Ever felt like there’s an invisible force holding you back from your spiritual growth? Well, what might be operating in your life is what we call spiritual strongholds. These strongholds may be prohibiting you from moving forward in life.
So, let’s unravel what is behind these spiritual strongholds and figure out how to remove them. So that you can live a life of freedom and truth.
What are spiritual strongholds?
Spiritual strongholds are the lies we believe that shape our mindsets and emotions. These lies lead to negative thought patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that can obstruct our path to spiritual development and growth.
Where Do Strongholds Originate From?
Strongholds emerge when we give the devil access to our lives through spiritual open doors.
Spiritual open doors occur when we allow ungodly influences to enter our lives knowingly or unknowingly.
I always say that the devil only needs a small crack in our lives, and if he gets that access, he will enter and seek to kill, steal, and destroy.
Some ways the enemy can access your life include the movies you watch, places you go, involvement in witchcraft, unforgiveness, bitterness, and offense, as well as engagement with the occult and having occult objects in your homes.
Additionally, behaviors like addictions, lust, greed, and allowing generational patterns to persist can also grant access. This underscores the importance of living holy before God and not giving any place to the devil.
You must also address sin in your life promptly to avoid giving the enemy any access.
Be mindful of what you expose yourself to through your senses:
- Eye Gates: Be cautious of unwholesome content such as movies, pornography, violence, and abuse.
- Ear Gates: Be mindful of the music you listen to, avoid gossip, and be aware of false teachings (heresy).
- Mouth Gate: Watch what you speak; avoid lying, quarreling, spreading gossip, speaking ill of others, and using curses.
Open Doors vs. Strongholds
Open doors allow the enemy to come in, while strongholds are how they stay in. Strongholds act as houses for the illegal squatters (demons) that come in through open doors. They control your attention by distracting you with irrelevant and unproductive matters to hinder your purpose.
How Strongholds impact our lives
As you believe the lies, you then start to confess them.
Remember, life and death are in the power of the tongue; what you confess and agree with will manifest.
This leads to you having negative mindsets and attitudes. The result of this is strained interactions with others due to strongholds like fear, offense, bitterness, unforgiveness, and rejection.
These strongholds limit your growth and affect your spiritual and physical development. Which prevents you from embracing your true self and experiencing an abundant life.
Weapons we can use to break strongholds
| 1. Prayer | 2. Praying in the spirit (tongues) |
| 3. Fasting | 4. The word of God |
| 5. The blood of Jesus | 6. Praise & Thanksgiving |
5 Steps to Breaking Spiritual Strongholds
Step 1: Self-Reflection and Repentance
Start by recognizing the presence of strongholds in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you and repent of your sins. By doing this, you are taking back your authority and reconnecting with God.
Step 2: Serve an Eviction Notice
Bind the demon, sever its power, and command it to leave in the name of Jesus.
Step 3: Tear Down the Strongholds
Dismantle the walls of lies the enemy has constructed in your mind and emotions, replacing them with the truth of God’s words. Avoid magnifying problems with negative comments; instead, elevate God’s Word over the situation. Remember, this step is a process that requires a daily commitment to positive thinking and speaking God’s truth and promises over your life.
Step 4: Train Your Thoughts
Spend time meditating on God’s Word. This practice will help you cast down imaginations and any thoughts that oppose the knowledge of God and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Step 5: Maintain Holy and Righteous Living
Live holy before God. Showcase his love to others and stand firm in the faith. Repent quickly of any sins you may have committed and daily connect with God through prayer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, spiritual strongholds can hinder your spiritual development and growth. It’s essential not to create spiritual open doors that allow demons access to your life. Once given access, the strongholds can manipulate your thoughts and behaviors. To overcome this, evict the demons and remove the house within which they abide—these are the spiritual strongholds.
Always remember that breaking strongholds is a process. Just as it took time to construct these spiritual strongholds, it will also take time to dismantle them. It’s crucial to be mindful of what you allow into your life through your eyes, ears, and speech.
These factors shape your thoughts, emotions, interactions, and attitudes, often leading to strained relationships and hindering personal and spiritual growth. Strongholds become the very walls of a prison we unknowingly build for ourselves.
As you work to break down these spiritual strongholds, remember that just because something is true doesn’t necessarily make it the truth. The ultimate truth lies in God’s Word. Listen to what God’s Word says about you and your situations.
As you move forward, embrace the life of freedom and truth that awaits you. By taking steps to overcome spiritual strongholds, you pave the way for a more fulfilling, purpose-driven, and abundant life that is in alignment with God’s will.
Through prayer, the Word of God, praise, thanksgiving, and disciplined living, you have the tools to break free from the limitations of spiritual strongholds and experience the transformative power of God’s love and truth in your life.
10 Daily Proclamation for a Renew Mindset
If God is for me, who can be against me… Romans 8:31
I will be strong and courageous. I will not be afraid or terrified for the Lord my God goes with me; He will never leave me nor forsake me. Deuteronomy 31:6
As I wait on the Lord He will renew my strength; I will mount up with wings like eagles; I will run and not be weary; I will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
I will not Fear, for God is with me; I will not be dismayed for He is my God; He will strengthen me, He will help me, He will uphold me with His righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
I will Trust in the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. In all my ways I will acknowledge him, and he will make straight my paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
All things are working together for my good because I love God because I walk according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
I will cast all my anxieties on God because he cares for me. 1 Peter 5:7
