From the moment we are first placed in the womb, we experience an overflow of the evil that is present in the atmosphere of this world. During prayer ministry the Lord consistently reveals that many of the negative emotions we felt in the womb were not our own feelings. Rather, we were feeling the despair, rejection, rage and hatred of the prince of the power of the air. Unfortunately, we think these emotions are our own.

I. The Passive Attack: In the presence of mine enemies
    A. Where the enemy is
        The enemy is here in the earth and in the earth’s atmosphere – along with any number of other fallen evil beings. The presence of these evil beings profoundly affects the spiritual environment in which we live.

    The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned. Matthew 4:16 (Amplified Bible)

    B. First contact
        We are inserted into this dark atmosphere at the time of conception and from our very first moments on earth we breathe in the rage and despair and lies of our spiritual enemies.

    And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ...the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time." Revelation 12:8-13

    C. Resulting confusion
        Ephesians 2: 1-2 describes the enemy as “the prince of the power of the air.” Just the presence of these evil ones pollutes the atmosphere in such a way that it is very difficult to discern between our own thoughts and feelings and the thoughts and feelings of these evil beings.

    Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. Psalm 27:12

    We are especially vulnerable to this kind of confusion at the moment of conception when we first enter the earth and during womb time. That’s when many of us decide that there is something profoundly and irretrievably wrong with us, that we are not wanted, that God betrayed us or lied to us, that we have to do “it” ourselves. These feelings match how the enemy feels and thinks. If our parents are sufficiently wounded or experiencing some kind of crisis at this time, we will feel even more profoundly alone and afraid because we will resonate with their feelings and beliefs.
   
    Often, during prayer ministry, the Lord will reveal that much of what a person believes at the core of her being had been absorbed from the evil atmosphere and from mother/father. The child accepted as her own what others felt and believed.

Step One to Freedom
    So one very important step in ridding ourselves of the enemy’s influence is to ask the Lord to separate the feelings and beliefs that actually belong to us from those that belong to the enemy. We have enough wrong beliefs of our own without being mixed up with the hopeless rage of evil beings.

    Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:78-79

    Ask the Lord to shine on you so that the darkness and shadow of death are revealed for what they truly are - the presence of your spiritual enemies.
   
    Prayer: Lord Creator God, please make a clear and obvious separation between what belongs to me and what belongs to my spiritual enemies. Please show me what I have believed, and do believe, simply because I live in an atmosphere of war. Help me overcome these lies. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

    But the LORD is with me like a dread champion. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, with an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten. Jeremiah 20:11

II. Aggressive Attacks: Seeking whom he may devour
    A. Sin empowers the enemy. (See Isaiah 59:8-14) The enemy is very invested in enticing us to sin, preferably from the womb.

    In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God. Hosea 12:3

        1. Obedience
            Apparently, sin gives the enemy an opening, so our front line of defense and offense is simple obedience. For example, if you are struggling with jealousy, then you are in a spiritual battle for your soul. Your most powerful weapon is to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15) and give thanks to God for blessing the other person. How you feel in the moment is of no consequence. Simply obey God relentlessly in this matter and you will overcome evil with good.
        2. Honesty
            Another powerful weapon in our arsenal is honesty. If you are caught in sin, be honest with God about it. Tell Him the truth. He honors light and truth. I realize that what I have just written may feel scary, but read what John says in his gospel.

    "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
    "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
    "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:18-20
   
            So it is wise to bring all thoughts, feelings and actions into the light. The enemy relishes darkness and that is where he works, so even though you feel ashamed, bring it to the Lord. Sometimes, we are afraid that God will make us stop doing what we are doing - we like our sin - in this case, bring it to the Lord anyway. His compassion is beyond anything we can imagine.

Step Two to Freedom
    All of us, on one front or another, struggle with sin. Simple, relentless obedience and inviting the Lord into our dark places overcomes sin. God will help you. Don’t hide in the darkness. God does not work there.

    Prayer: Creator God, help me overcome my fear of You enough to bring what I think and feel and do into Your presence so that Your light will shine on me. I take my courage by the hand and invite You into the dark places of my life.
   
    B. Legal Grounds
        1. Judgments and Vows
            The primary way the enemy entices us to sin is through lies. Since we believe with our hearts and our hearts believe what they feel, it is an easy matter for the enemy to give us a little push in the direction of believing a lie.
            When we have believed a lie, our soul will then attempt to understand that lie. We ask “Why did this happen to me?” The soulish answer is usually a judgment against ourselves or someone else. That causes our pain to increase. So then our soul tries to manage the pain by making a decision. We decide to never feel the pain again or to not ever trust anyone again and so on.

    How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? Psalm 13:2

            The enemy attaches to the promises we make in our souls. Once the lie is replaced with truth, the judgment located and repented of and the promise broken, it is a simple matter to instruct any evil thing attached to the promise to go to the feet of Jesus.
       
    Please see my teachings on Bitter Root Judgments and Inner Vows.

    Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
    And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
    And lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24

        2. Generational Iniquity
             We do not inherit the sins of our ancestors, we inherit the consequences. This means that the enemy may flow into our lives through an evil covenant made by our ancestors generations ago. These ancient agreements with evil powers often require formal renunciation in order to get relief from demonic activity.
       
        3. Ancient curses spoken over a family line
          It appears that formal and informal curses pass down a family line long after the original reason for the curse is forgotten. When destructive patterns repeat year after year, a curse may be involved.