Healing the Wounded Soul

Jesus Christ, the Healer of the brokenhearted and liberator of the captives, brings a message of hope. His transformative power brings emotional or inner healing and freedom from the oppression of the enemy to each of us personally. (Luke 4:18-19).

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38

The word power used here is the Greek word dunamis and refers to explosive power. It is God’s power.

Thayer’s Greek lexicon provides five specific meanings for the word dunamis: 1) the power of performing miracles, 2) excellence of soul, 3) refers to the power and resources that come from numbers, 4) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, and hosts, and 5) power and influence, which belongs to riches and wealth.

Today, we will delve deeper into the second meaning of dunamis – moral power and excellence of soul.

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. Ephesians 3:16

The blood of Jesus removes our sins, but it’s the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, the dunamis, that heals our souls. Dunamis transforms us. This power, this dunamis, is what changes us. Our soul, not born again, needs this transformation. It’s wounded through trauma, sin, and the sins of others, which can open the door to the enemy and bring bondage, sickness, and disease. But the Holy Spirit’s power can heal these wounds, even those that lead to premature death, bone diseases, addictions, weight gain, and demonic assaults.

When we have damaged souls, we build wrong relationships, endeavors, theologies, ideas, etc. We filter things in life (i.e., our thoughts, words, and experiences) through the lens of our wounds, which distort our perception without our awareness. Moments of conflict and turbulence will show us what we truly believe.

Wounds in our soul can have a profound negative impact, controlling our emotions and even leading us to sin (see Romans 7:20). Unforgiveness and offense, two significant sins, can cause deep wounds that lead to sickness. It is urgent that we address these wounds and seek healing.

When we get discouraged and weary from life’s battles, we may sin by murmuring and complaining, speaking against others and even God, leading to bitterness and walking in a spirit of discontentment (see Numbers 21).

Soul wounds can cause trouble in relationships and even financial failure.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2

Today, we will look at how the spirit of Legion affects our souls (see Mark 5:1-20).

The spirit of Legion creates storms in our lives designed to kill us or stop us from reaching our destination, such as that new level of anointing, that open door, our breakthrough, etc., – Or this spirit tries to wound us so that by the time we get there, we will be so wounded we won’t have any power over him. Still, he will have power over us because we will dwell among the tombs. A tomb represents a place of remembrance.

When we dwell among the tombs, we remember the pain of our past and dwell on those things that happened to us. We all have something in our childhood, through adulthood, and perhaps right up to today!

I have suffered betrayals, relationship trouble, financial issues, the stress of my job, and injuries at work, leading to chronic sickness and disease. I suffered a miscarriage and many other storms that wounded me. I even walked away from the Lord for three years following a divorce because I blamed God for allowing this to happen to me. We must remember that God doesn’t bring the storms, but the enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

The traumas and circumstances that have caused us pain can lead to unforgiveness, offense, bitterness, idolatry, etc. Even when we have repented of these things and forgiven others, ourselves, and God, if we blame Him, we still have wounds in our souls that need healing. Even if we aren’t in a storm right now, we may still have wounds that we carry around from a previous storm.

Jesus healed the demoniac in Mark 5 with dunamis resurrection power. We have that same power because the Holy Spirit lives in us!

Jesus wants to make us whole in spirit, soul, and body. We can ask the Holy Spirit to examine and reveal the hidden things that have wounded our souls and kept us from our healing. He brings the divine counsels of God and knows which area needs work first because it may affect other areas. He will help us get to the root.

Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. 1 Corinthians 2:10 (AMPC)

We can then repent of any sin and apply the blood of Jesus, forgive those who have hurt or sinned against us, release dunamis power to heal our soul, and cast the enemy out in the name of Jesus. We can decree we are excellent of soul!

Healing often occurs in our bodies after we offer forgiveness to someone who has hurt us or when we ask for forgiveness when we have sinned.

Pastor Rick Warren gives us insight into how unforgiveness affects us and what forgiveness is.[1]

Unforgiveness causes us to live out of our pain and ungodly beliefs, which limits us by releasing feelings of anxiety, fear, stress, depression, insecurity, etc. It creates a hardened heart that feels anger, bitterness, hatred, and resentment toward the offender.
It affects our health, relationships, and ability to experience the abundant life Christ came to give us. Unforgiveness can lead to resentment and a root of bitterness that will poison all our relationships (Hebrews 12:14–15). We will never fulfill our destiny if we don’t forgive!
Unforgiveness can lead to being turned over to and tormented by the enemy—evil spirits and wicked thoughts (Matthew 18:21–35).

