punishment. Additionally, the two often used are taken out of context. Let me further explain. According to the old law, that we are no longer under praise God through Christ, “curses” weren’t actually demonic, it was God who would visit a father’s iniquity to following generations. And Ezekiel 18 makes it clear that those who chose to act differently than their fathers before them were not held responsible. Additionally, those who chose to turn from their sins were also deemed forgiven. Read the following verses with me.

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7

“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Ezekiel 18:19-21

These passages make it very clear that those who acted wickedly and were unrepentant would pay for their sin, along with their unrepentant children across generations. It also makes it clear that the righteous son would never pay for the sins of his father, and that even the wicked father who repented would be forgiven. Additionally, these were verses of condemnation from God against evil people and nations who hated Him, not verses about the devil and his demonic forces. To teach it the way it is taught is essentially saying that it is Satan, not God, who is visiting iniquity over generations. This is an untrue teaching that confuses and distracts God’s people.

We also must remember and dwell on what we were told in Romans 8:1. That “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God lifted his condemnation against us when we received Christ and became His children.

By holding onto the law and Old Testament, believers can bring a curse on themselves, Galatians 3:10  says “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Jesus makes it clear that we are not under the law we are under grace. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:13-14

There are no New Testament passages that say anything about generational curses, in fact the opposite. We should follow the simple teachings of Jesus and the apostles for gaining deliverance and freedom. Freedom comes from proclaiming the truth of the Word and calling out to God for deliverance and help. Jesus freed us from any and all curses by becoming a curse for us. Neither Jesus, nor anybody else in the New Testament ever mentioned these doctrines or dealt with demons in this way. Figuring out that there is an unclean spirit and dealing with it Biblically is critical. Finding out why it’s there or where it’s from is not necessary for freedom, apart from asking God if you have opened a door and how to close it. This goes back to what I discussed at the beginning of this post.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3

Christ lifted the veil. He gave us His Spirit and He gave us freedom. We are not bound by our ancestors or family members in any way. I believe scripture shows that this belief is a stronghold that keeps people in bondage. If we are seeking God daily for wisdom, guidance, freedom, and acknowledging our struggles and sin, asking him for help, He is FAITHFUL to free us from the lies and torment of our enemy. The key is we have to be actively seeking God and asking him to show us strongholds in our lives and free us. If we don’t, we can live in bondage a long time, suffering when we don’t have to. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5

Additionally, scripture does not teach anywhere that demons have rights to us.  Jesus and the apostles never said anything like this.  We hand demons temporary power through our unrepentant sin and false beliefs, but we can quickly take it right back with truth and the choice to say no to Satan. God will deliver and close doors. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 ESV

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:1-4 ESV

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” Revelation 3:7 ESV

On a final note, some people have experienced what they would say was freedom from a generational curse. I would never downplay or invalidate a person’s experience of deliverance. But I want to remind us all that God is so gracious, if we are asking for help He will help us. Maybe we say the wrong thing or pray an unnecessary prayer, this does not mean God will not intervene. If a person is rebuking a demonic spirit that is attacking someone and they happen to rebuke generational curses and the person gets free, that does not negate their deliverance or prove the presence of a generational curse. I encourage everyone reading who believes this doctrine to go to prayer and scripture with an open heart and ask God for truth. He will give it. I don’t expect anybody to take my word for it without searching themselves. I have no choice but to teach as truth only what I can back up with scripture. I have found no verses to back up this teaching as previously discussed.

The devil does have power and works hard to solidify his demonic doctrines. Why? To keep Christian’s stuck in a lie and confused about how to walk in victory and freedom. To think you need to discover and renounce what your ancestors did to become free, something Never mentioned by Jesus, is a good path to confusion, defeat, and fear. All things the devil is an expert on. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1. 

“and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.” 1 John 4:3-4

Start walking in your power and experience true victory in Christ Jesus.