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We’ve already noted in the first part of this article that, as Christians, we are constantly in a spiritual battle. But the Bible is clear that the way we engage in these conflicts is different to how we would engage in a natural battle.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God
Ephesians 6:12-13 (NIV)
As you read on through this chapter you will come to the weapon that God gives us to break down strongholds in our minds:
Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
Just as the scripture at the top of this article tells us, this weapon carries ‘divine power’ to see strongholds of the mind crushed to pieces.
So we fight against wrong thought patterns with the Word of God.
Let’s look at a couple of examples. If you have developed a stronghold around the thinking that your life is about survival and just getting by, then a good basis for your prayer could be taken from Romans 8:37: “... in all these things [trials, hardships, etc.] we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” If you have developed a pattern of thinking that it’s wrong to have wealth, then read Ecclesiastes 5:19 and confess in your prayers that “when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God”.
When you have prayed and believed in the power of God’s Word over your thought life, you can begin to experience, by faith – not feeling - a new found freedom from any previous locked thought pattern. Blessings will follow!
SATAYING FREE
Jesus came to set us free – and for us to stay that way.
So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.
Galatians 5:1 (NLT)
Once a stronghold has been broken down through prayer, it’s important to ‘live out’ the truth of God's words and not carry on thinking as you used to do when subjected to the lie.
Here are some tips to keep you on track and keep your mind on the truth so that the same stronghold or other similar ones don’t re-develop.
- Read God’s Word: The Bible is littered with scriptures all about money and what we can/should be doing with it. You can see many of them on our Scripture Bank pages.
- Put it into practice: The Bible says that faith without works is dead. So if you truly believe that it’s okay to be wealthy, then apply for that higher salary you thought you weren’t worthy of, investigate ways of making money through your God-given abilities, or start up that business that you always wanted to do but thought was too materialistic.
- Pray: Ask God by his Holy Spirit to inspire you to create wealth for Kingdom purposes. Get a vision from God about what he wants you to do with the wealth that you create.
- Give: Give some of what you have away. If you want to reap, you first have to sow. See the articles in the Management Core Area for more on giving.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Unfortunately in this day and age there is still a lot of preaching around that is based on surviving troubles, hanging on and getting through. Many Christian churches have a value system ingrained into them that says ‘no success allowed, we’re Christians’! Taking vows of poverty and adopting a ‘survival mentality’ has damaged the Church and reduced its capacity to break into new ground for the furthering of the Kingdom.
One of the great challenges for the Church and Christianity today is to change our thinking on wealth and success, be confronted with the truths of the Bible, break down strongholds that have developed through wrong teaching and be released into the blessings of success and prosperity that God has for each and every one of his children
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