Mind-Binding Spirits
by Joyce Meyer - posted August 23, 2013He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.
—Psalm 107:20
I knew God had called me to a powerful, worldwide ministry. I didn’t brag about it and didn’t feel that I was special. I knew I was just a woman from Fenton, Missouri, whom no one had ever heard of. Yet I believed I would have a national radio ministry. I believed God would use me to heal the sick and to change lives.
In fact, instead of being proud, I was humbled. Who was I that God would use me? The more I meditated on that idea, the more I rejoiced in the goodness and sovereignty of God. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, the apostle Paul pointed out that God’s choices often appear mysterious. He chooses the foolish to dumbfound the wise, the weak to shame the mighty. Paul concluded, “Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord” (v. 31).
I felt no cause to boast. I believed God’s calling and promise to me. That’s what I want to stress. And then I waited for God to open the doors that no one could shut. When He was ready, it would happen.
Although I don’t know when the problem began, one day I heard myself ask, “I wonder if God really does want to use me?” Instead of holding on to the promises of God, I looked at myself and my lack of qualifications. I started to compare myself with other servants of God. When you compare yourself with others, that’s always a mistake, because you usually end up on the negative side.
Doubts began to creep in. Maybe I just made that up. Maybe I wanted something like that to happen, but it probably won’t. The longer the predicament went on, the more confused I became. I questioned God and the promise. I realized I no longer had the bright vision God had given me. I was filled with doubt and unbelief.
I began to pray and plead with God to help me. “If I just made up the things I have believed that You called me to do, then take the desire away. But if You’ve truly called me, help me. Restore the vision.”
When I paused, I heard God speak in my heart, Mind-binding spirits.
“What’s a mind-binding spirit?” I asked. I had never heard the term, so I didn’t think anything more about it.
The next day when I prayed, I heard the same words. In fact, every time I prayed for the next two days, I heard, mind-binding spirits.
I had already done a lot of ministry, and I had long realized how much trouble many believers had with their minds. At first, I thought the Holy Spirit might be leading me to pray for the Body of Jesus Christ to stand against a spirit called Mind Binding. I prayed and I rebuked that spirit—and then I realized those words were for me. A mind-binding spirit had tried to steal my vision, destroy my joy, and take away my ministry. A tremendous deliverance came over me.
The oppressiveness was gone; the questions had vanished. I was free, and the vision of the national ministry God had given me was central in my thoughts again. I read Psalm 107:20: “He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.” That was it!
An evil spirit was attacking my mind and preventing me from believing the promise of God. I asked God to help me, and He set me free.
That mind-binding spirit attacks many today. They know what God wants and are eager to serve. Sometimes they even announce God’s plans to their friends. When nothing happens immediately, the mind-binding spirit sneaks in. It is as if a band of iron snaps around their minds and they find it hard to believe that their dreams can come to pass. Satan whispers, “Did God really say that? Or did you just make it up?” Hold fast. If God has spoken, God will perform it. Remember that Abraham waited twenty-five years for God to give him Isaac!
True and faithful God, forgive me when I allow doubts and confusion to creep into my thinking. Those are not Your tools. Through the powerful name of Jesus, enable me to break the power of every mind-binding spirit. Amen.
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