Introduction:

In this Freedom Prayer Guide, we are going to take time to prayerfully:

• Identify places we have believed lies

• Confess and repent of the ways we have believed lies

• Replace the bondage of lies with the freedom of truth

Biblical Foundations:

Lies are a top tactic of Satan in our lives (John 8.44) and become deeply rooted beliefs called strongholds that are destructive to our relationships, choices, and spiritual walk (2 Corinthians 10.4-5). Jesus is the Truth (John 14.6) and teaches us the truth that sets us free (John 8.31) As we renew our minds based on truth, we walk in greater degrees of freedom (Romans 12.1-2)

John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ”

John 8:31 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

Ephesians 4:15 “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we know that walking in your truth sets us free (John 8.31-32). Please search our hearts, our thoughts and our lives and reveal to us any places we have been believing and walking in the lies of the enemy (Psalm 139.23-24) and have opened our lives to the demonic bondage that brings (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

Confession:

During this phase of the freedom journey, we want to turn to God’s Word and God’s Spirit to highlight to us place where we have walked in lies and deception, and then we are going to take time to prayerfully confess this.

Lies and Deception Inventory:

Prayerfully read over the following list of common areas people walked in pride in Scripture. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any areas you have in the past or are currently walked in lies and deception.

Lies About God:

• Believing the lie that God is distant, unloving and uninvolved (Isaiah 40:27)

• Believing the lie that God is limited in power (Numbers 11:23)

• Believing the lie that God is unjust (Ezekiel 18:25)

• Believing the lie that God’s love is conditional (Romans 5:8)

• Believing the lie that God’s word isn’t sufficient (Genesis 3:1-5)

• Believing the lie that God’s grace nullifies the need for obedience (Romans 6:1-2)

• Believing the lie that God’s judgment will never come (2 Peter 3:3-4)

• Believing the lie that God can be manipulated through rituals (Isaiah 1:11-15)

Lies about Life:

• Believing the lie that money and possessions will bring lasting happiness (Matthew 13:22; 1 Timothy 6:10)

• Believing the lie that consuming food and alcohol excessively will make you happy (Proverbs 20:1; 23:19-21)

• Believing the lie that a great body and personality will get you what you want (Proverbs 31:10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4)

• Believing the lie that gratifying sexual lust will bring lasting satisfaction (Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Peter 2:11)

• Believing the lie that you can sin and get away with it and not have it affect your heart (Hebrews 3:12, 13)

• Believing the lie that you can hang around bad company and not become corrupted (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)

• Believing the lie that there are no consequences on earth for your sin (Galatians 6:7- 8)

• Believing the lie that you must gain the approval of certain people in order to be happy (Galatians 1:10).

Fears and Anxieties Inventory:

Our fears and anxieties often stem from believing lies about:

• God’s character (His goodness, power, or faithfulness)

• Our identity in Him (our worth, security, or capabilities)

• Our circumstances (their permanence, severity, or meaning)

  For example:

• Anxiety about finances can come from believing the lie “God won’t provide for me”

• Fear of rejection can stem from the lie “I am unlovable”

• Social anxiety can be rooted in the lie “I must perform perfectly to be accepted”

As we identify these fears, we can trace them back to their underlying lies and replace them with Biblical truth.

Prayerfully take note of places you are experiencing fear or anxiety. What might be a lie at the root of these fears and anxieties that God wants to speak His truth into in order to set you free?

Repentance:

A working definition of repentance encompasses experiencing godly sorrow over your sin (2 Corinthians 7.10), turning away from that sin and turning towards the Lord (1 Thess 1:9), as well as bearing the fruit of genuine change (Matt. 3.8). The Lord extends mercy and forgiveness to the repentant (Isaiah 55.7).

After you have prayerfully considered the Pride Inventory, we have an opportunity to experience the freeing power of Jesus as we confess and repent of these places of sin and receive forgiveness and grace for humility.