Forgiveness

We forgive so that God will forgive us because God forgives us as we forgive others (Matthew 6:12, 14–15 ).
Forgiveness doesn’t mean minimizing the offense and pain that something or someone caused—God isn’t asking you to forget—and it doesn’t mean resuming a relationship without seeing a change in the other person’s life.
- Forgiveness deals with the past (Matthew 6:12; 18:35).
- Reconciliation involves the present (it takes two to reconcile).
- Trust and restoration of the relationship have to do with the future. Establishing boundaries is crucial, and the person must show through actions that they are trustworthy. Sometimes, relationships are not restored (Matthew 3:8; Proverbs 4:23; 12:26).
We offer forgiveness because God has fully and freely forgiven us. We receive God’s forgiveness and don’t have to earn it. God will not punish us or get even when we sin because He has already punished Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, we need to believe that God has forgiven us so we can forgive others (Psalm 103:12; 1 Peter 3:12).
Forgiveness sets us free by releasing that person and situation to God for Him to bring justice (Proverbs 21:15; Isaiah 30:18–19). God’s vengeance brings justice to that situation, and God is the only one who is just (Romans 12:17–19; 1 John 1:9)!
Forgiveness is built on grace and is unconditional. It isn’t earned, deserved, bargained for, or based on the promise never to do that wrong again. We offer forgiveness whether it’s asked for or not.
Forgiveness may not always be something we can instantaneously carry out. There may be a process as our souls get healed. We may also need to go and ask for forgiveness for something we did.

While speaking at Elevation Church, Lysa Terkeust shared some points about forgiveness from her book Forgiving What You Can’t Forget, which I will highlight[2].

Forgiveness originates from God. Forgiveness is God’s provision to allow our hearts to heal. It flows to us and flows through us to other people. Forgiveness doesn’t mean what they did was okay. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we can’t continue to process and heal the hurt and pain.
We can forgive out of obedience to God’s command; wherever our feelings don’t match up, we can trust that the blood of Jesus covers the hurt and pain.
Every trauma has two parts – fact and impact. We can forgive for the facts and continue to forgive as we walk through the healing of the impact. Every trigger reveals more healing is needed.
The best time to forgive is before we are ever offended. And the next best time is NOW. Make forgiveness part of your everyday routine. We are free to forgive so that we can live!

If you have bad feelings when you think about a person or circumstance, repentance, forgiveness, and inner healing for emotional wounding are needed. Dealing with these wounds will allow one to receive complete and lasting healing.

When our souls get healed, our minds think the right thoughts, we have godly emotions, and our will makes the right decisions and choices.

The key to total healing is believing in Christ’s finished work, the cross.

Today, if you want to be set free from the spirit of Legion, speak aloud this general healing prayer with decrees. We will ask the Holy Spirit what tombstones we have set up and live within our souls. The Holy Spirit will come and show us so that we can get healed. He brings revelation. Even if you think you didn’t hear the Holy Spirit, God knows what He will work on.

But I also want you to continue asking the Holy Spirit daily to reveal any specific wounds in your soul that He wants to deal with. When He brings something to your mind, believe that this is the time to deal with it. Allow Him to help you face any hurt and pain, forgive yourself and others, and heal your soul. Ask for God’s grace to help you!

Before casting out demons, there should be a verbal confession of Jesus Christ as Savior with repentance of any sins so the person doesn’t end up seven times worse than before (Luke 11:24–26). I have included a prayer of salvation below. Pray this out loud in faith, believing God will save you.

Prayer of Salvation

Heavenly Father,

I ask You to forgive me for all my sins, including any involvement in the occult. I repent and turn from them and turn to You. I am calling on You and asking Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life. I believe Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for me. I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead, and He is alive today. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me the Holy Spirit to live inside me. Help me live for You and obey You all the days of my life.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Healing Prayer and Decrees

Holy Spirit, I ask You to come and search my soul for any wounds that need healing. Wherever these wounds are buried and hidden, I ask You, Holy Spirit, to bring dunamis power into my mind, will, and emotions. I ask You to completely heal me of every injury, of every stress, of every place of bitterness, of every time I felt overwhelmed and anxious, and in every area where I was injured and wounded by my sin, from the sins of others mistreating or hurting me, and from the sins in my bloodline, in the name of Jesus.

