‘Cleaning your house’ is of course used metaphorically, as an illustration of the need to rid both our physical and spiritual environments of all possible demonic strongholds or areas that may serve as ‘open doors’ to attacks by the enemy. Open doors may result from current unrepented sin, or from a past sin that that one has not repented of, or even a sin passed down through a generational curse, or any other type of curse, whether we are aware of any of these or not.
Past issues that we have already dealt with, or battles we’ve already fought and won, may serve as areas of weakness or vulnerability, as ‘back doors’ from the past that Satan will try to use to try and gain access to attack and to oppress you. We need to make very sure that all these doors are securely closed – avoid any place or situation where you may be tempted to fall back into sin or depression etc. Be aware that Satan always has his demons prowling around looking for any opportunity – an area of weakness – to attack.
There are so many believers in the church, both new Christians and established believers, that battle with some or other form of demonic attack through lack of teaching on this topic, and of knowledge of their position in Christ and their authority to deal with these attacks.
When we are saved and invite Jesus into our hearts we become citizens of God’s kingdom and members of His family, and we now need to both know who we are in Christ, and also to ensure that we cut off anything and everything that may serve as an open door to the demonic realm, or to tempt or serve to entice us or to lead us back into repeating past sins or a past sinful way of life.
Once we have been saved, surely, we do not want to continue to sin or to back-slide into a sinful lifestyle. We need to be very aware that while God always wants the best for us, Satan will always do his best to ruin our lives (John 10:10) by every means at his disposal, including deception, lies, fear, discouragement, depression, anger, resentment, jealousy, unforgiveness etc, and through any ‘open-door’ we can unintentionally provide Satan with a opportunity to do so. To counteract these attacks we all need to be well aware of both our authority as believers, and of the nature of Satan’s evil schemes, to ensure that we are not outsmarted by him.
2 Corinthians 2:11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.
God has given us very clear instructions for both our ‘body and spirit’, and these are for our benefit and protection.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
Who we are
The place we all need to start is to know our position and authority in Christ. The promise given to all disciples of Jesus – everyone who is saved and committed to knowing, obeying and serving Him – is that the Holy Spirit in us is stronger than the demonic forces against us. Because of this intimate relationship we have been given the authority to even cast (order) demons to come out people.
1 John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
Mark 16:17-18 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
The qualification to this promise is that we need to be in a close, committed relationship with Jesus, and to be aware of the authority given to us and have the faith to exercise it. This authority and power is available to disciples of Jesus, but not known about by many, and is consequently not possessed or exercised by the majority of believers. (This will be discussed in greater detail in another article).
The difference between such people, those who are committed disciples of Jesus and those who are not – who only know about Jesus, is well illustrated by the incident in the Bible where the seven sons of a priest tried to cast out demons by using the name of Jesus, but without a personal relationship with Jeus and consequently without His authority, and got beaten up.
Acts 19:13-16 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
Cleaning your physical house
There are numerous types of things that may have demons attached to them, or that attract demons, and in consequence serve as ‘open doors’ to demonic attack or influence over our lives.
Start by asking the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs to be removed. The best rule is, ‘when in doubt, throw it out’. Deal with the obvious first. You may notice some things that you realise just don’t belong – as a Christian it does not feel right to have these things in your house, office, or anywhere else.
Idols – statues of foreign gods or anything made to represent a god, masks, dolls, dream catchers and anything that bears a demonic symbol, such as on jewellery, pottery, ornaments or clothes can all serve as ‘demon magnets’, and definitely should not be in your house. Demonic symbols include ankh crosses, any ornament, mask, statue or object made by or representing other religions and anything that symbolizes or has a symbol of another religion, yin and yang signs, Satanic ‘S’, scarabs, pyramids and triangles, signs of the zodiac, peace signs (inverted cross), amulets, pentagrams, skulls, skeletons, gothic or other symbols of death, snakes, dragons, unicorns, lightning symbols, goats’ heads, good-luck charms and anything part of New Age, such as tarot cards, rainbows, crystals etc.
Other items we need to get rid of, and never to have in our possession, include books and objects representing witchcraft, paganism or fortune telling such as Ouija boards, wooden dolls and spell books, tarot cards, crystals, wooden dolls and statues of saints. All of these need to be destroyed, preferably burnt – not sold or given away.
Things we should never do, and immediately repent if we ever have, include:
having anything to do with occult practices, such as witchcraft (Wicca), the black arts, fortune telling, astrology, horoscopes, magic (both black and white), spiritism, necromancy (any attempt at communicating with the dead) parapsychology, and Satanism. Any teaching that does not believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord is occultic, even though its followers might be good people, but deceived; reading horoscopes, consulting spirit guides and practising yoga, playing demonic games like dungeons and dragons, watching movies and listening to music that has horror, satanic rituals, extreme violence or pornography.