Guided Prayer of Confession, Repentance and Receiving Forgiveness:

Heavenly Father, I confess that I believed lies that ______________________________. I confess these to you and in the presence of my friends. I renounce any and all involvement with _______________________, and I cancel out any and all ground that the enemy gained in my life through these lies. Thank You for Your forgiveness and the cleansing and freeing power of your blood. In the place of these fears, anxieties and lies and the bondage they bring, I want to walk in the truth of your Word and in the power of your Spirit.

Replace & Restore:

Repentance leads to sin being replaced with new life, healing and renewal.

Often, our lies, fears and anxieties masks places where we have been hurt in the past. As we release these lies, Jesus wants to replace it with healing for our broken hearts (Luke 4.18) that we might live out our calling to walk in his truth.

Use this guided prayer to receive a fresh healing in the place of our pain, shame and fear

Jesus, thank you that you see me. As I humble myself before you, I open up my heart and life to you in a fresh way and ask for you to heal my heart.

Take time to sit in silence for 1-2 minutes and listen to the Lord. Pay attention to what you sense the Holy Spirit doing in you and speaking to you during this time.

After a minute or two have each person in the group share what they sense the Spirit speaking or doing in them.

Walking In Truth:

As we walk forward from lies into truth, read these declarations of truth every day for the next week to continue in the truth found in Jesus:

• I recognize that there is only one true and living God (see Exodus 20:2, 3) who exists as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is worthy of all honor, praise and glory as the One who made all things and holds all things together (see Colossians 1:16, 17).

• I recognize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us (see John 1:1, 14). I believe that He came to destroy the works of the devil (see I John 3:8), and that He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public display of them, having triumphed over them (see Colossians 2:15).

• I believe that God has proven His own love for me because when I was still a sinner, Christ died for me (see Romans 5:8). I believe that He has delivered me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to His kingdom, and in Him I have redemption – the forgiveness of sins (see Colossians 1:13, 14).

• I believe that I am now a child of God (see I John 3:1-3) and that I am seated with Christ in the heavenlies (see Ephesians 2:6). I believe that I was saved by the grace of God through faith, and that it was a gift and not a result of any works on my part (see Ephesians 2:8, 9).

• I choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (see Ephesians 6:10). I put no confidence in the flesh (see Philippians 3:3), for the weapons of warfare are not of the flesh but are divinely powerful to the destruction of strongholds (see 2 Corinthians 10:4). I put on the full armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-20). I resolve to stand firm in my faith and resist the evil one.

• I believe that apart from Christ I can do nothing (see John 15:5), so I declare my complete dependence on Him. I choose to abide in Christ in order to bear much fruit and glorify my Father (see John 15:8). I announce to Satan that Jesus is my Lord (see I Corinthians 12:3), and I reject any and all counterfeit gifts or works of Satan in my life.

• I believe that the truth will set me free (see John 8:32) and that Jesus is the truth (see John 14:6). If He sets me free, I will be free indeed (see John 8:36). I recognize that walking in the light is the only path of true fellowship with God and man (see I John 1:3-7). Therefore, I stand against all of Satan’s deceptions by taking every thought captive in obedience to Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). I declare that the Bible is the only authoritative standard for truth and life (see 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

• I choose to present my body to God as a living and holy sacrifice (see Romans 12:1) and the members of my body as instruments of righteousness to God (see Romans 6:13). I choose to renew my mind by the living Word of God in order that I may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect (see Romans 12:2). I put off the old self with its evil practices and put on the new self (see Colossians 3:9, 10). I declare myself to be a new creation in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

• By faith, I choose to be filled with the Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18) so that I can be guided into all truth (see John 16:13). I choose to walk by the Spirit so that I will not carry out the desires of the flesh (see Galatians 5:16).

• I renounce all selfish goals and choose the ultimate goal of love (see I Timothy 1:5). I choose to obey the two greatest commandments to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself (see Matthew 22:37-39).

• I believe that the Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth (see Matthew 28:18) and that He is the head over all rule and authority. I am complete in Him (see Colossians 2:10). I believe that Satan and his demons are subject to me in Christ since I am a member of Christ’s Body (see Ephesians 1:19-23). Therefore, I obey the command to submit to God and resist the devil (see James 4:7), and I command Satan in the name of Jesus Christ to leave my presence.