Breaking Spiritual Strongholds: Feed Your Spirit

June 21, 2023

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds: Feed Your Spirit

What is your spirit?

The first thing that we need to understand is that every one of us was created in the image of God, Genesis 1:26. We are triune beings meaning that we have three parts that make up who we are: spirit, soul, and body. Often times we like to lump our soul and spirit in the same category when that is so far from the truth. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 details, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here we can see where the Apostle Paul through the leading of the Holy Spirit is distinguishing the three separate areas of our human body. Our soul is what produces our will, mind, and emotions. Our spirit is where the Holy Spirit dwells for those that are believers of Jesus Christ. Our bodies are just the outer shell that houses our spirit and soul.

In order for us to walk our Christian life according to the will of God we have to make sure that we spend time in His Word. Just like your physical body needs food to grow; your spirit needs spiritual food for your spiritual growth. It is extremely important that we feed our spirit man (spirit) on a daily basis. This strengthens your protective barrier when the enemy attempts to come against you.

You cannot fight today’s devil with yesterday’s Word, we need our daily bread, Matthew 6:11. You are fighting against a powerful adversary that has been around for thousands of years. Feeding your spirit is one of the main ways that you can develop your spiritual strength so that you can be prepared for the devil when he comes to steal, kill, and destroy, John 10:10.

I am going to go over some of the primary methods that you can practice that will help feed your spirit as well as the key verses pertaining to them.

Also check out my articles on developing your prayer life: Power of Prayer (Praying the Scriptures), Power of Prayer (Principles of Prayer), and Power of Prayer (Praying in Your Heavenly Language).

Read Your Bible daily

Matthew 4:4

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Here we can see in the book of Matthew that Jesus is giving us a critical piece of information regarding the bread of life which is the Word of God. He is making the statement that we cannot live off of bread (food of any kind) alone, but we actually need God’s Word to survive. That is a powerful proclamation!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is known as the Good News because it provides us with salvation, reconnection to our Heavenly Father, and victory over the bondages of sin and death. It is our double-edged Sword that can help us pierce through any stronghold that the devil establishes in our lives. God’s Word is a daily necessity as believers of Jesus Christ.

The Lord expects us to grow from elementary teachings or newborn babes in Christ (having little knowledge of the Bible) to full maturity in Christ (having a knowledge of God’s Word, growing spiritually, and living a repentant life), Hebrews 6:1. The reason why this is so significant is because the more of the Lord’s Word that you have engrained in your heart the more artillery you will have against the devil’s tactics.

Hebrews 5:13-15 is explicit when the Lord states, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Newborn babes are the ones that drink the pure milk of the Word of God which is perfectly normal as a brand new believer of Jesus Christ. You eventually have to mature from that level to “full age” making it your mission to study to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15). What that does is allows you to be able to discern good from evil. This will help you from falling into the enemy’s traps which includes entangling you in his web of spiritual strongholds.

Be led by the Holy Spirit

John 16:13

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

The importance of the Holy Spirit often gets overlooked and discounted. He is the third Person of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but they are all equally God, Matthew 3:16-17. The verse of Scripture that I am highlighting out of the book of John is explaining to us that the Spirit of God is the One that will tell us what’s to come including the enemy’s strategies against us.

Some of the other roles of the Holy Spirit are: our Teacher, Guide, Revelator, Administer, Intercessor, Comforter, and Counselor. He also convicts of sin, judgment, and righteousness. He gives you power and boldness to accomplish God’s will for your life, and He glorifies Jesus and Jesus alone. It is imperative that we learn to listen to His still small voice so we can be led by Him in all that we do.

What that does is it prevents us from veering off track, doing things that are against the Word of God, and helps us grow spiritually. We can never forget that life is spiritual and in order for us to overcome the adversary that we face daily, we need to be led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we will fall for the devil’s schemes especially in these last days that we are living in right now.

He is craftier with how he develops his tactics making it easier to establish strongholds in our minds. We are to remain vigilant and sober minded at all times knowing that he is a prowling lion just searching for someone to devour. You best believe he will do whatever it takes to make sure that he makes you a causality of war. He doesn’t ever and I mean ever play fair.

