“Empowering the abused woman to recover with God's truth"
The spirit of rejection causes us to look at things and people in a different way. If you have been rejected, ask God to deliver and restore your soul; ask God to remove the wound from rejection, and all other wounds, from your soul. The spirit of rejection partners with the spirits of abandonment, neglect, unforgiveness, bitterness and all it’s spirits, and other spirits – spirits run in packs. You just don’t have one assigned to you but have all in those groups. That is why, it’s so very important to not allow unforgiveness, rejection, or anything else that comes to steal, kill, and destroy from us, setup in your heart. NO MATTER WHAT people do to you, forgive them.
As the Scripture says in Ephesians 4:26-27 (NLT), 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
We must remember that we are in a spiritual battle; Jesus won the war and gave us the victory, but the enemy is not giving up, and neither should we! Jesus is telling us today, what He told the disciples in John 16:33 (ESV), “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Our position now, is to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12)! And to do this, first, we Must KNOW, I mean REALLY KNOW, who our enemy is – our enemy is not the person who hurt you but a spirit that is using that person!
Paul tells us in First Peter 5:6-11 (ESV), 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Then in Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT), Paul tells us, 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[d]
Paul is telling us in First Peter 5:8-11 (ESV), that the enemy is prowling around, TRYING to devour us, and in Ephesians 6:10-18 (NLT), Paul is telling us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies. Both Scriptures gives us clear directions on what to do before, and after the attack from the enemy – Paul tells us in First Peter 5:9, what to do also, while the enemy is attacking.
In First Peter 5:6-8, Paul is telling us what to do BEFORE the enemy attack; he tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the right time God can exalt us; cast ALL our anxieties on God, because He cares for us; and to be sober-minded/watchful because our adversary the devil, is prowling around, seeing who he devour.
Then in First Peter 5:9, Paul tells us what to do DURING the enemy’s attack; we are to resist the enemy, by standing firm in our faith (standing firm in our faith in God’s ability, not ours), knowing that the same kinds of suffering we are experiencing, our brothers and sisters are experiencing also, throughout the world.
Paul then reassures us AFTER the attack, in First Peter 5:10, by telling us after we have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ, WILL Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us.
And in First Peter 5:11, Paul gives praise to God, by saying, “To God be the dominion forever and ever” and that is what we are to do, when God has brought us out of the battle; out of the situation, where the enemy tried to devour us but God said, “NOT SO!!”
Let’s just stop a minute and give God some praise!! I will start off: Praise God!! Thank You Jesus!! Thank You Holy Spirit!! Thank You Father for restoring, confirming, strengthening, and establishing me!! GLORY TO YOUR NAME!!
Let’s continue! Let’s look at what Paul is telling us in Ephesians 6:10-18 (I am reposting the Scripture here):
Paul says, 10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[d]
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul is telling us what to do BEFORE and WHILE the enemy is attacking; he tells us to “…Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[d]
Paul once again tells us to “stay alert…” (v. 18) which is the same as being “sober-minded; watchful” in First Peter 5:6-8. In verse 18, Paul also tells us to “be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” We are not only to pray for ourselves, and our families, but for other believers and their families.
These Scriptures, First Peter 5:8-11, and Ephesians 6:10-18, lets us KNOW without a shadow of doubt, who we are fighting against, and who is fighting against us and teaches us how to prepare for the enemy’s attack. Therefore, we must be ready for the enemy, our adversary, the devil, when he comes to steal, kill, and destroy from us – and he will come John 16:33.
We MUST ALWAYS remember, it is NOT the flesh and blood person, standing in front of us, or who we are dealing one-on-one with, who hurt us, it’s the enemy using that person or people, to hurt us. Those people have opened themselves up, to the devil, and is allowing him to us them.
Again, as Ephesians 6:12 says, “12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Therefore, the ONLY way we’re going to be able to STAND FIRM, against the wiles of the devil, is by putting on and keeping on, the WHOLE ARMOR of God (Ephesians 6:13-18).
It’s past time we let go of the tools of the devil (bitterness, unforgiveness, rejection, self-bitterness, unforgiveness, etc.)! As long as the devil can keep us stuck in the past, stuck at the point of the offense, which caused the hurt, which caused the unforgiveness, and opened the door for other spirits to join the party, he is happy! Because the devil knows that if you are stuck in the pass, you cannot go forward in the things God – the things God is calling you to do! And if you are stuck looking back at the pass, what happened to you in the pass, you cannot see clearly, where God wants to take you now. Because you are so full of unforgiveness, bitterness, and all other spirits that goes with unforgiveness, and bitterness.
