An Identity Stealer—The Spirit of Poverty
By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena
Did you know a spirit of poverty refers to a mindset that embraces a lack of provision or resources—not just money? Areas of provision can include our health, reputation, intelligence, and physical needs such as food, shelter, and clothing—to name a few.
When we live with a mindset focused on lack and insufficiency, we fear God will not provide for our needs, and we will always be poor in the resources we believe we need. This negative influence or generational curse can pass down the family lineage. We read examples of the poverty spirit in the Bible.
Poverty Mindset in the Old Testament
The Israelite nation flourished under Joseph and multiplied and grew strong. Approximately four hundred years later, Pharaoh feared the Israelites and put taskmasters against them to inflict burdens and keep them oppressed. The enslaved Israelites became bitter at the suffering they endured. They forgot about the God of their ancestors and His miraculous provision and focused on their current circumstances, groaning, and believing lack was normal. They became entrenched by the spirit of poverty even when God provided a way out through Moses. Their poverty mindset caused them to languish in the wilderness longing for their former slave life in Egypt.
An Identity Stealer The Poverty Spirit #poverty #healing #generationalcurses Share on XSpirit of Poverty—An Identity Thief
The spirit of poverty attempts to steal our identity as sons and daughters of God and convince us that we do not have access to God’s abundant resources. Focusing on our perceived lack can lead to bitterness and acting like a victim instead of our identity as overcomers because of Christ. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we inherit God’s wealth of resources.
God is a good and caring Father. Jesus assured us of God’s provision for all our needs in Luke 12:22-31 when He warned against seeking and coveting material possessions that others seek. God knows what we need even better than we do. In verse 31, Jesus said, “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” We don’t need to be anxious about anything because of God’s abundant provision.
Walking in Victory Scriptures
Hebrews 13: 5 says: Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Philippians 4:19 says: And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
The poverty spirit is destructive and holds us captive. To determine if a poverty spirit is holding us hostage, we need to look at the fruit of our lives. Our behaviors demonstrate what we believe.
Behaviors associated with the poverty spirit can include:
- Feeling jealous of others who have more than we have in the areas of money, health, reputation, friends, family, or possessions
- Worrying constantly about money to the point of sleepless nights
- Conversations continually focus on money and the cost of items and services
- Language such as “We can’t afford that,” or “That’s for rich folks, not us.”
- A belief that we don’t have enough so we must hold on to what we have because we may not have anything tomorrow
- Blaming others for our perceived lack
- A belief that we are powerless to change our situation
- Engaging in get-rich-quick schemes
- Always looking for a bargain and not able to enjoy occasional dining out or clothing if it is not on sale
- Living paycheck to paycheck and spending anything extra before it can be saved
- Seeking exclusive friendships and being jealous when a friend spends more time with someone else
- Criticizing anyone who is prosperous or powerful
- Complaining about what we do not have
Don’t Partner with the Spirit of Poverty
We need to use our spiritual eyes so we are not discouraged by what we see in the natural world when we look at difficult circumstances. We ask the Lord to give us His eyes to see the situation the way He does. If we allow the spirit of poverty to rule our thinking, we will miss the fullness of God’s blessings in our lives. We need to remove the legal right of the spirit of poverty and not allow pride to keep us from recognizing this destructive spirit, renouncing it, and repenting.
We have seen the spirit of poverty negatively impact our family members who had monetary wealth and those who lacked money and lived paycheck to paycheck. It may seem odd that having large amounts of money does not guarantee freedom from the poverty spirit. When accumulating money becomes a person’s number one goal, this becomes a stronghold that keeps them in bondage. Money becomes an idol and controls them. They are not living in the freedom and security they thought wealth would provide
We need to recognize we are overcomers, not slaves or victims to the poverty spirit. We are wealthy in God’s economy, not poor.
Being spiritually wealthy includes recognizing we are:
W– Worthy because of Jesus
E– Excellent when we allow God to work in and through us
A– Abundantly blessed by God
L– Loved by God
T– Thriving, not just surviving
H– Healthy in mind and body
Y– Your beloved child, Lord
Before I share a prayer with you, I would love for you to have an opportunity to chime in. How has this blog post helped you recognize the spirit of poverty?
Be sure to share your thoughts in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion .
We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.
Blessings,
Gena
* Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV).
**Editor’s Note: This post originally published on April 3, 2023, was revamped for comprehensiveness.
Prayer for Freedom
Lord, as a blessed child of God, I choose to forgive the past generations’ sins associated with the spirit of poverty. I ask You to forgive me for the ways I have partnered with the spirit of poverty by believing the enemy’s lie that You will not provide all I need. I renounce all negative influences of my ancestors and their effects on me, my family, and all future family in Jesus’s holy name. Please replace the spirit of poverty with your rich blessings on my life. Thank you, Lord.
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/
