By Gena Barnhill @BarnhillGena
The spirit of unworthiness was my constant companion until I met a man who spoke to me about the Holy Spirit in my early twenties.
Before My Encounter
I feared God might not forgive me for my past mistakes and felt unworthy of His love. If I worked hard enough to please Him, I hoped my efforts to be good enough would earn me a place in heaven. I did not understand that my worthiness was based on what Christ had done for me at the cross, not my efforts. He was already pleased with me. Furthermore, I was unaware that negative spirits, such as the spirit of unworthiness, work against us to keep us separated from God.
When I was at a church service the night before my brother Kerry’s wedding in 1976, Kerry’s friend Mike spoke to me. He said the Holy Spirit told him during prayer that I was concerned about going to heaven. How did Mike know this? I had not shared my fear of being unworthy and not good enough with anyone.
The Holy Spirit pursued me and used Mike, a man I had not previously met, to explain God’s plan of salvation that evening. I had been in church my whole life, served as a Sunday school teaching assistant, and volunteered on several church committees. Yet, I had not understood that God wanted a relationship with me, and it was not based on my performance or work. I marveled that He sent a stranger to reveal something only the Holy Spirit would know.
No amount of striving and trying to improve myself could make me more worthy. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I was promised eternal life (See John 3:16). First John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Break Free from the Spirit of Unworthiness #unworthiness #healing
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Lessons Learned about the Spirit of Unworthiness
Did feelings of unworthiness go away completely after this encounter in 1976? I wish I could say yes, but that would not be true. At that time, I was unaware that the spirit of unworthiness had wreaked havoc in my family lineage for generations. I did not know that I needed to renounce and evict it. The next time I felt unsuccessful, I again entertained the enemy’s lie that I was not good enough.
When I took classes on inner healing prayer in my later adult years, I learned how to pray against the spirit of unworthiness and other negative ancestral influences. I forgave my ancestors who opened the door to the spirit of unworthiness and asked the Lord to forgive me for partnering with this negative ancestral influence. I repented and renounced the spirit of unworthiness in Jesus’s name and declared it could no longer impact me and my future generations. In its place, I asked the Holy Spirit to fill me with the assurance of my position as a loved and worthy child in God’s family.
The enemy’s goal is to keep us separated from God and believe the lie that we can never be good enough. The spirit of unworthiness came down through the generations in my family line and gave the enemy a legal right to remain until evicted. Trauma, abandonment, rejection, and shame can open the door for this spirit to operate in our lives and cause depression and hopelessness. We do not need to partner with unworthiness. Instead, seek God’s truth.
Scriptures to Negate the Spirit of Unworthiness
The Old and New Testaments speak of our value to God. Psalm 139 talks about God knowing us before we were conceived and then forming us in our mother’s womb. Genesis 1:27 says we were made in the image of God. How can we be unworthy then?
We are told in 1 Peter 2:9 we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Luke 12:7 says, Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Understand Our Worth is Rooted in Our Identity in Christ
Oftentimes, we equate our failings and weaknesses with unworthiness and mistakenly believe we need to be strong in our strength. Paul explains what Jesus told him about weakness in 2 Corinthians 12:9–10:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We can reframe our view on unworthiness by celebrating our inadequacies because they remind us of our total dependence on God.
Evict the Spirit of Unworthiness
W—Wage war against the spirit of unworthiness. Declare you are no longer under its influence.
O—Overcomer is your name. Together with Jesus, you will overcome the tactics of the enemy.
R—Renounce and repent for partnering with the spirit of unworthiness. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and forgive your ancestors who partnered with this negative influence.
T—Take back any territory the enemy has stolen with the spirit of unworthiness in Jesus’s name.
H—Hand over your pain and burdens to Jesus and trust Him to be your strength when you feel weak.
Y—You are a child of God and worthy because of what Jesus did. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior.
What negative consequences have you observed from the spirit of unworthiness? How will you wage war against this negative influence?
Be sure to share your observations in our Facebook Group Healing Prayer Discussion.
We are all stronger when we learn from each other. Looking forward to your input.
Blessings,
Gena
* Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV).
**Editor’s Note: This post, originally published on August 7, 2023, was revamped for comprehensiveness.
In case you missed the rest of the Ancestral Influences Series, here is the link to the Archives:
https://simpleeffectiveprayer.com/category/healing-ancestral-wounds/
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