I wanted to share a simple prayer model that I have adapted from a South American pastor and evangelist. The primary purpose of this freedom prayer tool is to quickly and effectively provide a pathway to freedom in our lives by identifying areas of spiritual and personal conflict or “strongholds” and removing the enemy’s access to them. We do this by following four simple prayer steps:
Confession- saying what God says about our sin, “It is wrong.”
Forgiveness – choosing to release judgment, harm, and debt to everyone who may have influenced our sin.
Repentance& Renunciation – repentance is changing our minds/thoughts/actions about our sins. Renunciation is a formal verbal rejection of the influence of sin in our lives.
Receiving God’s truth – as it comes from His Word, our Identity in Christ, and His Promises to us.
To better understand this tool and many of the primary issues or sin patterns we may face, I always prefer to identify different areas or “doors that are open” and need to be closed. (Ephesians 4:32) These open doors to sin have the potential to limit our abundant life with God as these issues cause us to experience difficulty hearing from God, become trapped in sin cycles/patterns, or limit us from experiencing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
4 main doors to spiritual and personal conflicts/strongholds/sin patterns are:
Door #1: Fear and Control
Fear and Control are the most common open doors in our lives. Often, anxiety, worry, isolation, shame, manipulation, drug/alcohol abuse, and performance all occupy this door by causing spiritual and personal conflicts.
Door #2: Anger and Unforgiveness
The sins of abandonment, rage, hatred, gossip/criticalness, self-hatred, pride, rejection/rebellion often occupy the door of anger and unforgiveness.
Door #3: Sexual Sin and Brokenness
Behind the door of sexual sin and brokenness exist the sins of adultery, pornography, fantasy, homosexuality, divorce, molestation/rape, and fornication.
Door #4: Occult and False Religion
The final door of occult and false religion is often occupied by the sins of freemasonry, occult family history, participation in astrology/horoscopes, fortune telling, Ouija board, witchcraft/spells, and yoga practice.
Praying through the Breakthrough Prayer model
As we utilize this tool, choosing to pray for freedom from every open door/sin pattern that may be present in our lives; we do so by asking the Lord to reveal where the issue began, who we may need to release forgiveness for influencing the issue, repentance, and renunciation (verbal rejection) of the issue, and then receiving God’s truth about our identity to promote freedom in our life.
I invite you to may walk through a simple prayer of freedom, asking the Father to remove the influence of this sin in your life. Here’s a sample prayer you can use:
“Heavenly Father, I confess my sin of [fear and control, anger and unforgiveness, sexual sin, occult and false religion…or any area you are seeking freedom]. I choose to forgive [ask the Holy Spirit who may need to forgive for influencing this sin in your life.] I release [name of person] from all judgment, harm, and debt. I repent for living my life based on [confess sin pattern/open door] and renounce its power in my life. Lord, I ask you to close this door as I receive your truth about my identity in Christ. [Find Bible verses that align with God's truth about your identity in Christ--declare them aloud!] In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.”
*Special Note: Releasing forgiveness and repentance are often the two main reasons doors/strongholds/sin patterns remain active in our lives.
Our challenge as Believers is to avoid sin at all costs. If we face unavoidable sin, we must confess it immediately and receive fresh forgiveness and cleansing from the Lord. In this we know that help is always available from our heavenly Father, and He will always answer whenever we call. (James 4:7-8)
I encourage you to put on the whole armor of God to be protected from any form of spiritual or personal conflict. Put on and wear each piece prayerfully and in holy reverence. You are protected because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. You must receive His protection. (Ephesians 6:10-18).
For more information on how to live a spiritually and emotionally whole life, check out my book Encountering Abba’s Heart: Prayers and Declarations from the Heart of God by using the link below:
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