How Abandonment Affects Us Spiritually: The A-B-C Series on Ancestral Influences

By Press Barnhill @PressBarnhill

This is the first post of the A-B-C series. We have prayed with over 500 people and have seen how ancestral influences impact people in both positive and negative ways. Our bloodline provides our genes for our physical and mental capacities and abilities. Our ancestors also are conduits for spiritual influences, which can push people to behave in ways that are damaging and hurtful.

Abandonment 

The first type of negative influence in this series is the spirit of abandonment. Over the past few years, we have identified this as one of the most common spirits in the family bloodlines of the people we have prayed with.

The spirit of abandonment can become a factor when a relative has either physically or emotionally left the family. For example:

• Broken marriages open the door to this spirit.
• The early death of a parent, grandparent, or sibling is abandonment. This can be the result of an accident, sickness, suicide, or war.
• Emotional abandonment can be caused by hurtful words or actions, drug abuse, family conflicts, or numerous other reasons.

Going back just 4 generations, we all have at least 30 ancestors. At a minimum, we all have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and 16 great-great-grandparents. It is highly likely some of these 30 people experienced abandonment in their lives. Thus, the door opened for the spirit of abandonment to enter the bloodline, and it will stay until removed.

How the Spirit of Abandonment Affect Us Spiritually- The A-B-C Series on Ancestral Influences #prayer #Faith #ancestralcurses Click To Tweet

How Does the Spirit of Abandonment Show Up? 

The spirit of abandonment will manifest itself in many ways. This spirit is remarkably effective in keeping people from trusting others.

• Distrust of God is a prime focus.
• When we don’t trust others, it becomes difficult to enter into serious relationships, including marriage.
• Another way it manifests is to push people to rely only on themselves.
• Many believe, “If you want it done right, do it yourself.”

American culture supports independence instead of reliance on others.

• Be a rock.
• Stand on your own two feet.
• Be an independent person.

The spirit of abandonment influences us to not trust others. The Bible does not support this.

• In Hebrews 10:24-25, we are told to keep meeting together to build each other up.
• In Matthew 18:20, we are told that God is with us when 2 or more are gathered together.
• In Genesis 2:24, marriage is a biblical principle of two uniting to become one.

We have developed a prayer model called Simple Effective Prayer (SEP). The SEP manual has prayers for forgiving our ancestors for their part in abandonment. We have found this to be a key to healing. In some situations, such as accidents or sickness causing death, relatives may have done little to cause the abandonment. In other situations, such as divorce/separation, emotional abandonment, or deliberate acts by a person, forgiveness is especially important. The person receiving prayer needs to forgive everyone, so they are free of any influences.

The Blessings 

When we break off the spirit of abandonment, we replace it with God’s truth. In prayer, the Holy Spirit often leads a person to understand:

• They are a beloved child of God, adopted into the family of God.
• God will never abandon them or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).

When the spirit of abandonment is removed from the life of a believer, frequently there is a sense of release, or a weight being lifted off. Later, we will discuss the orphan lifestyle, which is frequently found in people suffering from the spirit of abandonment.

Now it’s your turn. When have you seen the spiritual effects of abandonment in your life or someone else’s? Be sure to share your thoughts on our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.

Blessings,
Press

In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here are the links:

Intro to Ancestral Influences