Lance Wallnau

Dismantling Strongholds In Your Thought Life: Part 1

3 Characteristics and Strategies for Overcoming Strongholds
When the Apostle Paul said that we “wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers,” what did he mean? The verse found in Ephesians 6:12 makes something very clear. Paul did not believe his warfare was a battle with people, political institutions, or even personal circumstance. Our warfare, like his, is an intense, personal, and close wrestling match with disembodied spirits.

  1. How do you know you are under attack? One of the things I’ve noticed is that when I am in warfare I don’t feel like myself. I feel disconnected, awkward, and inauthentic. I’m not myself and I don’t even like who is showing up. Do you ever feel like this? It’s like you’re someone else. Something is trying to take over your thought process. Remember: the battle zone is in your thought life. The secret is to catch the enemy when he attempts to slip into your thought life like the serpent in the garden. Don’t let the thought take hold. For this reason Paul says one of our primary weapons is the power to inspect and take thoughts captive as they enter your mind.  Paul describes an interrogation process, in which we take a thought captive “at the point of a spear.” Notice the language he uses to address strongholds: “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  
  2. What is a stronghold? Think of it as a house made of thoughts.  It’s a pattern of thinking that has a “strong hold” or grip on your mind.  And let's be honest: if it's a pattern of thinking it is also a pattern of feeling and behaving. A stronghold is something that exerts an influence or leverage over the thought patterns that play in your mind. They produce a harvest of consequences. The devil is trying to rob you and your children of God's inheritance.  He does this by working to get you to compromise and bow your knee to unbelief, apathy, fear, lust, addiction, depression.  Don’t let him succeed. Put up a FIGHT!
  3. What is God’s goal for you? The Spirit of God wants us to be thinking beings who operate out of freedom!—NOT robots. The Holy Spirit is busy right now setting us free from CONTROLLING SPIRITS. This includes all addictions and compulsions. As a believer, you are not under the dominion of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). God created man in His image and in His likeness and gave him a territory called a garden. In that sphere of influence man was in charge. He had authority over the snake. God has put you in the garden of your life.  He wants you to be free to flourish, create, and expand dominion.  God made you in His image and wants your mind free to see, sense, discern, and judge.

How can you dismantle these strongholds?  
Strongholds are like fortresses that must be torn down one brick at a time. Every thought that hits you needs to be countered by another thought! Lies need to be answered with TRUTH. You need a proclamation in your mouth—there is an “IT IS WRITTEN!” for every battle. These truths need to be meditated upon and literally “engrafted” into your soul. In this way God uses our warfare to do something that totally frustrates the enemy. It makes us stronger! This connects us to the lineage of overcomers described by the writer of Hebrews who said: “Out of weakness they became strong!” (Hebrews 11:34)
Question: What lies do you need to refute in your mind? What truths do you need to stand on for daily victory in the spiritual realm?  
Comment below and tell me about it!
As One!
Lance
He wants you to be free to flourish, create, and expand dominion

81 thoughts on “Dismantling Strongholds In Your Thought Life: Part 1”

  1. Tamara Erisman

    Thanks so much for writing this on Warfare. Myself and a business partner have been going thru this exact very thing, to the letter. We are getting ready to launch a business that’s been in the planning and development stages for five years and it’s a business that the Lord gave to establish His Kingdom and since the decision was made to launch this year, we both have been under extreme mortar fire – inundated with “other” things that are dragging us to a grinding halt. This stronghold has been getting tighter and harder and quite frankly, I’m over it.
    Thank you for your help here. This is not who we are and I refuse to be up under it any longer – now, I’m angry (righteously).
    Oh, hell no – I’m done with this stronghold. Thank you again!!!

  2. Thanks Dr. Wallnau for this on-time message! My pastor, Dr Bill Winston has been preaching for some time that this is my wealth-transfer time as a Believer to help reap this end-time harvest. I have noticed as I pray more, like never before negative thoughts have seemed to try to bombard my mind.
    This teaching has helped me develop a strategy for decomposing these strongholds & replacing them REGULARLY with God’s Word! God has an harvest SO BIG for us as His people, it will make the challenges we went through seem so minute! However, I realize that what I meditate on the most is the direction I will go toward. Thanks for removing the sense of feeling overwhelmed by speaking I counter-attack by dismantling the strongholds “one brick at a time”, much like eating an elephant.
    Blessings on You!

  3. Vincent Piotet aka el chai

    Ps 126 – not just history for Israel.
    HIS story for many who weep today
    And a great testimony for HIM !
    Weep, dream, laugh and sing,
    for the LORD DOES great things !
    The Lord turns captivity on its ear.
    Ps 125:5,6 reveals the precious seeds of tears
    HE is planting even as you read this.
    Tomorrow, many will come again
    bringing their sheaves along !
    I’m part of a sheave collected
    During last week’s dream trip.
    Proverb 6:31 applies to Satan just like to anybody else.
    Though he still goes on stealing joy, now he is found doing so by more and more who weep with joy !
    Therefore the substance of his house escapes him more and more even as you read this.
    Isaiah 41:9-11 is the 9/11 warfare verse !
    It has been sleeping ever since I was saved in 1975.
    But it woke up with a shout tonight for
    A precious one who weeps
    For those she washes
    at the Hospice.

  4. Great new format!! Praise God!!
    I need this kind of input to continue from Lance and all of you to continue to take my mountain.

Comments are closed.