Satan, You Can't Have My Children: The Spiritual Warfare Guide for Every Parent (11 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

BRINGING DOWN
STRONGHOLDS

D
EFEATING THE WORKS OF THE ENEMY

T
HIS CHAPTER IS
for victimized children and adults of abuse, rape, incest, neglect, and abandonment, as well as for children with attention disorders. The hidden secrets of sexual and physical abuse have been one of the most binding and shameful things that countless millions of men, women, and children are trying to cope with every day of their lives.

I am here to tell you that you don’t have to continue living with the shame, guilt, hatred, memories, anger, and the feelings and lies of the enemy any longer. I was there—for many years of my life. I was a prisoner and a slave, controlled by my thoughts and emotions. I was a slave to the spirits of hatred, abuse, and perversion. I was just an innocent six-year-old girl who trusted her daddy and became his victim. But today I am set free, and you can be too!

I will now take you on a mini-excursion of the battle between good and evil. I have every intention of exposing the devil’s strategies through abuse and of helping you to become free.

T
HE
H
IDDEN
S
ECRETS

The reason so many still live with the secrets is because they were taught and instructed not to tell anyone, or there would be very real and harsh consequences. As people mature to the age of understanding and accountability, they still keep the secrets for fear of being misunderstood and judged. Not only that, but the enemy of their souls will make them think that no one will believe them and that somehow they could have prevented the abuse. Many times during counseling with victims of abuse, I have heard that the feeling of guilt keeps coming back because they remember times when they enjoyed the abuse and perversion. Sex was created for procreation and pleasure within the marriage covenant. It is Satan who perverts everything and causes people’s minds to be subjugated to the bondage of sin and slavery.

For many victims, these experiences have resulted in broken marriages, resentments, hatred, unforgiveness, lack of commitment, suspicion, low selfesteem, severe attacks from the enemy, promiscuity, homosexuality, lesbianism, masturbation, confusion, lack of friends, bad relationships, procrastination, bad eating habits, insatiable desires, addictions, mistrust, nervous breakdowns, pornography, and blaming God—among many others.

Yet I will repeat again that some people may find help going to a professional counselor or doctor, and some may find help talking about it with friends, relatives, or a trusted parent. Some may even find help talking to a pastor or priest. But I firmly believe that
only
in the presence of God Almighty, your heavenly Father, will you find healing and cleansing!

To reach the point of healing, a person first needs understanding and instruction. You can start by asking the Holy Spirit to help you. He is your best teacher and friend. I recommend that you seek the advice of a mature Christian man (for males) or woman (for females) in your church whose life is an example of godliness and compassion.

For the men, I also recommend you seek out a mature and godly Christian couple or a Christian counselor or pastor who can help you understand the root of the problems in your life.

Keep in mind that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. It is not the person who abuses whom we must come against, but it is the enemy of our soul who influences the person. The thoughts of condemnation must be brought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Once we surrender our lives to God, we become new creations or new daughters and sons in Christ Jesus.
The past is blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now we have to think differently. Our minds must be renewed each day by the Word. The awesome power in the Word of God pushes out the junk in a Christian’s life and replaces it with the fruit of the Spirit.

You must make a quality decision to allow your heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, to make you whole again. Nothing works better than applying one of God’s principles from the Word each day. Go against your negative feelings. Take control of your body and your thoughts. You are in warfare. There’s a battle for your faith going on. You can be whole again. You are special and unique.
You were created with a purpose.
Jesus loves you with an unconditional love. He gave His life for you!

If a victim of abuse does not get the necessary help and continues merely
coping
with the problems, the results will be detrimental. The same pattern of behavior will be imitated by the children. The Bible says that the sins of the parents visit (get transferred) to the children to the fourth generation. It is time that we who believe in the redeeming work of Calvary and the triumphant victory that Jesus wrought for us take action to stop and break the influence of the sins of our parents visiting us to the fourth generation. We have been redeemed from the curse of the law, but we must declare our position in Christ and appropriate God’s promises. Abuse victims must move on from
coping
to
healing
.

Many Christians do not know that they have been redeemed and set free from the curse of the law. Satan knows that they are ignorant, and he continues to visit them with all of the sins of their parents, such as abuse, alcoholism, addictions, sickness, diseases, negative thought patterns, lust, rebellion, poverty, and divorce.

Stand up, mighty warrior; resist the enemy, and he will flee from you. Drive him out of your life and the lives of your children.
Start putting off the things of the stinking old man, and begin dressing yourself with the robes of royalty that have been designated and are waiting for you. We are daughters and sons of royalty, and we have been given authority to rule and to reign over all of the works of the enemy—past and present.

