Have you ever wanted so much for something to be broken off of you? A mindset or stronghold? You have done everything you know to do. You memorized Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let GOD transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…” And Ephesians 4:23, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Don’t forget 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” What about when you have tried all of that and you are still stuck? You have recited scripture over and over to combat the lies of the enemy.

Well…maybe…just maybe you, like me, have come into agreement with the enemy in that area and he has legal rights in that area of your life. Ummmm…what? Yes! This revelation has been game changing for me. The Lord has had me in this place for months of recognizing areas of my life that I have given legal rights to the enemy in.

When you think about this or hear this it makes sense that this happens because God operates His Kingdom legally…BUT I did not know that I DID THIS?! When we believe lies, when we speak words over our lives that are contrary to God’s Word, words of fear, accusations, or defeat, when we hold on to things like unforgiveness, anger or resentment, when we compromise with sin, all of these things give the enemy legal rights to our lives (See John 8:44, Proverbs 18:21, Ephesians 4:26-27, Romans 6:16). We need to repent of those things, and we need to break any agreement with the enemy in those areas.

We know that freedom is in Christ Jesus (John 8:36). So we go to scripture to get free from this bondage AND take back legal rights from the enemy. The way to shut the door to the authority that we gave the enemy is to repent. I am not saying ask for forgiveness…those are not the same. Forgiveness is asking for another chance. Repentance is turning away from the sin, the lie, the unforgiveness, and changing our ways. Repentance is the first step in this process to get free.

Next, you need to renounce what you came into agreement with. “I renounce my agreement with (fill in the lie or the sin) or the influence of those things in my life.” Then comes release, this is surrendering and giving it to Jesus…like for real. No laying it down and picking it back up. It is heavy and you have carried it long enough. Then you need to receive your freedom.

Receive the freedom of the broken cycles in your life. This may be a place you have to repent and renounce…that you have come into agreement with the enemy that you are not worthy or freedom, or you deserve what has been done to you, or that bad things will always happen to you. These were lies I believed and areas I had to repent and renounce because I aligned my thinking with the lies of the enemy.

Then renew your mind and your spirit. For so long I kept repenting and then skipped straight to renewing but there were areas that I could not get free from. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to create new neuropathways (not that this didn’t help) but I was still stuck because the enemy still had legal rights to these places in my life. The freedom I have experienced from the bondage and the strongholds has been incredible. It has taken some deep diving into my hurts and heartaches. Going back to the places that I was first wounded, where I first came into agreement with the enemy. God was with me every step of the way. He will be with you too. He goes before you and walks beside you.