Learn How to Move from Victim to Victor

Healing Ancestral Wounds

By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena

It is possible to release the victim mindset and move from victim to victor.

A Victim Mindset

Fighting back tears, Linda grabbed my arm. “Why me? I always get taken advantage of. When I had trouble with my computer last week, I received a phone call from a company saying they could fix my computer remotely for just $200. I gave them my debit card info and never heard from them again. I still have a broken computer, and I lost $200. Three weeks before that, I was charged for car repairs I did not need. I feel like I am wearing a sign that says ‘Come, take advantage of me.’”

Have you heard scenarios similar to the one my friend Linda recently shared with me?

We all hit potholes occasionally. But when this becomes a pattern, we need to consider the possibility that a victim mindset or victim spirit is operating, so we can break its power over our lives.

Learn How to Move from Victim to Victor #victim #spiritualwarfare #healing Share on X

Victim-Rescuer-Persecutor Triangle

When I attended a graduate counseling program, I learned about the Victim-Rescuer-Persecutor triangle. Victims view themselves as helpless, powerless, and hopeless, and believe they need a rescuer. Persecutors can control and bully others with threats, while rescuers take care of others. I immediately saw myself as the rescuer and erroneously believed this was a positive role. After all, I was helping people, right?

What I soon learned was that rescuers also become victims and persecutors. Rescuers can also enable others’ dependent behavior. We need to stay out of the triangle by recognizing these unhealthy patterns and breaking the cycle. In my counselor training, I learned that healthy adults break these negative patterns with empathy, compassion, assertiveness, self-awareness, and healthy boundaries.

Victim Mindset and the Victim Spirit

When I trained in inner healing prayer years later, I learned there is a spiritual component to what we view as victimization. A victim mindset is a thought pattern. If the mindset is not dealt with, this can open the door to a demonic presence, including a victim spirit and a predator spirit.

Characteristics of Individuals with a Victim Mindset:

  • They stay in exploitative, oppressive situations, convinced it is normal or God’s will.
  • They assume the worst and expect disaster. They do not realize this mindset brings their will in alignment with the will of the enemy. The father of lies wants us to be victims, not conquerors.
  • They never ask for anything they have a right to have because they do not feel worthy.

When Linda said she felt like she was wearing a “Come, take advantage of me” sign, in the spirit realm, she was attracting a predator spirit. I learned that the victim spirit collaborates with other spirits to continually harass the person.

A person can act like a victim in one environment and a predator in another environment. For example, the bully at school can be a victim at home. We need to recognize these unhealthy patterns so they can be renounced and broken, and we can walk in freedom.

Move from Victim to Victor

Jesus came to set the captives free. He is our savior and rescuer. Romans 8:37 tells us we are more than conquerors through Christ. Once we recognize unhealthy patterns in our lineage, we move from victim to victor by:

  • Applying the blood of Jesus to the negative ancestral influences and asking for cleansing;
  • Forgiving our ancestors for partnering with the victim spirit;
  • Asking for forgiveness for any part we played in partnering with the victim spirit and maintaining the victim mindset;
  • Renouncing the victim spirit and breaking its power over our lives and our future generations in Jesus’s name; and
  • Asking the Holy Spirit what He would like to fill us with in place of the victim spirit we evicted.

We claim our rights as sons and daughters of the Lord. It is essential to keep our minds transformed by reading the Scriptures on who I am in Christ and who I am in Christ affirmations. Once we embrace our spiritual identity in Christ, we ask Him to help us walk in the power and authority He gave us over the enemy in Luke 10:19. Christ is the answer to freedom from captivity and walking in freedom.

Walk in POWER by:

P—Praising God for all He has done.

O—Overcoming the victim spirit using the power freely given by God.

W—Worshipping the Lord.

E—Embracing our position as a child in God’s family and being transformed from victim to victor.

R—Renouncing the negative ancestral influences.

Prayer to Walk from Victim to Victor

  1. I confess the sins of my ancestors, my parents, and my own sins associated with the victim spirit, and I forgive each person for how these influences have hurt me (Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, name the people aloud). I choose to forgive ________, __________, __________, __________, __________, ________.
  2. Lord, I ask You to forgive me for yielding to these negative influences. I receive Your forgiveness, and I choose to forgive myself for entering into these sins and believing the enemy’s lies.
  3. I renounce these negative influences and break their power over my life, my family, and all future family in Jesus’s holy name.
  4. I am no longer a victim. Lord, transform my mindset from victim to victor. I receive God’s blessings and replace the victim spirit with_________, __________,  ___________,  (Ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to fill you with to replace what was renounced).1 And I ask all this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

1Adapted from Gena and Press Barnhill, Simple Effective Prayer, (Birmingham, AL: Brookstone Publishing), 25-26.

*Editor’s Note: This post, originally published on August 21, 2023, was revamped for comprehensiveness.

Your Turn

What negative consequences have you observed from the victim spirit? Be sure to share your observations in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.

We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.

Blessings,
Gena

In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here is the link to the Archives:

https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/