I forgive anyone who has hurt or harmed me and repent of my anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, offense, idolatry, and any occult involvement. I thank you that 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I receive Your grace now. For where sin abounds, grace superabounds over it! I repent and renounce partnering with the spirit of Legion. I apply the blood of Jesus over my life now.

Decrees

I decree I am the righteousness of God in Christ! My sins are forgiven.

I release dunamis power from my spirit into these tombs now and over my life, soul, and body in the name of Jesus. Dunamis’s power is flowing into these tombs, wiping them out and making me excellent of soul. Dunamis’s power is working to heal all my hurtful memories and free me from all the pain of my past.

Thank You, Lord, that dunamis has made me excellent of soul, and I have nothing in common with the spirit of Legion! I close any open doors now where the enemy had come in to oppress, cause sickness, and influence me.

I command the spirit of Legion to GO now in the name of Jesus. (Take a breath and exhale out). Lord, fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

Thank You, Lord, that dunamis makes me excellent of soul.

Dunamis’s power is strengthening and reinforcing my inner man.

Staying Free

Even after being healed and delivered from the spirit of Legion, it is essential to recognize when something we are going through is beginning to wound our soul so that we can stop it before we become wounded and open the door to this demonic spirit again. We can declare over our lives that we are excellent of soul and release the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit.

When we have something in our soul that is in common with the spirit of Legion, it gives him the legal right to afflict us with sickness and disease, destroy relationships and our finances, etc. We can easily get overwhelmed by the storm, and that stress can cause wounds in our souls.

Jesus has given us the authority over the storm (Luke 10:19), and we can speak to the storm and declare as Jesus did, “Peace be still!” The Bible says to remain at peace and possess our souls (John 16:33; Luke 21:19). Jesus modeled what we should do in a storm. He was resting and asleep in the boat (Mark 4:38). You can’t have total dominion over any storm you can’t sleep through! If you are not at peace in the storm, then you are allowing wounding from the storm. We must not allow the storm to make us oppressed, depressed, anxious, upset, bitter, etc.

The breakthrough comes when you make it through the storm and don’t let it stop you, don’t let yourself get wounded by it, and are healed from any wounds. Then you can go to other regions where the spirit of Legion has a hold and free people!

We can see in the accounts in Mark 4:35–41 and 5:1–20 that the spirit of Legion is a regional demon with power over the region of the Gerasenes. The wounds in people’s souls give him the legal right to operate in an area.

When Jesus first stepped onto that land, this regional demon met Him through the demoniac to defend the area. This regional demon can meet us when we go out to minister in other countries and regions of land or even in our region where we’ve never ministered.

In closing, deliverance is incomplete without healing, and healing is incomplete without deliverance (when needed). Deliverance is an ongoing process! The Lord wants to take us on a personal journey of freedom. Therefore, we must keep our hearts clean to perceive the Word of the Lord. We may not be sinning, but our hearts may be cluttered from wounds.

Deliverance may take a while because God wants us to be able to possess and maintain every area of our deliverance (Deuteronomy 7:21-23; Obadiah 17). Therefore, He may work on one section at a time. We may need spiritual growth before more deliverance is received. We will grow in our deliverance as we learn to possess our land! That is why the Holy Spirit must lead in our healing and deliverance. Daily surrender to Jesus is a must so that our deliverance lasts.

References

Souza, Katie. Healing the Wounded Soul. Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2017.

Thayer, Joseph H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong’s Concordance Numbers. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2015.

[1] Warren, Rick. “What Forgiveness Really Is.” Daily Hope with Rick Warren. April 23, 2016. https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/daily-hope-with-rick-warren/what-forgiveness-really-is-daily-hope-with-rick-warren-april-23-2016.html.

[2] Elevation Church. “Forgiving What You Can’t Forget/ Lysa Terkeust.” YouTube Video, 42:50. June 9, 2024.

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