Remember, bitterness is a major stronghold of satan; it’s one of satan’s principalities. Bitterness enters our heart through unforgiveness; unforgiveness opens the door, for the other spirits that are tied to it – there are stages before bitterness enters, and setup in our heart. Unforgiveness is the first piece of the armor surrounding the principality of bitterness. The armor of bitterness is unforgiveness, resentment, retaliation, anger, hatred, violence, and murder – each one of these spirits are worse than the previous one before it!
I am going to pause here, and explain a little more about bitterness, and the other major strongholds of the enemy. After I finish, I will give you information on how to learn more about bitterness, and these other spirits that the enemy uses to try and defeat us.
Satan’s major strongholds (weapons) are bitterness (unforgiveness), self- bitterness, jealousy and envy, rejection, fear, unbelief and the occult; and he takes these strongholds and builds principalities, using millions of demons (powers) to do his evil work for him. Each principality is made up of so many demons, as you will see, and all these spirits work together. There are differing levels of authority and power in satan's realm. Each specific evil spirit answers to another spirit higher up the line of authority. Just below satan in this pecking order are his principalities. It is through this hierarchy of evil spirits and principalities that satan continually seeks to draw us into captivity, taking control of our lives.
What is a principality? A principality is a ruling demon that has several lesser demons answering to it. Bitterness is a ruling demon. Answering to it, giving it protection and providing its armor are: 1) Unforgiveness, 2) Resentment, 3) Retaliation, 4) Anger, 5) Hatred, 6) Violence, 7) Murder – these are the powers which Ephesians 6:12 talks about.
The evil spirit who presides at each step up in the hierarchy of a principality is eviler than the ones below him. In the hierarchy of the principality of bitterness, resentment is worse than unforgiveness; unforgiveness answers to resentment. Retaliation is worse than resentment; resentment answers to retaliation, and so on. Each lower demon protects the armor for the next higher demon.
Now do you understand? Do you see how dangerous unforgiveness is? Unforgiveness opens the way, for all these other evil spirits, the next one being eviler than the previous one!! I am going to repeat it again, we MUST UNDERSTAND who we are really fighting against; we are not fighting against the flesh and blood person who hurts us, but against “…principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 – NKJV). Knowing who you are fighting against makes forgiveness easier to do; it will cause you to be able to instantly forgive someone when they hurt you. You will know it is not the person who hurt you but the spirit behind the person.
The information I just shared with you about bitterness, and the other major strongholds of satan, came from Dr. Art Mathias, of Wellspring Ministry Alaska, book, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s... And I highly recommend that you all buy a copy of Dr. Mathias,’ book.
In his book, Dr. Mathias fully explains about the major strongholds of the devil, and other Biblical principles. Wellspring Ministry’s Ministers teach on their Facebook page every Wednesday night, a section of Dr. Mathias’ book! On Wednesday, August 19th, Janice Coulter taught about self-bitterness, on their Facebook page – click here to watch.
I had an opportunity to attend one of Dr. Mathias,’ “I Found Freedom” seminars in 2010, and it was a life changing event for me. I saw firsthand what God was doing at his seminars; I witnessed how powerful forgiveness is. People were getting set free because they decided to forgive – some had been holding onto unforgiveness for years and that is why I decided to adapt Dr. Mathis’ book into my Recovery program. Forgiveness is powerful because when we decide to forgive, we are obeying God’s Word and when we obey God, we will be blessed.
From Dr. Mathias’ book, I created the “Biblical Foundations of Freedom” (BFOF) Program, with permission from him and his wife Patti. After attending Dr. Mathias’ workshop in 2010, God instructed me to start, Abused Woman Ministries’ School of Healing (AWMSOH) online. The online school has the lectures on there, from the BFOF Program that I taught in 2010, and ever since. That’s one thing about the Word of God, it NEVER gets old, because it NEVER changes! Another website that has a lot of information about my Ministry, and other sites, is www.abusedwoman.org.
Now, let’s continue with the teaching, since you have an understanding of who we are fighting against, and the tools, strategies, the enemy uses to try and defeat us.
Remember also, every hurt begins with an offense! You could not have unforgiveness against someone, if he or she had not did some kind of act, that offended you!
Aren’t you tired of carry around that baggage? Aren’t you tired of being sick in your body? That sickness is most likely due to stress, and anxiety, which is caused by bitterness, unforgiveness, and all their groupings! Proverbs 14:29-30 (AMPC) tells us, “29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is hasty of spirit exposes and exalts his folly. 30 A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, an wrath are like rottenness of the bones.”
