This is the 19th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can browse the other related articles by clicking on the link in the above sentence.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the foundations of past generations. You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live. Isaiah 58:12 (GW) 

Here are some practical prayer steps we can take to experience freedom from long standing generational devastation.

1. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, prayerfully identify and bring to the Lord any observed repeating generational devastation in our family line. This includes behaviors, beliefs, addictions, diseases, embedded lies, traumatic hurts, and demonization.
2. As a representative of our families and on behalf of our families, repent for any known ancestral sins and ask Jesus to release our families from any looming judgment associated with past unconfessed and unforgiven sins. (Note: We are not asking Jesus to forgive our ancestors personally. We are asking forgiveness on behalf of the family still alive, who may bear the brunt of judgment against those past sins.)
3. Repent of any personal participation I may have had by committing the same sins.
4. Claim Christ’s victory over generational sins, judgments, and the resulting devastation for ourselves and our families. Remember: Jesus already won the victory at Calvary. (Galatians 3:13-14) We are tapping into that victory by faith. When our faith couples with God’s promises, God’s power is released.
5. Declare Christ’s victory over embedded lies and pray for truth to permeate the family, setting us free. (John 8:31) (Note: The way we help others find freedom from embedded lies is the subject of another article.)
6. Declare Christ’s victory over traumatic hurts and pray for his healing to touch every wounded area. (Note: This is covered later in another article.)
7. Declare Christ’s victory over every form of demonization and ask for specific deliverance over family members. (Note: I will cover this in detail later.)
8. Ask the Lord to bless us and our families in a way that directly contravenes the observed generational devastation. For example, if rage has been a problem, ask the Lord to make us gentle and patient. If poverty has been a generational problem, ask the Lord to prosper us and help us become generous givers.
9. Thank the Lord for setting us free, even before we may observe any behavioral change.

When I minister to people for deliverance from generational devastation, I try to go through these steps for every identifiable generational issue. Usually this process is outwardly uneventful, but occasionally the person receiving ministry may have an emotional response which indicates the presence of an embedded lie or traumatic wound. It is possible to encounter demonization when going through this process as well. We may not realize the extent of how Christ is setting us free until later, when we realize we did not react as we had before. I have seen significant deliverance by praying in the way described above, and I encourage you to give it a try.