One of the hardest realizations that I had to face was the fact that the powerful demonic oppression that I had to endure was due to my lack of knowledge. I truly didn’t believe that there was a devil let alone an entire demonic kingdom. The Holy Spirit is the One that taught me how to fight back with nothing but my double-edged Sword (Word of God). The thing is I had to learn how to be led by Him and His still small voice. Had I failed to listen I wouldn’t be here today to tell my story.

Also don’t forget to check out my articles on the importance of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit-Our Prayer Partner, The Holy Spirit-The Spirit of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind!, and The Holy Spirit-Our Helper.

Praise

Psalm 22:1-3

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent.

But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.”

Here we can see from this Psalm written by King David that he is giving us an example of the powerful effect of our praise! It literally ushers in the presence of God. What better way to develop your spiritual life than to be consumed in the Lord’s presence? David is showing us that even though he was going through trials and tribulations, he knew that his praises were heard by the Lord.

When the enemy has us completely surrounded the Word of God tells us that the Lord’s Spirit will lift up a standard against him, Isaiah 59:19. It doesn’t matter what spiritual stronghold that the devil has you shackled in, praise! What that does is confuse him because he will not be able to understand how you are able to praise the Lord with your entire heart even in the midst of the storm that he created.

When he is coming at you from every direction and the demonic thoughts in your mind are continuous with no end in sight, he wants you to give up. Those are the moments that you want to take your spiritual authority get up and praise the Lord Jesus for everything that He has done for you despite what you’re going through. The devil will not know what to do because you are now coming from a place of victory and not defeat.

The most important thing to remember is if He did it before, He can do it again! Never doubt God’s love for every single one of us. His promises are yes and amen, 2 Corinthians 1:20. He means what He says in His Word. The more that you praise Him simply for Who He is, the more you will see your spiritual intimacy grow.

Worship

John 4:24

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John through the leading of the Holy Spirit is making it clear to us that God is spirit and we are to worship (give reverence) to Him in spirit (our inner man, Holy Spirit living in us) and truth (believing in the truth of Who Jesus Christ is). When we want to feed our spirit we need to make sure that we include true worship and adoration to the Lord.

One of the best ways that you can build intimacy with God is by worshiping Him with your entire heart. When you know that you have been given the gift of salvation, something that none of us deserved you cannot help but to worship. When you invite the presence of the Lord through your worship the enemy has a hard time remaining in that atmosphere.

Spiritual strongholds can be very hard to break but praise and worship are definitely some powerful ways that you can loosen the enemy’s grip. Never forget that one of the most common doors that the devil opens to establish strongholds is deliberate sin. If you give him an inch you best believe he will take a mile. He will turn your sin into full on bondage that isn’t easily broken.

Romans 12:1 gives us another perspective on worship when Paul states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Here we can see that consecrating ourselves is another form of worship. What that does is ensure that every single doorway to the enemy is completely shut.

How is that possible? If we are presenting our bodies holy and acceptable that means that we are abiding by the stipulations laid out for us by God. When we live a sanctified lifestyle, the chance of the enemy infiltrating is less likely. His breeding ground is a place where there is filth, grime, and ungodliness. When you remove those things you are removing possible entry ways for the devil to come into your life to steal, kill, and destroy.

Conclusion

There is no denying that one of the most used tactics that the enemy uses on Christians over and over again is developing spiritual strongholds. One of the ways that you can break the bondages that the devil has in your life is if you make it a priority to feed your spirit. Our body is made of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. When we do things that are going to allow us to grow spiritually, it strengthens the wall of protection around us from the enemy’s attacks.

Some of the main ways that you can feed your spirit are: reading the Word of God, being led by the Holy Spirit, Praise, and Worship. We have to come into the realization that life is spiritual and there is a spiritual battle that we are all facing daily. It is a requirement that we are not ignorant of the enemy’s devices, 2 Corinthians 2:11.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Importance of Reading Your Bible-Shows Us How to Love

The Importance of Reading Your Bible-It Renews Your Mind

The Importance of Reading your Bible-fights the enemy

The Importance of Reading your Bible-has the ability to heal

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Builds Your Faith

The Importance of Reading your Bible-Reveals Jesus Christ

The Importance of Renewing Your Mind!