If you said “Yes” you are tired, that’s good; I am glad you are tired, so you can be set free from the devil’s tools of destruction, he has tricked you into carrying around for years! The devil has been lying to you! The devil has been telling you, nobody loves you - that’s lie number one!! God loves YOU!!
God came down in the flesh, so He could save you Himself! God took the form of man (Jesus), and walked among mankind, seeking, and saving those who are lost, and healing the sick – NO MATTER what disease, sickness, or infirmity they had, JESUS HEALED THEM ALL & RESTORED HEALTH TO THEM ALL (Matthew 8:16-17)!! Click here for a list of Scriptures, to show you how much God loves you, and the rest of mankind – these Scriptures to tear down the lie, that the devil is telling you!
Lie number two that the devil tells you is, that you are sick, and going to die! God wants you well!! Therefore, Jesus came and healed you, just like He did in Matthew 8:16-17, and in other Scriptures in the Bible!! Jesus HAS came and taken EVERY disease, sickness, infirmities, pain, guilt, shame, sorrow, and EVERYTHING that the devil is using to try and steal, kill, and destroy from you – Jesus HAS given you ABUNDANT LIFE NOW (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 3:8; John 10:10)!! YOU ARE HEALED NOW – YOUR MANIFESTATION JUST HAVEN’T CAME!!
Confession for Isaiah 53:4-5: Surely Jesus hath borne my sicknesses and diseases and carried my pains. He bore them and carried them away to a distance. I don’t have to bear what He bore for me. I refuse to bear what He bore for me. Satan cannot put on me what Jesus bore for me. By His stripes I am healed and made whole.
Confession for Matthew 8:16-17: Jesus Himself took my infirmities and bore my sicknesses. He carried away my sicknesses and diseases. He bore them away and removed them. Disease is not mine. Healing is mine. I refuse to bear what Jesus bore for me. Satan, you cannot put disease on me. I refuse to accept sickness. I will not tolerate sickness. Sickness and disease are totally unacceptable to me.
God wants to heal you today (bring your manifestation into the natural realm), right now, right where you are!! You might have been praying a long time for your healing, but don’t give up – cast doubt, and unbelief out of your mind, pull down those strongholds and believe!! Without faith, you cannot please God, not receive what He has for you!
God wants to heal EVERY pain, from ALL the hurts you have experienced, in your life – God wants to heal your broken heart, and bind up your wounds (Psalms 147:3). Again, God HAS done all these things, because of Jesus; Jesus died so you, and all of mankind, could be saved, could be restored to the Father (Ephesians 2:1-22; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 53:1-12; Romans 6:23). But to lay hold of what Jesus HAS done for you, you MUST BELIEVE in Jesus, and ACCEPT what He has done AND you MUST RECEIVE what Jesus has done, before you can see your manifestation in your body or your life!
God wants to pour out His love upon you, right where you are! Just open up to God, and ALLOW His healing rain to wash over you. God wants to massage your heart, until it beats again; until you breathe the NEW LIFE Jesus died for you to have, the ABUNDANT LIFE (John 10:10); until you let go of the hurts, pains, and traumas of the past, and embrace the new life God has for you!
God also wants to massage your heart until you begin to love again; until you trust people again, and not think (by the devil’s prompting) they are trying to hurt you, or don’t love you!
If you are suffering from unforgiveness, bitterness, etc., (whether towards others, or yourself) why not give God your hurts that caused those things in your life, right now? Why not ALLOW right where you are, to manifest your healing for your heart, and bind up your wounds? If you are ready, God is willing! Pray this prayer, and all prayers, from the a place of victory; from a place of you’ve already got it in the spiritual realm – Jesus ALREADY gave it to you!
Now let’s pray: Right where you are, say, “Lord, I SURRENDER to You; I SURRENDER my life TOTALLY to You; COMPLETELY trusting You, with EVERYTHING that has weighted me down for years, and kept me from doing your will! I TOTALLY give You all these things (if you know the things that are weighing you down, you can tell God but if you don’t, God knows – we have not because we ask not). I don’t want them bounding me down any longer. Thank You Father for healing my broken heart, and binding up my wounds! Thank You Father for healing, delivering, and restoring me, from ALL unforgiveness, bitterness, and their groupings (the spirits that protects the principalities), in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!!”
