Return to the Main Menu
Previous Devotional
Next Devotional

When you seek God or pray, your carnal mind will fight you. Many strongholds in your mind can interfere with your prayer, and you don’t receive the thing you pray for. It’s popular to regard these strongholds as problems that require emotional healing, and that may be somewhat valid. These strongholds mainly fit into these categories: doubt, wounds from relationships, traumatic events, identity issues, life transitions, unforgiveness, bitterness, unresolved fear, anger, grief, or guilt, disappointments, unanswered prayer, feeling distant from god, family dysfunction, and false beliefs. Emotional patterns may have been passed down from parents or ancestors. Some people have suffered from unmet needs from childhood. Any of these can create a stronghold in your mind that God must eliminate. Sometimes, demons will even try to get in and plant ideas in your mind, and they must be rebuked and kicked out.

In addition, demons can suggest things like this or worse when you’re praying. It’s a way to disrupt your faith and keep you from success in prayer.

Strongholds may flash into your mind when you’re seeking God or praying. That’s the time to deal with them. Ask God what you should do since each one will be different. In general, what has to happen is that you reject the stronghold by the authority and power of Jesus Christ and get rid of it. Then, you fill that void with Jesus Christ so you make forward progress with God rather than what the devil had planned for you.

This song is an example of a prayer you might pray.

This stronghold that opposed me just now,
I renounce it and reject it in the name of Jesus.
burn it up with Your Spirit fire.
Purge it from me, I don’t need it.
Then I fill that void with You,
And let Your glory shine.
With authority, full authority with faith and grace divine.

Ask God to answer these questions.

1. What is a stronghold in your mind?
2. Why does your mind fight you when you pray?
3. What are examples of strongholds that can stop you from praying?
4. How do strongholds get into you mind?
5. What does it mean to rebuke a demon?

Bonus questions:

1. How can demons suggest ideas in you mind?
2. How do you know if a stronghold is in your mind when you’re praying?
3. What does it mean to fill the void with Jesus Christ?
4. How can you ask God to help you get rid of a stronghold?
5. Why do you want to be filled with the Spirit of Christ?

1. Pray for the Lord to protect you and keep you in His presence and His presence only.
2. Direct your mind toward the Lord only.
3. Ask God what He want’s to talk about.
4. You can ask God any questions. In all of this, be led by the Holy Spirit. God promises that He will answer you if you ask Him.
5. Do not edit or change what God says even if you don’t understand it.
6. Reject the lies and receive the truth.
7. Take notes.
8. Transfer your notes to your journal without editing what God said to you.

Keep in mind that God doesn’t want you to ever disconnect from Him. He wants to flow through you constantly in knowledge, wisdom, and love.

Additional Resource

A Song of Deliverance