Healing your mind and defeating the enemy with the Word of God

Ways to defeat the enemy: Word of God

We defeat the enemy with the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus and the Word of God (Who is Jesus) John 1:1.  We do this through worship, prayer and fasting.

Defeating the enemy with the Word

When it comes to the armor of God The bible refers to the word of God as our sword. That’s our weapon against the enemy.

Ephesians 6:17 NIV Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Reading God’s words helps us know what to pray. Our prayers must align with the will of God. Jesus, in the blueprint He gave us in the our father prayer in Matthew 6, started off his prayer saying hallow be thy name which means bless or to revere.  Jesus first revered God then said let thy will be done. Do you know the will of God?  Maybe your prayers are not answered because they go against the will of God.

When we read the Word of God we feed our spirit.  The Word of God is bread of life, food for our spirit.  When the Word is in you, the Holy Spirit will recall and bring it up for you when you are praying and need it.  Even if you do not memorize it (although that can be helpful and should be done). When you need your sword (which is the word of God), the Holy Spirit will bring scriptures up into remembrance for you. Whether you are being attacked and need to defend yourself or are the one doing the attack. Either way the Word must feed your spirit first, for it to be fruitful.

Yes, God fights our battle, but we fight too, if not then why does the armor of God includes a sword?  

I had an experience once when I was dreaming and getting attacked by an evil spirit.  I started citing Psalm 3.  A psalm I have read a lot but do not have it memorized.  However, the repetition of reading it throughout my life allowed my spirit, partnered with the Holy spirit, to use it at that time when I needed.

          We see Jesus using the word of God to defeat the enemy when he was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4: 1-11.  This is how we do it as well.  When Satan tells us lies, we speak the truth of God’s words instead.

Now what does this have to do with your mental health.

The #1 thing the enemy will attack is your mind. He is after our soul because our soul essentially makes up who we are.  Our soul is of our mind, will and emotions.  He is after our faith and wants us to not put our faith and trust in the Lord. Your mind, your will and your emotions are important things paid attention to in therapy. 

Our mind = thoughts and beliefs

Emotions = feelings

Will = Behaviors

  Mental health deals with the mind, emotions and behavior of an individual. The unhealthier those are, the more double-minded we will be. Unable to make decisions, stick to anything and stay true to our values. Which then leads us to feeling unmotivated or unable to exercise our will.  Or if we do, we exercise it wrongly. In a way that causes harm to us and other people.

The enemy puts thoughts in our mind often.  We call these intrusive thoughts.  He will put these thoughts in our mind hoping we entertain them.  Because if we do, we will start entertaining sin and creating beliefs outside of the will of God.  

The enemy has been doing this since we were children. Through our trauma, dysfunction and pain, he plants lies that create negative beliefs and thoughts about ourselves.

Why do I think intrusive thoughts come from the enemy? You ever notice that most, if not all, intrusive thoughts are never positive. Often, they are thoughts that cause fear or shame. Shame that this thought even came to mind, even if it was for a second. 

The enemy knows that what we think and believe will affect what we feel and do.  He plants the seeds then hopes that you will do the rest to self-destruct. He plants these seeds with words.  Words are very important.  This is why we need the Word of God to fight. We often believe so many lies that need to be rewritten in our minds with the truth. Jesus is the Truth.

We should not dwell on these negative thoughts and lies. We must cast down every imagination to be obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5  NRSV

for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

I have a step-by-step approach on how you can do this. I will share this in the next two parts titled Taking Our Thoughts Captive. Before I do, I want to make sure I provide as much understanding and knowledge as I can first.

Let’s talk more about the mind.

Scientists back in the days once believed that our minds were fixed and could not change. Then they discovered what God already told us in  

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Around the year 1890 neuroplasticity was discovered, and neurologists now knew that our minds are malleable. They can change through a process called neuroplasticity.  Science finally caught up to the Word of God.

What is neuroplasticity? Neuroplasticity is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewire its neural connections, enabling it to adapt and function in ways that differ from its prior state. * Wikipedia

Our minds can change the state of depression, trauma or anxiety your mind might be in.  There are neutral networks, or systems, that are created from our experiences. We can then reprogram those systems like a computer. With that reprogramming comes new thoughts and beliefs. Leading to different feelings, reactions and behaviors.

Within psychotherapy there is a lot of emphasis on understanding the way you think. It is important to know why you think the way you do. Find the narratives that have been harmful to change them. What you think and believe will influence your emotions, behavior and the life you live. This is why our thoughts and imaginations matter more than we may think.

God gave us an imagination for a reason. Are you stewarding yours well? 

Follow me for part 4 where I go more into the mind, our thoughts, imaginations and how this affects our lives.