If you prayed that prayer for God to manifest your healing, and bind up the wounds in your soul, you stand still, and see God’s salvation; you wait right there in your position (position of authority; position of victory; position of you already got it), until you God move for you – you will know when God move; until you see it manifest in the natural realm!! NO MATTER how it look, or how you feel, you BELIEVE God heard you and have done, what you asked! Because God has been ready, to manifest the healing of your broken heart, and the binding up of your wounds! But God was just waiting on YOU, to give Him permission; waiting on YOU to decide to forgive the person(s), or yourself, and let unforgiveness, bitterness, and all spirits associated with them, GO! Now, begin to get into God’s Word, and allow Holy Spirit to be your Teacher; to teach you God’s trues (Romans 12:1-2).
Also, to help you further disputing the number two lie that the devil tells, which is that you are sick, and going to die, here are some healing confessions, from Kenneth Hagin Ministries’ website – the teaching is titled, “Healing Scriptures & Confessions God’s Medicine – A Daily Dose.”
Confession for Isaiah 53:4-5: Surely Jesus hath borne my sicknesses and diseases and carried my pains. He bore them and carried them away to a distance. I don’t have to bear what He bore for me. I refuse to bear what He bore for me. Satan cannot put on me what Jesus bore for me. By His stripes I am healed and made whole.
Confession for Matthew 8:16-17: Jesus Himself took my infirmities and bore my sicknesses. He carried away my sicknesses and diseases. He bore them away and removed them. Disease is not mine. Healing is mine. I refuse to bear what Jesus bore for me. Satan, you cannot put disease on me. I refuse to accept sickness. I will not tolerate sickness. Sickness and disease are totally unacceptable to me.
Confession for 1 Peter 2:24: By Jesus' stripes I was healed. Healing belongs to me. I was healed 2,000 years ago by the stripes Jesus bore. I'm not trying to get healed. I've got healing, because by His stripes I was healed.
Confession for 1 John 3:8: Sickness is a work of the devil. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Sickness has been dissolved, broken up, annulled, undone, and liquidated as far as I am concerned. Jesus put sickness to an end for me.
Another resource is a teaching by Pastor Joseph Prince titled, “JESUS HAS BORNE YOUR DISEASES.”
Once you begin to listen to the devil, once you allow the devil to speak into your life, through your thoughts, he will bring you more lies! SHUT the devil down, by taking captive EVERY thought, that’s not according to the Word of God! 2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV says, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV, “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” – again, SHUT down EVERY lying spirit, that brings ANYTHING to you, that’s contrary to the Word of God!!
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you can right now! John tells us in 1 John 1:9 AMP, “If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].” If you’re ready, pray this prayer from Billy Graham’s Ministry (click this link for prayer).
I pray 2 Corinthians 13:14 (New International Reader’s Version – NIRV) and Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) over you all: “May the grace shown by the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. May the love that God has given us be with you. And may the sharing of life brought about by the Holy Spirit be with you all. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
God’s peace, comes through Jesus ONLY!! There is NO WAY we can have peace, without the Prince of Peace, Jesus!! Here are some resources, that will help you grow in God:
“Scripture of the Day: Rest, Rule, and Abide”
A great resource that can help you live in continual forgiveness, is Craig Denison’s First15 devotional for August 16, 2020, titled, “A Lifestyle of Continual Forgiveness.” In the “Prayer” section, Craig shows us how to take inventory of ourselves, and live the forgiving lifestyle. This is what Craig said:
“Prayer”
1. Meditate on God’s command to live a lifestyle of continual forgiveness. Allow his word to fill you with a desire to be slow to anger and quick to forgive and offer grace.
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32 ESV
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 ESV
2.Who do you need to offer forgiveness to today? What anger have you allowed to fester in your heart?
3.Forgive that person or those people in your heart right now. Offer grace to them in your heart that you might receive healing in the place of bitterness.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25 ESV
Craig’s final words on that day’s devotional topic, in the “Go” section was:
“Go”
1 Peter 2:23 (ESV) says, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” May we become like Jesus and offer grace and forgiveness to others who are undeserving. May we be reflections of his love by being slow to anger and quick to offer mercy. May his light shine through us today into a world wrought with darkness and pain.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 4 or watch The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians.
Now that God has healed your heart, God has fixed your broken heart, and bound up your wounds, you can “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again!!
Click here for PDF version of "God Is Ready to Heal!"
If you have any questions, you can reach me at drdehooks@abusedwoman.org, or on my Ning website, www.abusedwoman.ning.com.
God’s Blessings to you all and your families!!
Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks
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