Children develop problems because of many reasons. Sometimes they are victims. Other times they willfully disobey authority and as a result suffer many consequences from the hand of the enemy. Some children learn to imitate their parents. Others are born with inherited negative characteristics and sinful habits. Many children suffer from attention disorders, which I also believe is a stronghold of the enemy that can be destroyed. Ultimately, the enemy of our souls plays a big role in the lives of children.

It is time for all Christian parents to play the greatest role of direct intervention to all demonic activity in the lives of their children and loved ones. We perish for lack of knowledge, but
once that knowledge is received and applied, everything can change
!

D
EMONIC
A
TTACKS

An alarmingly high percentage of our children are under demonic attacks. Children are hitting, kicking, yelling, and cursing at their parents. Many children of Christian parents have become blatantly disobedient. (The percentage is much higher in non-Christian homes.) I have counseled with desperate mothers who tell me that even spanking and strict restrictions do not produce change or have an effect upon their children. As a former teacher in a Christian school, I was able to observe the defiant behavior of students in the classroom. Going to the principal’s office and being sent home only worked for a short period of time. Parents are at their wit’s end. They don’t know what else to do. Even going to counselors sometimes doesn’t help.

Many children end up in a school counselor’s office, only to then be sent to a psychiatrist who diagnoses some kind of attention disorder or some other sickness or disorder. After many dollars and hours spent in therapy, as well as many medications prescribed, many parents will say that the situation is not getting any better. I hear parents say, “While he’s on medication, I can tolerate him, but once the medication wears off, he becomes a little devil again.”

If you are in this situation, let me address these thoughts to you. Make a thorough examination of your heart and thoughts. Are you quick with your tongue? Do you yell and scream when you get angry? Do you fight with your husband in front of the children? Are you always talking negatively? Do you fly off the handle easily? Do you become impatient with the many questions your child asks? Are you a workaholic who cannot make enough time to nurture and spend time with your children? Do you make a habit of going to church on Sundays and taking your child to a Bible class? Do your children watch television unsupervised for many hours at a time? Do you allow violent adult movies in the presence of your children? Is pornography allowed in your home?

There are so many other questions I could ask, but you get the idea I am trying to convey. What you allow in your home and heart is having and will have a tremendous effect upon your family. Children in these situations are experiencing the effects of learned behavioral patterns during childhood. In many instances evil spirits play a big role in the child’s behavior.

In order to reverse this pattern, there has to be great change. It begins with you, Mom and Dad. First, there must be repentance from the heart, followed by forsaking the past and allowing God to change and heal you. I greatly recommend that you ask your family members to forgive you of your ignorance and ungodly actions. Forgiveness releases healing and sets captives free.

It will be a process of each day consciously deciding to allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and help you change old habits and patterns of thinking.

I recommend that you begin with the words that you speak. Let them be positive and constructive. When you feel like arguing, stop and willfully decide that you are not going to become upset, but you will have self-control. Make prayer a practice every day. Surrender your life to your heavenly Father, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you in everything you do. Begin the walk to blessings and victories today. Don’t put it off for another moment. Your children will see and notice the difference and will imitate you.

As you mature, you will be able to enter into the spiritual warfare this book talks about. Then you will be able to use the keys of binding and loosing, and you will see the strongholds of disobedience and defiance in your children destroyed by God’s power. Believe in your heart that as you apply the blood of Jesus, the enemy has to flee from your home. But parents, it first begins with you. Satan does not pay any attention to the commands of someone who is disobedient himself.

“I C
AN’T
F
ORGIVE
T
HOSE
W
HO
H
URT
M
E
”

It was not my original intention to add this subject to this book. But after completion of my original thoughts, I felt the need to come back and add these thoughts. You will remain a slave to the person or persons for whom you hold a grudge or bitterness unless you willfully forgive them in your heart. Your forgiveness allows the Spirit of God to begin a healing process in you. Many times unforgiveness on the part of parents causes behavior patterns that negatively affect the behavior of the entire family. My own personal freedom began when I first made the decision in my heart to forgive my father. Then I made the spoken declaration. Finally I took action. I went to my father, and I told him that I forgave him. It was not easy, but it turned out to be the most liberating thing that I have ever done. You may not have to face your abuser, but begin in your heart to forgive.

This verse means that if you do not forgive, you
retain
(keep) the person’s sin against you in your body and soul. The person whom you will not forgive also remains bound! If you can understand this, you will be set free.
The spirit of unforgiveness cannot be allowed to continue taking root in your life. It will contaminate everything good in your life and family.

What you are dealing with is a spiritual matter. Evil spirits took control of your abuser and caused him or her to harm and take advantage of you in some way. The Word of God says that our fight is not with humans (flesh and blood), but it is against Satan and his evil forces.

Understand where the attack comes from. Let’s look at the following verse: