What is a stronghold? A stronghold is anything that exalts itself in our minds, pretending to be bigger and more powerful than our God. It steals our focus And causes us to be overpowered. Controlled. Mastered. A stronghold is anything that steals, kills or destroys the abundant, fruitful life of a believer.

What are some strongholds? Depression Pride Idolatry Unbelief Unforgiveness Addictions Feelings of guilt Feelings of Despair Sexual sins Food addictions Feelings of Insecurity Feelings of Rejection

Where is the Battlefield? In any warfare waged by the enemy against the believer, the primary battlefield is the mind. The most effective way to influence behavior is to influence thinking.

Strongholds render us ineffective When we are under the power of a stronghold, it consumes so much of our emotional and mental energy that abundant life is strangled – our calling remains unfulfilled and our lives ineffective. That is the enemy’s precise goal.

Deception is the Glue of Strongholds Deception is the glue that holds every stronghold together – since nothing is bigger than God, anything mastering the Christian’s life keeps its grip only through deception. Satan is the father of lies – he twists lies until they seem to be true.

Lies We Believe When In A Stronghold I can never be victorious over this compulsion. I’ve had it too long. I can’t help the mess I’m in. I’m caught and there’s nothing I can do about it. I am absolutely worthless – nothing but a failure. I’m in control here. This is not controlling me. This isn’t doing any harm. I can handle it. I’ll know just when to stop. After all I’ve been through, I deserve this. There’s nothing wrong with this relationship. People just don’t understand us. Everyone thinks these kinds of thoughts most of the time. I am only human. God may work for other people, but He doesn’t work for me. I’ll just have to wait until heaven to get over this. Real victory is impossible on earth. God can’t possibly fill the void in my life. I need something more. I am too emotionally handicapped to ever be Ok. It’s hopeless. I’m hopeless. lies

Strongholds must be demolished Nothing in our Christian life is more powerful than a stronghold. We can’t sweep it away. We cannot use carnal weapons like pure determination, secular psychology or denial. Strongholds have to be demolished.

What is our goal? II Corinthians 10: 3-5 says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary – they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

What are our weapons? II Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us: Our weapons are not the weapons of the world. They have divine power. They are associated with the “knowledge of God.” The purpose of our warfare is to take our thoughts captive.

What are our weapons? Only one piece of armor in Ephesians 6 is actually an offensive weapon. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Our other weapon is prayer. Ephesians 6:17 tells us, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions.” Our two weapons for demolishing strongholds are the Word of God and Prayer.

Why are these weapons so powerful? Prayer keeps us in constant communication with God. Prayerful lives are powerful lives. The ultimate goal God has for us is not power but personal intimacy with Him. It is never the will of God for warfare to become our focus. The fastest way to lose balance in warfare is to rebuke the devil more than we relate to God. The primary strength we have is godliness which is achieved only by intimacy with God. WORD OF GOD PRAYER

Why are these weapons so powerful? We take our thoughts captive making them obedient to Christ every time we choose to think Christ’s thoughts about any situation or stronghold rather than our thoughts or the devil’s thoughts. When we pray and use Scripture in our prayers, we are in intimate communication with God. Our mind is being renewed. We are thinking God’s thoughts about our situation rather than our own. WORD OF GOD PRAYER

It is God’s Will for Us to Be Free It is God’s will for us to be free of strongholds. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Ephesians 1: 18-20 says, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints and His incomparably great power for us to believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.”

Two Awesome Truths 1 God wields incomparably great power for those who choose to believe. 2 God applies the same power to our need that He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead. Our strongholds don’t require more power than it takes to raise the dead.

Weapons of Choice There isn’t a more powerful way to demolish strongholds than by praying Scripture. Satan is most effectively rebuked when a believer takes his or her stand on the Word of God. WORD OF GOD PRAYER

Next Steps Ask God to fill your mind with His thoughts instead of yours. Pray Scriptures over and over until you experience lasting freedom. Write out Scriptures in the form of prayers in a journal. WORD OF GOD PRAYER

A Few Examples of Scripture Prayers My Father, You are the Lord my God. I desire to love You, listen to Your voice, and hold fast to You for You, Lord, are my life. (Deut 30:20) O God, how I thank You that a lack of faith will never nullify Your faithfulness. (Romans 3:3). If I am faithless, You will remain faithful, for you cannot disown Yourself. (Ii Timothy 2:13) Lord, without You, I would be foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. I would live in malice and envy, being hated and hating others. (Titus 3:3). I don’t want that kind of life God! I want to live in the power and fulness of Your Spirit. Lord, as hard as this may be for me to comprehend or rationalize, Your Word is clear: if I forgive other when they sin against me, You, my heavenly Father will also forgive me. (Matthew 6:14)