You have read that we have been given spiritual weapons to ‘tear down strongholds’, and rightly so! But are you also building strongholds?

Strongholds are thoughts…thought patterns, more specifically, that have set up home in your mind. Whether good or bad, these ‘ways of thinking’ (strongholds) are fortresses in your mind, much stronger than a passing thought or even something you have been carefully considering or dreaming up for weeks, months or even years. 

Strongholds are different from dreams (i.e. desires & plans) or daily thoughts, as they live subconsciously in your mind.  Any stronghold, good or bad, first came as a thought, or an experience, then it stayed, growed roots, and now it truly part of your way of thinking. 

One of the worst strongholds is an orphan stronghold.  If you have been the child of a divorced couple, there’s almost a 100% chance you have, or had, an orphan stronghold in your mind.  Sadly through the experience of divorce, you have learned that couples aren’t meant to last forever, and it’s only a matter of time before a couple gets divorced and children are separated.  Symptoms of this stronghold include: hyper-independence, obedience through fear in marriage or a job, etc.

There most likely will be demons associated with these bad strongholds. Imagine a small, little walled fortress on the top of your head – it wasn’t built for no reason, someone wants to live there, and war from within it! Now imagine, a small little demon coming and going as he pleased within this walled fortress…right on the top of your head! This is how it is.

Even if you’re a Christian, demons can come ‘upon’ (not inside) a demonic stronghold and war from within it.   If you are not a born-again CHristian, demons go all the way in.  Nonetheless, these strongholds, these ways of thinking, allow demons to control you, and hurt those around you (just like the child of divorce always trying to be hyper-independent).  

However, and a big however…not all strongholds are bad. This IS GOOD NEWS!

Note- the born-again experience isn’t a stronghold. When a man (or woman) is born again, there is truly a new, spiritual baby born, and the old self is discarded.  While knowing Jesus is Lord is good, and should be ingrained in your mind, the born-again experience is even stronger than a stronghold in your mind! 

So what is an example of a good stronghold? And how do we build one?

Healing was one of the first strongholds I was aware of after being born again. When I was first born again, I was under the teaching of some great ministers like Andrew Wommack, Todd White, Dan Mohler, etc. And healing was one thing they all had in common: Jesus always wants to heal, Jesus always heals when given a willing person, and it’s never normal for someone to live less than 100% well.  

After listening to these teachings, and then doing them myself (e.g. healing sick people), something was starting to stick. In my mind, some part of God’s character resonated in me until something so sure was built in my mind: 

GOD HATES SICKNESS. IT’S NEVER GOD’S WILL FOR ANY OF HIS CHILDREN TO BE SICK. IT’S NEVER OK, AND IT’S MY JOB TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Not only had my thoughts about sickness changed, my perception changed, the way I saw any malady changed.  After this stronghold locked in, I would now see someone with any sickness, malady, limp or otherwise, and quite literally go up to them, and ask, “Oh my, what happened??” Even in the cases were the malady seemed normal, terminal, or “settled”, the Lord would rise up in me to question this sickness. And most people love to be loved, even if it shines light on their issue.  And afterward, I would work with the Lord to do something about it….HEAL THEM!

The stronghold in this case was healing. Did I heal perfectly every time I layed hands on a person? Nope, not every time.  But did I now know that this ‘idealism’ is actual spiritual realism? 100%. And the gap between my experience, and my stronghold was merely my personal growth, maturity and intimacy in the Lord.

Strongholds should be verified by the Lord. If you intentionally, or unintentionally, start building a stronghold, be sure to walk and talk it out with the Lord.  Ask the Lord if the stronghold is Biblically accurate, and have him show you in the scriptures where it is. Talk to some trusted friends about it, and see their response. Even talk to untrustworthy people and see their response – their offenses will probably tell you even more than your friends!

Strongholds keep you from doubting and going through cycles. Once you have a good stronghold, you no longer have to keep cycling over the same things with the Lord. “Is it God’s will to heal?” Now that you have this stronghold, you can now focus your energy and heart on other questions with the Lord like, “Why, when praying for people, did this person get well, and this other not?”  

Images of God in your mind can be strongholds too – not just ideas.  One powerful stronghold I have is a picture of the Lord when I go to my prayer time.  Before I even begin prayer in my personal prayer time, I focus my thoughts on this stronghold in my mind, a picture I have the Lord pouring out, what could be water or something else, onto me. And there next to him, is Jesus also pouring out on me. And there next to me is the Holy Spirit, also pouring out on me.   

This stronghold is so powerful, because it reminds me that even before I begin praying, the Lord is already giving to me. Before my mind knows what he is saying, I can already see what he is going: giving.  By seeing this, I don’t have to go and  press ‘extra hard’ in my prayer time to even start believing the Lord wants to give me something, wants to talk to me, and wants me to know his will; that is now all settled.

This stronghold is another example of how good strongholds literally save you from having to cycle and spin with the Lord on ‘dealt-with’ issues.  Before I had this stronghold built up, prayer time may be hit or miss, or maybe I did something wrong in prayer…or maybe it was just a bad time for God.  Now with this stronghold, I’m already getting from the Lord, even before I know what I’m getting. He’s already giving, before I could ever give something back.  My heart is set in a sure place, and then soon my mind ‘follows’ and catches up to what the Lord is saying and doing today.

In the name of ‘humility’, sometimes we are fearful to build such a ‘sure thing’ as a stronghold. But if you utilize God’s word (i.e. the Bible), it’s tough to miss. And as you build it, you will sense the Lord’s pleasure, as he delights when you take him up on his word and put it to good use! It’s almost as if he is saying, “Thank you! I found someone who actually believes what I am saying!”

Begin building! And continue to tear down the bad ones