Identifying Strongholds

In my previous devotional post, we looked at the Biblical definition of spiritual strongholds. While it's important to understand what a spiritual stronghold is and how it can sever a relationship with God, it's equally important to understand how to identify our personal strongholds.

Because of the power of darkness in this world--a power which loves to oppress the truth by way of deception--we may not always be aware of the strongholds in our life OR the separation between us and God (Proverbs 4:19, John 3:19, 1 John 2:11). Sadly, many go throughout life assuming they are in "right" standing before God, completely unaware of a separation from God. Thankfully, though, our loving Father provides us access to every spiritual and heavenly resource that is needed in this life, to not only identify possible strongholds, but to break free from those strongholds by the power of God through His Word Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and through His church.  God's ultimate desire is for all of humanity to be reconciled to Himself, and He supports this desire by making sure humanity as a whole (and throughout history) is given every opportunity to identify and overcome strongholds.

So, how do we identify the strongholds in our life that could be separating us from God?

Start With Prayer

"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" (Ephesians 6:18, NLT).  "Never stop praying" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NLT).  "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's peace in accordance with the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27, NLT).

Prayer is not an utterance of words that evaporate into thin air; prayer is a direct communication line between God and humanity as well as a powerful weapon that can aid in spiritual warfare. The very Spirit of God that is sent to all believers according to the promise of Jesus in John 14:16, 26, not only indwells all who are one in Christ, but intercedes for us when we do not know what to pray.

As we struggle to identify the strongholds in our lives, we would be wise to begin by approaching the throne of God in prayer. Ask God to reveal any strongholds that could be preventing a deeper or fully restored relationship with Him. Ask God to help you accept the strongholds that He reveals, and any potential discipline that comes with those revelations. Ask God to search the Spirit in you for any "groaning" of help that you are not even able to articulate or identify.

But don't stop there. As Paul instructed in Ephesians 6, go beyond praying for God to reveal and reconcile your personal strongholds. Pray for all believers everywhere, that strongholds may be broken and that the church be free to serve the Lord unhindered.

Turn to the Word
While there are so many amazing passages that discuss identifying and overcoming strongholds, a few of my favorites are: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Ephesians 6: 10-17, and Galatians 5: 16-26. In prayer, you make your requests known to God. As you turn to His Word, however, He communicates with you. Take time to read through these passages as you consider what God says about strongholds in your life.  As you read through Galatians 5: 16-26, ask God to reveal which (if any) of those strongholds are present in your heart, mind, or lifestyle.

God does not silently govern us as a neglectful Father. He is a present Father who speaks, intervenes, and guides. While He continues speaking to us through His Holy Spirit even today, so much of the answers to our questions have already been recorded and divinely preserved within His Word. We must spend time studying, examining, and meditating on God's Word so that we can understand these things: what God has already said about strongholds; His will for our lives in the midst of strongholds; and the His promises over our strongholds.

Invite Community In
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it" (James 5:16, ESV). While our faith journey is most definitely a personal matter, it was never intended or designed to be a private matter. We battle unseen spiritual realms in this world--realms that are full of unimaginable darkness, evil, deception, and influence. If we honestly think we can stand against that battle on our own, we are fools destined for destruction. True, radical healing and freedom from stronghold does not take place in isolation, but when we walk this life side-by-side with righteous, Holy Spirit-filled community.

Do. not suppress your darkness. Do not hide your strongholds. Bring them out into the open with faithful and trusted community, and as 1 John chapters 1 & 2 promise us, the light of God will expose that darkness and break you free from the bondage of strongholds

Lean into the Holy Spirit

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;  concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11, ESV).

While it's tempting to think that accessibility to the power of God's authority was most accessible during the time when Jesus physically walked the earth,  Jesus Himself was eager to ascend back to heaven with God, so that we might experience the "advantage" of "the Helper" (which He clarified in John 14:26 as being the Holy Spirit of God).  So what advantage do we have with the indwelling Holy Spirit, that we didn't necessarily have during the physical presence of Jesus?

Well, while in bodily form, Jesus as a human man only had the ability to be in one place at a time. When He sent down the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Jesus, for the first time in history, God's literal Spirit indwelled all believers simultaneously. God and His authority through Jesus, is more accessible now than ever before in history. And that authority through the Spirit, has dominion over all authorities both on earth and in the heavenly places--including over your individual strongholds (Ephesians 1:21, Matthew 28:18).  Maybe that's why we are instructed not to "quench the Holy Spirit" in 1 Thessalonians 5:19.

While there is so much more that God's rich and powerful Word has to say on breaking free from strongholds through the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray this is a starting point for us all as we aim to break generational strongholds that are suppressing our souls and minds from experiencing all that God has in store for us in His kingdom.