Exodus 20:3-5 “You must not have any other god but me. 4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected – even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
God has at all times required that we acknowledge and worship Him alone as our God. This is the first of the ten commandments given to the Israelites – “I am the LORD your God … “you must not have any other god but Me (Exodus 20:2-3). The next is to a similar effect – not to make any idol.
God has not changed His mind about not worshipping any other god, or looking to anything except Him as our creator and provider. When God was about to lead the Israelites into the promised land He gave them strict instructions, to protect them and their children from falling away and worshiping other gods, which would result in their destruction (Deuteronomy 7:4). They were instructed to break down their pagan altars, shatter their sacred pillars and to burn the idols of all the nations that were in the promised land (Deuteronomy 7:5).
Deuteronomy 7:25-6 “You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.
We see again in the New Testament when the people of Ephesus saw the power of the name of Jesus, many became believers and not only confessed their sinful practices, but also brought all their books dealing with witchcraft and burnt them at a public bonfire.
Acts 19:18-19 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.
Having repented for ever having possessed any item or taken part in any practice that is not pleasing to God, and having got rid of every idol or other unclean item, the next step is to again dedicate everything to Jesus; your life, your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), your home, your car, and all your possessions.
One more thing to get rid of is anything that connects you to your ex or to any other past relationships that was harmful, painful or maybe just ended and you need to move on. These items can create ungodly soul ties. A soul tie is formed when two people are spiritually bonded together, which can be either godly or ungodly. There is nothing wrong with a godly soul tie, but if it is not a Godly soul tie, you need to break it and to loose and to command any demonic spirit to go, because it may be bound to your soul by your own choice. Pray and ask God for forgiveness of all your ungodly soul ties with people, places and spirits, including any hidden evil soul ties, and break their powers over your life, in Jesus’ name.
Note: do not form soul ties with bad friends – anyone who might lead you away from Jesus and your church and Christian family and into any form of ungodly life style. Choose your friends wisely – look for those who will inspire and encourage, to give you sound advice and not be afraid to correct you should you go astray.
Proverbs 12:26 The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.
Cleaning your spiritual house
Having cleaned your physical house, the next step is to clean out your spiritual ‘house’. Start by praying aloud to Jesus to come with His angels to guide you, protect you and to help you. Break every permission that you may have given to Satan and his demons to attack, to harass, or to take up residence in you or in your house or property. Repent and renounce all previous contact or dealings with the occult – any form of witchcraft and any secret society.
Repentance and Forgiveness
A past filled with hurt, shame, trauma or sexual or other abuse can harden one’s heart and lead to unforgiveness which, since it is contrary to God’s word, opens a door satanic attack. In the Lord’s prayer we pray Matthew 6:12; ‘forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.’
There is only one way to deal with this: to forgive anyone and everyone who has ever hurt or abused you, for everything that they ever did to you.
God forgives us the instant we confess our sins to Him and repent for them, and then He forgets all about them. Out of love and obedience to Jesus we then need to do our best to avoid all further sin, since sin separates us from the Father.
1 John 1:9 NLT But if we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Hebrews 8:12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
Curses
References to blessings and curses occur almost 600 times in the Bible. Blessings release God’s supernatural power, while curses are a channel for occult power. Both curses and blessings often continue from generation to generation. It may be easy to discern the source of a curse, some of which may have arisen in the past, even hundreds of years ago. However if there is a curse, there is a cause for it, and it may be necessary to identify the cause in order to be released from it. Proverbs 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.
A curse may serve as an invisible barrier that keeps us from receiving the blessing of God. Curses typically result in illness (physical or mental) poverty, depression, family breakdowns and failure.
Derek Prince lists the following 7 factors which, from his personal experience in ministering led him to conclude that a person is probably under a curse:
Mental and emotional breakdowns. If this recurs frequently, there is a high probability that the family is under a curse.
Repeated or chronic illness. Where there is no clear medical diagnosis, such as a pain that nobody can diagnose; or a condition that runs in the family line, then almost certainly that family is under a curse.
Repeated miscarriages and related female problems. This is very frequently due to a curse, and one can start off by treating it as a curse.
Divorce and breakdown of marriage and family relationships. Witchcraft typically seeks to break up families – this is one of their prime objectives.
Poverty or continuing financial or material lack. Many people experience financial shortage at some time in their lives, but if it is only temporary, it is not necessarily a curse. When insufficiency becomes a chronic condition, however, oppressing and enslaving, and when the best intentioned efforts yield no solution, then that almost certainly indicates a curse at work.
Accident prone. Some people are accident prone, and even ask; “why does it always happen to me?” This is a sure sign of a curse at work.
A history of suicides or unnatural deaths. Ask the person about their family history.
Main sources of curses
God
God has cursed both individual and nations, as one of His severest forms of punishment. In Genesis 12:2-3 God said he would bless Abraham (as he was then called) and curse ‘those who curse you’ (or bring into contempt; despise). This blessing was later extended through Isaac to Jacob, in Genesis 27:29b… All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed” and then to the whole of Israel, in Numbers 24:9b… blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you” when Balaam prophesied over Israel, after ‘the spirit of the Lord came on him’ (Numbers 24:2).
Antisemitism
‘Israel’ in Numbers 24 refers to the Jewish people, and so those who curse / bring into contempt / despise this group will be guilty of antisemitism and will likewise be cursed. So if we, or our ancestors, have ever spoken against the Jewish nation we will be under a curse for which we will need to repent. As gentiles (everyone who is not a Jew) we should not forget that all of us who have accepted Jesus have been ‘grafted in’ to the tree of Abraham – we have become part of God’s chosen people, and eligible to receive ‘the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children’ (Romans 11:17), as again stated in Galatians 3:29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Worship of idols or false gods – the occult
The first commandment that God gave Moses and the people of Israel at Mount Sinai before they entered the promised land was to have no other God except Him, warning them that disobedience would result in a curse on them, and extending to the 3rd and 4th generation of their descendants.
Exodus 20:1-5 Then God gave the people all these instructions; 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children the entire family is affected – even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
The curse for making or keeping an idol also appears in Deuteronomy 27:15 ‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
The curse resulting from the worship of false gods, which today is called the occult, is amplified in:
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you.
Several more curses were pronounced in Deuteronomy 27:9-26 and elsewhere for various other sins:
Dishonouring one’s parents
Deuteronomy 27:16 ‘Cursed is anyone who dishonours father or mother.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’ This does not mean one has to agree with everything that they do, or do everything they tell you to do if that would be against God’s word, but they are still to be respected and honoured as one’s parents. A curse or a blessing will follow if we do or do not do this, as repeated in the ten commandments, with a blessing added for obedience: Exodus 20:12 “Honour your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Unnatural sex
Any form of unnatural sex brings a curse. Sex is forbidden with any of the members of one’s family as listed in Deuteronomy 27:22-23, or with an animal (Deuteronomy 27:21 and Leviticus 18:23).
The penalty in the OT was that ‘they must both be put to death’ (Leviticus 20.)
Homosexual acts – sex between men and men or women and women, are included as ‘detestable acts’ (Leviticus 18:22) and this is also condemned in the NT by Paul in Romans 1:26 -7 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 as ‘shameful things’ done by the unrighteous resulting in them suffering ‘the penalty they deserve,’ and stating ‘none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God’.
Injustice to weak, helpless or vulnerable
God has always had a heart for the oppressed – for foreigners, widows and orphans, as several passages show. Moses instructed the Israelites to care for them, and a curse was pronounced on anyone who denied justice to them, and a blessing to those who left a portion of their crops for them to harvest – see Deuteronomy 24:14 -22. Furthermore, the third tithe, payable every third year, was specifically for the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
Deuteronomy 10:18 He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. 19 So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 27:18-19 ‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’ 19 ‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.
Jeremiah 22:3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Stealing, lying and swearing on oaths
The Lord is righteous and holy, and His word can be trusted. We all need to do you best to live righteously as well. (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; Colossians 3:9; Matthew 5:37; James 5:12).
Psalm 11:7 For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.
Several scriptures instruct us not to steal, to deceive or to cheat one another, or to commit fraud, as in e.g. Exodus 20:15 You must not steal. Leviticus 19:11 “Do not steal. “Do not deceive or cheat one another. Jeremaih 7:9 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, 10 and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!” – only to go right back to all those evils again?
Colossians 3:9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Matthew 5:37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. James 5:12 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
In Zechariah 5:3-4 a curse ir pronounced over all who steal or swear falsely: “3 Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land. 4 And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it – even its timbers and stones.”
