Praying for Freedom from Oppression

The dictionary defines “Oppression” as this:

• Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control
• The state of being subject to unjust treatment or control
• Mental pressure or distress

Synonyms: pursection, maltreatment, enslavement, subjection, ill treatment, repression…ect.

 

As we can identify from the definition of oppression, the word is an entanglement of: control, restraint, unjust mannerism, distressed, being heavily burdened mentally and physically. 

 

As you read the definition, did your mind relate it to something personal? 

Mine did.

 

I am now realizing that all those many years of caring what other people thought of me was not just me being insecure (not confident or assured) but that it was a heavy burden that caused stress and anxiety. I became subject to it the moment I faced someone because I was wondering what they thought of me.

 

I was ill treating myself through micro focusing on things others could find wrong with me without even knowing if they ever did see things wrong with me. 

 

Which means ultimately, I was restraining myself from being myself in freedom. I burdened my own body physically, mentally, and spiritually by not going forward to engaging and maturing with others. My oppression was causing myself to be unjust, lead to persecurting myself, literally becoming a subject by my own self by spiritually wrapping the chains on me. 

You are not alone and yes, you can be free. Grab the prayer for freedom from Oppression from @SarahGeringer #Prayer #Salt&Light Share on X

 

Sound dramatic? I know it may but think about it… what do we hold ourselves back from when we are more concerned about what others think of us?

• Building relationships
• Becoming more creative
• Completing goals
• Maturing in areas
• Developing a consistent decision making lifestyle
• And much more.

By not doing these things, we are restraining ourselves from becoming more which can become very dramatic for our lives.

 

When I look back, I can not tell you, I saw myself doing this when I was experiencing oppression. Oppression was not a word in my vocabulary, especially towards myself.

 

How could it be?

 

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I am and was a Christian. I desired to be in unity with others, to feel free near them, to embrace God’s truth. So, how could oppression fit in my life?

 

But oppression doesn’t care who you are. It becomes a control that takes over situations, our mindset of things, atmospheres, and from developing something new in our lives. This is how the enemy works. He will make you believe if you were “Christian enough” you wouldn’t battle oppression but that is a lie. You are still a person with struggles and deserves to be free just like anyone else!

 

When I personally sought God about becoming free, the Lord showed me the struggles of those in the generations before me that endured the same things. 

 

He specifically told me to, “Pray for your forefathers and see Me do a great thing.” 

 

Ask Him how does He want you to go forward to get freedom? He will instruct you. 

 

One prayer for five minutes did not free me completely but it gave me understanding to the situation and that is what the enemy hates. He hates when we understand a situation because understanding will build to wisdom.

 

Wisdom from there told me to continue praying, continue to make a deliberate choice everyday to not give up. It told me to step outside of my comfort zone even if it hurts. It told me to care what God thought of me, not what others think of me. Wisdom reminded me each day of who created me, not what man was trying to create in me. Wisdom told me I was free. 

 

This post from Sarah hit me personally because as she described her experience of getting free from what others thought of her, I was reminded of how far God has brought me from the exact trenches. It’s liberating to think back to how far God brings us when we decide to do it His way, and not the way of the world. 

 

I recently heard a man in worship during church service prophetically singing. His tongue began to speak to those who felt burdened, his words sang, “Just say the name Jesus, just say the name Messiah, just say who He is, and you will be free.”

 

Too easy to be true? Just say Jesus and be free?

 

Yes, that easy. Everyday, get up and say Jesus with all your heart and see what He does. Say Jesus, through every thought that is trying to overtake you to a place of being oppressed.

And speak the name of Jesus Christ over your generations for their freedom, from before you and after you.

 

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. Psalm 107:13

 

Do me a favor, every night before lying down say the prayer out loud from the end of Sarah’s post that she offers for you to print out. After two weeks of this come back to this post and tell me what God is doing. Share with us the testimony.

 

SarahGeringer.com

How God gives you Freedom from oppression

 

God’s Gift of Freedom

Do you consider yourself free? I’m not talking about having political or religious freedom. I’m talking about living a life defined by freedom rather than oppression.

 

When I look back over my life, I’ve spent decades of it feeling oppressed. Though I’ve always been a Christian, I did not accept the freedom God gave me until the past few years. I was chained to the opinions of others. Their criticism and control held me in bondage. I chose to invest too much in imperfect human relationships, which constantly let me down.

 

God set me free through the comfort of his constant presence, the power of his Word, and the fellowship of the church. The more time I spent in prayer with God, the more I felt listened to and accepted. When I studied and meditated on his Word, I learned more about God’s character and love for me. The more time I spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ, the greater hope and perspective I gained.

 

You can find the same freedom that I did. If you are burdened by broken relationships, past sins, or deep hurts, God longs to set you free. He will provide everything you need according to the riches in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). He has freedom ready and waiting for you!

 

A Meditation on Freedom

 

Let’s meditate on Galatians 5:1 NIV to understand this freedom God gives us:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

 

When Jesus died for our sins, he set us free from the curse of death. He freed us from all the obligations of fulfilling the law, because he fulfilled it on our behalf. Jesus set us free, because he wants us to live an abundant life.

 

But we are constantly under threat of becoming slaves to sin once more. Satan is our spiritual enemy, and he does all he can to hold us down in oppression. We are also at war with our sinful natures, the world around us, and people who intentionally and unintentionally hurt us. Even as believers, we can struggle with feeling oppressed.

 

Choosing Freedom

 

Only with God’s help can we choose freedom over oppression. For me, this is a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour choice for good rather than evil. I fight oppressive thoughts with the truth of God’s Word. Prayer and praise help reorient my viewpoint. With God’s help, I’m retraining my mind to find freedom paths rather than paths that lead me back to oppression. I’m also gaining ground in the spiritual battlefields where the fights begin.

 

Continue Freedom from Oppresion post here