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I woke up shouting, “I break it! I break it! I break it!” I was astonished at the authority in my voice. In a split second I had gone from sleeping and dreaming, to awake and interceding with authority. The details of the dream were not in sharp focus, but the revelation I received was as clear as day: Satan has a three-pronged strategy to keep people, churches and nations from walking in their destinies. The three-pronged strategy is lies, ties and false claims. There is a release of revelation and authority directly from heaven to break the power of this strategy over our lives. Two primary inroads that Satan uses are relationships and ways of thinking.
Relationships
God wants to heal our hearts from the effects of every neglectful, controlling or abusive relationship. Unhealed wounds affect our perceptions and make us reactionary. If we remain unhealed we can easily push away God-ordained relationships. Once we are healed we can more easily discern the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. It is strategically important to recognize and co-operate with God-ordained relationships for our lives. Right relationships enhance destiny, wrong relationships hinder it.
There are many different types of relationships that influence our lives, some closer than others. Each relationship has an appropriate level. Finding that level is important. Paul makes it clear that a spiritual father is closer than an instructor (1 Corinthians 4:15). It can be a constant source of friction if two people define their relationship differently. Right relationships are a blessing that bring joy, success and fulfillment. Right relationships are not always easy relationships, but they are right. Right relationships harness and shape us to fulfill our destinies.
Ways of Thinking
The way we think can either set us free or put us in bondage. In Romans 12:2 Paul makes it clear that we can either be conformed to the world’s way of thinking, or we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Individual thoughts gathered together form a cluster of thoughts that strengthen and support each other. Over time clusters of thoughts become established ways of thinking. If the thoughts are good, the end result is freedom. If the thoughts are lies, the end result is bondage. Even theological systems of thought can become strongholds.
Religious spirits influence people through theological systems of thought that lead to bondage. Political spirits influence people to take sides for or against a particular issue or way of thinking. Religious spirits and political spirits often work hand in glove. A person becomes vulnerable to a political spirit when they lock themselves in to a certain position, or way of thinking, and then polarize the position even further by making gray areas black and white. The political spirit then attempts to coerce others to take sides for or against the position. The strategy has three phases to it:
Lock influencers into sounding chambers that defend a particular position.
Force people to take sides.
Divide families, churches, institutions or nations.
It’s a simple, effective and very powerful demonic strategy.
Wrong relationships and wrong ways of thinking keep us from walking in destiny and further empower Satan’s strategy of lies, ties and false claims.
Lies
Lies affect what we believe about ourselves and others, but that’s not all they do. Ultimately, lies take us down wrong paths. Lies lead to beliefs, and beliefs lead to actions. What we believe about ourselves and others affects what we do. A single lie can keep a person from a strategic relationship or prevent a person from taking a strategic step. The antidote is simple: God is light and light exposes lies. As we step into the light, the lies we have believed become more and more obvious. It takes courage to step into the light. Here are some simple prayers that can lead to freedom from lies:
God, give me the courage to step into the light.
God, show me the lies that I have believed about myself. Help me see myself as You see me.
God, show me the lies that I have believed about other people. Help me see others as You see them.
Ties
Lies make us vulnerable to ties. Ties tie us to people and ways of thinking that influence us in wrong ways. Ties weaken or silence the voices that are meant to be prominent in our lives. There is a difference between being tied and being harnessed. Being tied leads to bondage. Being harnessed increases our effectiveness, fruitfulness and freedom. Jesus put it best when He said, “Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry” (Matthew 11:29-30 NET). Being yoked or harnessed with Jesus is a good thing! Here are some simple prayers that can lead to freedom from ties:
God, show me any wrong ties I have to people.
God, show me any connections that wrongly influence my thinking.
God, help me to discern the difference between being tied and being harnessed.
False Claims
Ties make us vulnerable to false claims. Ties may influence us but claims will bind us. False claims bind us to wrong people, groups and ways of thinking. False claims can be so powerful that they will control your behavior and way of thinking. There are many examples of false claims in the Bible. Laban exerted a false claim on his nephew Jacob. Laban knew that Jacob had God’s blessing on him. He wanted to control Jacob so that he could harness the blessing for himself. It was extremely difficult for Jacob to break free from Laban’s false claim (see Genesis 29-31). Jesus no longer responded to the claim his family made on Him after He stepped into a new season of destiny (Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21). Jesus didn’t abandon His family, but the season had changed. His new priority and focus was to pour Himself into the lives of disciples.
Don’t underestimate the power of false claims. They have real power. Spiritual authority is often necessary to break their hold. If necessary reach out to someone who can break any false claims over your life. Here are some simple prayers that can lead to freedom from false claims. The first one is a declaration. You can speak it with confidence and boldness.
God, I belong to You!
God, reveal and sever every false claim over my life.
God, I trust you to establish relationships in my life that are righteous and healthy.
You are important and significant and your destiny matters. It’s time to live free from lies, ties and false claims.
Nathan Shaw
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