Set Free
One of the prayer points for our January fast was for those who were oppressed to be set free. I didn’t know it would be me!
Both Cheryl and I were ill with the flu over Christmas. We had to miss our family Christmas and also our Christmas service at CTFO. I was sick for over two weeks. I was praying, however, for the Lord to bring something good out of this, and He did!
At the worst point of being sick, I had hardly slept in three days. My breathing was laboured. I was exhausted but didn’t want to sleep, afraid of not being able to breathe. I was taking antihistamines, which can have a side effect of feeling agitated. I certainly was. I felt disoriented and a degree of panic. I called out to the Lord for help.
A short time later I did get some sleep but had a nightmare. It was similar to nightmares I had had as a child. In the nightmare I was panicking, overwhelmed with fear. When I woke up, I began to pray, asking Father what was happening. After a short time, a name popped into my head. It was the name of a fortune teller that my mom and aunt had visited when I was a child. My mom and aunt saw the fortune teller while I waited in another room. I was about 4 or 5 years old.
I heard the Lord saying that since that day visiting the fortune teller, there had been a spirit of anxiety following me around! I repented on behalf of my mother’s actions and asked the Lord to set me free. I felt some relief. A couple days later, I had a picture of this cloud over my head. It was the anxiety and the fruit of anxiety that had been hounding me. I asked Jesus what He was going to do about it. I saw Him puff His cheeks up and He blew this cloud away! I was free!
In Luke 8, Mary Magdalene is described as someone “from whom seven demons had come out.” I was always curious about this description. Now I understand. To be set free from a demon is life changing.
The past few weeks have been like a new world for me! I am free of this oppressive spirit! I am learning what it is like to not have this underlying anxiety and panic influencing me.
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8 NIV
If you or any of your ancestors have participated in fortune telling, horoscopes, Ouija boards, seances or any other occult activity, I welcome you to pray this prayer from Neil T. Anderson:
Father, I here and now reject and disown all the sins of my ancestors. I specifically renounce the sins of (list here the areas of family sin the Lord revealed to you). As one who has now been delivered from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son, I cancel out all demonic working that has been passed down to me from my family. As one who has been crucified and raised with Jesus Christ and who sits with Him in heavenly places, I renounce all satanic assignments that are directed toward me. I cancel out every curse that satan and his workers have put on me. I announce to satan and all his forces that Christ became a curse for me when He died for my sins on the cross. I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased me with His own blood. I commit myself to my heavenly Father to do His will from this day forward.
If anyone needs further prayer regarding these issues, please come for ministry Sunday or contact our office at ottawa@catchthefire.com.