Do You Desire Freedom from Anxiety?
By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena
A desire for freedom from anxiety frequently led people to request inner healing prayer. They were tired of worrying and fretting and wanted the Lord’s peace to reign in their lives. They did not always know how or when anxiety had entered their lives to wreak havoc. Later in their prayer sessions, they became aware of relatives who may have influenced them or said words that provoked anxiety.
Our Struggles
Anxiety has been active in our bloodlines for generations. I struggled with anxiety most of my life. My father told me I needed to stop paying tolls on bridges I had not yet crossed. My mother worried about the future and finances. She told me she felt ill with stomach pains and nausea each month when she sat down to balance her checkbook.
Press’s grandmother’s anxiety and life focus centered on acquiring enough money. She had what Press heard others refer to as a depression mentality and sought to save as much money as she could so that she would never be in need. Money became her life-long obsession. Her anxiety led her to continue to set higher savings goals each time she achieved her goal. This one-track focus negatively impacted her relationships and caused her to distrust others and remain isolated. We needed to stop partnering with this negative influence and ask the Lord for His freedom from anxiety.
Do You Desire Freedom from Anxiety #anxiety #prayer #TrustingGod Share on XFreedom from Anxiety by Trusting God
For many people, anxiety has its roots in not trusting God for His provision. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Anxiety and Fear
Fear and anxiety work hand in hand to ruin relationships and distract people from achieving their destinies. When situations go wrong, these negative influences work to make the circumstances worse. Millions of people are anxious about getting the pandemic virus, cancer, or other ailments. They stay isolated from others and are fearful and anxious. This is exactly what the enemy wants—to keep us isolated and prevent us from helping each other.
Will God Forgive Me for My Sins?
Many people believe their sins preclude them from being worthy of God’s grace and mercy. This is a lie. We are promised forgiveness in I John 1:9 if we repent. Even Christians who are born again, spirit-filled, and baptized in the Holy Spirit can believe they are unworthy. If you don’t trust God and don’t believe He wants you whole and healthy, then anxiety can become a lifestyle.
Often, the people we prayed with said they watched a lot of TV news or read the daily paper. This news is mostly negative. The local media almost always has news of a car accident, a murder, drug abuse, a health scare, or someone who has hurt others or themselves. National news focuses on wars, political disagreements, mistakes made by officials, government waste, or corruption. This constant bombardment of negativity feeds anxiety and fear.
Ten years ago, we stopped watching TV news and minimized the amount of time we read the news online. It was a tremendous relief not to get upset about things that had no impact on us or our families. The spirit of anxiety works to make people upset about things they cannot do anything about. The anxiety continues in the person until they break free.
Do you desire freedom from anxiety?
When We Pray for Freedom from Anxiety
We all have felt anxious at some time in our lives. However, we can renounce and reject the spirits of anxiety and fear. Then we can ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to give us in place of these negative influences.
During prayer sessions, many people sensed the Holy Spirit wanted to give them His peace after they renounced these spirits and forgave their ancestors for embracing a spirit of anxiety. Now, they understood that the Lord loved them and would always be with them. Indeed, they were worthy because of Jesus. Prayer recipients often asked the Lord for self-control and declared they wanted to trust Him. We reminded them of 2 Timothy 1:7, which says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.”
How to Effectively Pray for Freedom from Anxiety
When I feel anxiety trying to impact me, I declare that I am no longer partnering with this negative influence, and I ask the Lord for His help and peace. After the oncologist diagnosed me with cancer, I found a healing prayer ministry. Their team taught me how to effectively pray. They guided me in prayers to ask for forgiveness for partnering with anxiety and to renounce and displace spirits of anxiety and fear.
- First, forgive anyone the Lord brings to your mind who influenced you with anxiety.
- Second, ask the Lord to forgive you for partnering with anxiety. Then choose to forgive yourself.
- Third, renounce anxiety and declare you are breaking its power over your life, your family, and all future family in Jesus’s name.
- Lastly, ask the Lord what He wants to fill you with to replace anxiety, and receive His blessings.
How have you dealt with anxiety?
If you use any specific Bible verses for emotional healing and strength, share those as well as your thoughts on our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.
Looking forward to your input.
Blessings,
Gena
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 15, 2022, and was revamped for comprehensiveness on September 14, 2024.
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/