Not trusting in God
Jesus instructs us to trust in Him and in God the Father alone. This applies to us personally, and to countries, as in times of war – not to trust in the strength of their armies, or to reply on foreign countries for help, and even, as Derek Prince points out, to churches which reply on their own efforts, material resources and religious forms. Whenever in trouble, we all need to look to the Lord. In Jeremia a curse is pronounce do those who rely on human strength, and a blessing on those who trust in the Lord and who have made Him their hope and confidence.
John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
Psalm 20:7-8 Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. 8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!
Isaiah 31:1 What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
By man, representing God
Curses can also be pronounced by man, representing and with the authority of God. The Bible has numerous examples, e.g. in Psalms. One is when Joshua cursed anyone who would attempt to rebuild the city of Jerico. When Hiel of Bethel tried to do so some 500 years later it cost him the lives of two of his children. See 1 Kings 16:34.
Joshua 6:26 At that time Joshua invoked this curse: “May the curse of the LORD fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.”
Another example is when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, disobeyed him and ran after Naaman and lied to him to secure a gift. Elisah pronounced a curse ove him: 2 Kings 5:27 Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman’s leprosy forever.” When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.
When Jesus cursed a fig tree which withered and died, he told his disciples, and hence all of us, that they could do the same, and much more – to even command a mountain to be thrown into the see.
Matthew 21:18-22 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. 20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” 21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
People with authority
Husbands have authority over their wives, parents over their children, teachers over pupils, and pastors have spiritual authority over their church members. This authority can be used to bless or to curse. Statements such as ‘you are not as bright as your brother and you will never get anywhere’, or ‘you clearly do not have the calling and you will never be leader’ are curses, and can have a devastating effect on the recipient’s life.
When someone people speak about others, they may be criticizing or running them down, or even when they pray over another person, their motive and leading may be from the Lord, or it may be from their own soul, with roots of bitterness, jealousy or envy, and hence be demonic. We all need to consider our motives and to watch our words very carefully.
Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord my rock and my redeemer.
Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.
Self-imposed curses
People can pronounce curses over themselves – whether they realize what they are doing so or not. People something carelessly say things like, “I will never be able to do anything, I may as well be dead’ – an open invitation to the spirit of death. ‘I have been sick for so long I don’t think I will ever be healed or able to walk again’. Or ‘I am so clumsy, I always drop things’, or anything else negative over one’s own life.
A clear example from the Bible is when the people of Israel cursed themselves and their future generations by accepting responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus.
Matthew 27:24-25 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!” And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death – we and our children!” ‘And our children’ refers to their successive generations.
Demonic Curses
Witchdoctors, or whatever names are used in different religions and countries, are typically well aware of the spiritual realm, often far more so than the people of first world countries, and expert in pronouncing curses. In some countries it may be hard to find anyone who has not at some time in their lives and for whatever reason consulted a witchdoctor, or worse yet hired a witchdoctor to either place a curse on a love rival or an enemy or an opposing sports team, or for any other reason.
An example from the Bible is when the king of Moab tried to hire Balaam, who was know to be a prophet of God, to curse the people of Israel who had started to occupy the promised land, with the message: Numbers 22:6 Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”
Unholy covenants
As Christians we are in covenant relationship with God (the New Covenant) and marriage is a covenant between a husband and a wife. Scriptural covenants result in blessings, and unscriptural covenants in a curse. When the Israelites were about to enter the promised land God gave them several instruction, one of which was not to enter into any covenant relationship with any of the inhabitants of that land: Exodus 23:32-33 “Make no treaties with them or their gods. 33 They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
When we enter into a covenant with a person or groups of people who are under the power of evil forces, we come under that same power. A typical example would be Freemasonry. The consequence of membership of this organisation is a curse that extends down through the generations, resulting in physical and mental illnesses and many other hardships. There are numerous other unholy societies and groups, often with secretive and demonic oaths and practices. Covenants have very powerful effects, and should not be entered into lightly.
Typical effects of curses
Numerous curses and what they entail are listed in Deuteronomy 28 as the consequences of the failure to listen to the Lord and to obey His commands, which includes poverty, sickness, defeat, failure, mental issues and exile. Derek Prince summaries symptoms that he has observed in his ministry that have led him to believe that they were probably under a curse:
Recurring mental and emotional breakdown.
Repeated or chronic illness, especially where the disease cannot be clearly diagnosed, and even more so if this runs in the family.
Repeated miscarriages and related female problems.
Divorce, breakdown of marriage and family alienation – these are typically indicators of the results of witchcraft being.
Continuing or repeated financial or material problems. Many of us experience financial problems at some time in their lives, but when insufficiency becomes a chronic, on-going problem then a curse is most likely at work.
Accident prone. Frequent issues of personal injuries or damages to vehicles or property.
