How To Improve Mental Health
How To Improve Mental Health
We are involved in an invisible war, and whether you like it or not, you are part of this war. When we read Ephesians 6:12, Paul talks about the war in spiritual places that we can not see with our physical eyes. Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Knowing this secret is the first step to fighting your daily struggles.
Your struggles might be that you have a fear that prevents you from living a fulfilling life, or you have self-doubt, or you lack confidence, or perhaps you suffer from insecurities. All these negative emotions stem from the mind, and the mind is the playground for the enemy to hold you hostage. How To Improve Mental Health
As Paul said, there are powers in this dark world fighting you and looking to rob you of your purpose. To combat these forces, you have to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and you have to pull down the spiritual strongholds that the enemy has built up in your mind through prayers.
What Is A Spiritual Stronghold?
A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought built into one’s thought life. The enemy wants to capture the minds of people; the mind is the soul’s citadel. He who controls the mind controls a very strategic place. (According to Lehigh.edu)
Suppose you are feeling fear, anger, confusion, guilt, regret, lack, or anxiety. In that case, these are a small list of negative emotions that the enemy uses to manipulate people from living the life God has planned for them. These are battles going on in your mind. In this case, you need to fight to drive the enemy out of your citadel, which is your mind, so that you can be free to live a purposeful life.
How can you fight this war? I will give you strategic steps to follow to fight and win the battle of the mind.
First of all, you must have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
According to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, the Bible says, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
This memory verse tells us that even though we live in the world, the struggles that we face are not struggles that we have to fight with physical artillery; but instead, we are to fight this war with prayer (spoken words.) A prayer is a mighty act that weakens the enemy’s influence over our minds and, in effect, our lives.
Here is what to do if you find yourself under the enemy’s attack.
- Total Surrender To God: The first step to fighting and winning your battle against the enemy is to have a personal relationship with God, which requires a complete surrender to God. Once you give over your life to God, He begins to direct your steps and gives you insight into fighting the enemy.
Here is the prayer I prayed when I decided to give it all to God and have HIM direct my steps “Father, In the name of Jesus, I am now willing to place my body, my soul, my spirit, and my entire life into Your hands. I now ask that You place me into Your perfect will for my life. From this moment on, I will choose to stay fully surrendered to You all the days of my life and will allow You to lead and direct my life in the direction that You will want it to go in. Thank you, Father, Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Holy Spirit.” Credit bible-knowledge.com
This is a short but powerful prayer. This prayer launched me into an adventurous journey and a very close and growing relationship with God.
2. Strategic Prayers: Like cooking seafood pasta, you need specific ingredients; it is the same with your spiritual warfare. All prayers are not created equal. At this point, you need divine revelation from the Holy Spirit to pray targeted prayers. As your relationship with God develops, He will guide your steps and reveal certain things to you. If you are battling fear and anxiety, you can pray scriptures such as Deuteronomy 20:3-4, Psalms 34:4, Isaiah 41:10. Look for scriptures that pertain to the emotion you are feeling and pray and meditate on those scriptures day and night.
3. Be Mindful Of Your Dreams: God speaks to us in different ways, but one of the most common ways God speaks to us is through our dreams. Our dreamland reflects what our physical life looks like, and God will show you what the enemy is doing, and that revelation will guide you on how to pray.
4. Renewing Your Mind: It is crucial to also work on your mind, thoughts, the thoughts of not good enough, lack, rejection, etc. Praying scriptures to help you renew your mind will flush out all the evil and negative thoughts the enemy has planted in your mind that keeps replaying every day. As the saying goes, “Your thoughts become your reality.” If you keep thinking about lack, your reality will show you lacking. Pray and meditate on scriptures Psalms 51:10, Romans 12:2.
How To Improve Mental Health
5. Worship: Worship is a powerful way to get God’s attention and to get God to move in your situation swiftly. Here is a story in the book of 2 Chronicles 20:15-29, God sent a message to King Jehoshaphat to let him know that the battle he (the king) was about to fight, God was going to fight it for him. At hearing this message, King Jehosaphat and his people BOWED DOWN IN WORSHIP BEFORE THE LORD. They continued to sing and praise the Lord, and The Lord delivered them from their enemies; the king and his army did not have to lift a hand in that war. God caused confusion between their enemies, and their enemies ended up fighting amongst themselves and killing each other. A fantastic story I will encourage you to read.
6. Change Your Words: Words are as powerful as your thoughts. If you are renewing your mind, your speech should follow as well. Speak kind, loving, and positive words into your life. To change your reality, you have to switch from speaking lack to speaking abundance.
How To Improve Mental Health