A family history of suicides or unnatural deaths.
Blessings
The power of the blessing is greater than the power of the curse! Blessings overcome curses, and releases the power of the Lord. A blessing is proclaimed – it is generally pronounced audibly, but can also be written. Blessings carry spiritual power and authority that can continue even from generation to generation. God always wants to bless us. Right after He created Adam and Eve He blessed them: Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it… Ultimately every creature in heaven and on earth will bless Jesus (Revelation 5:1-15, especially 12-13), and in Revelation 21:1-8, after the millennium when the new heaven and new earth are established, the promise is given to all ‘his people’ (verse 3) and that ‘all who are victorious’ (verse 7) that they will inherit all these blessings.
Let us not forget that that the Lord has wonderful blessings planned for us who have persevered and not given up, and terrible punishment for those who have rejected Jesus and His commands:
Revelation 21:7-8 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars – their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
God blessed Abraham, with the assurance this blessing would continue through all generations, and be available to all who blessed Abraham and his descendants, while those who cursed him or his descendants would be under a curse.
Genesis 12:2-3 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
This blessing would continue from generation to generations, because of Abrahams’ faith in God and his consequent obedience in offering up his son Isaac. We can expect blessing to follow us when we obey the Lord.
Genesis 22:15-18 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed – all because you have obeyed me.”
The basis for God blessing the Israelites under the Old Covenant was their total obedience to Him and all his commands; Deuteronomy 28:1-2 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
Under the New Covenant, we receive all the blessing God promised Abraham and his descendants, since we have been ‘grafted in’ to the people of Israel (Romans 11:17),
Galatians 3:8-9 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
Galatians 3:29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Just as the Lord wants to bless us, we are called to bless others as well, to ‘give as freely as we have received’ (Matthew 10:8). Here is a prayer of blessing that we can all pray over our children families, or anyone else – the Aaronic benediction from Numbers 6:24-27. (See Psalm 103:1-5).
“May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face shine upon you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you
and give you His peace.”
From Curse to Blessing
Before we can receive God’s blessings, we first need to be released from any curses. The death of Jesus has already made this possible for us. Deuteronomy 21:23 says that anyone who is hung on a tree is cursed in the sight of God, but in Galatians 3:13 we read that Jesus redeemed us from the curse by taking on himself the curse for our wrongdoing. He was made a curse so that we can be delivered from the law. All we have to do now is to appropriate what God has done for us. Often it may be necessary to ascertain the cause of the curse – this will help us to be released from it.
How to be released from curses
The steps to gain release from a curse, in summary, are to first recognise that the cause of a problem is a curse, to repent of anything that opened you to it, to then renounce this, and finally to resist any attempt by Satan to keep you under it, or to re-impose it. In more detail the steps will be, which should be spoken out aloud, as in Romans 10:9-10.
For anyone not yet saved, first confess Jeus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
Accept that Jeus came to set us free and has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law by taking on the curse for our sins (Galatians 3:13).
Confess any sins you know about committed by either yourself or your ancestors by naming the sins, and then repent for these and any and all sins of your parents and ancestors. You are not personally guilty of their sins, but their effect is passed down through the generations. These sins include e.g. fortune telling, membership of Freemasons, ancestor worship, etc.
Forgive anyone and everyone who has ever offended you. God promises to forgive us, just as we forgive others (Mathew 6:12, 15, 37; Colossians 3:13). Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling.
Make sure you have cleaned you ‘physical house’ of anything that may have demons attached to them or that attract demons, and of your ‘spiritual house’ by renouncing and breaking any prior involvement with the occult and any secret society, as discussed above.
Once you have done all the above you are entitled to claim your freedom from all curses.
The Bible says that whatever we release on earth will be released in heaven and whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18). So we can pray:
“Lord Jesus, as I have forging everyone who has ever forgiven me, and having repented for all my sins and the sins of my ancestors, whether I know of them or not, and having removed any demonic object that I can think of and broken and renounced any involvement with the occult in any form, I thank you now for Your forgiveness and release from all judgment and condemnation over my life and release from any and every curse over my life, because You were made a curse for me so that I can be released from every curse and evil influence over my life, no matter what the source. Thank you Jeus, thank you lord almighty. Thank you that Your blessings will now follow me, all the days of my life.”
Commit yourself to following and obeying Jesus, as the condition to continue to receive His blessings.
From spiritual death to eternal spiritual life
Revelation 21:7-8 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars – their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs – the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
Acknowledgements
Derek Prince; Vlad Savchuk; Dr James Goll; Dr Mark Virkler
Dr Brian Drury