Breaking generational curses
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, God the Father adopts us as His own children. This is such an immense privilege, one that we can never earn. It is a gift from God in heaven. As we receive this new spiritual identity, we need to renounce any ‘spiritual inheritance’ from our own earthly families that has come down from idol worship and witchcraft three to four generations (Exodus 20:4-6), as this is not compatible with our new identity. Any lingering trace of idolatry gives our enemy, Satan, the legal right to kill, steal and destroy. Thankfully, Jesus has paid for our redemption from generational curses. We simply need to know how to pray to break them off.
(See Chinese versions: 繁體中文 > 破除遺傳的咒詛 | 简体中文 > 破除遗传的咒诅)
Ephesians 1:5-6 ESV he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
John 10:10 ESV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Exodus 20:4-6 ESV “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
There are several books in the Bible which trace genealogies back many generations, because people valued understanding their spiritual heritage. People with histories of adultery, idol worship, witchcraft and sibling hatred will find similar patterns scattered throughout the branches in their family trees down the generations. You can often tell the type of family a person comes from by the fruit in his or her life.
Luke 6:43-44 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
Generational heritage
1. Observation
As children, we learn a lot through observing the adults around us. For better or for worse, they form the foundation of our worldviews as adults. Such beliefs are so deeply ingrained that they propel our subconscious behaviours. We may not want to, but we can end up thinking, talking and reacting like our parents.
2. Biology
Besides what we pick up from our families by observation, there is also a lot that we pick up through our biological DNA.
3. Spiritual heritage
Last but not least is our spiritual heritage. The Bible leaves no doubt that our forefathers’ sins important implications for us, just as we continue to endure the curses that Adam and Eve’s sin brought about on this earth. We have not escaped the consequences of their sin from the beginning of our creation.
Genesis 3:17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
Neither will we escape the consequences of our ancestors’ sins, as shown in the example of King Josiah in 2 Chronicle 34, who lamented all the curses the kingdom suffered as a result of the evil committed by all their forefathers.
2 Chronicles 34:19-20 And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes…saying, “…For great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
On four occasions in the Bible, God warns that our sins have consequences on future generations, specifically down to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:4-6, Exodus 34:6-7, Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). Clearly, this warning should not be taken lightly. And it is not just our parents’ sins that will have a lingering effect on us, but our great-grandparents’ sins too.
Real life examples
To illustrate how generational curses can play out, here are a couple of examples based on real-life occurrences.
A person whose grandparents were devoted feng shui masters finds that he became fascinated with magic and “played” with different forms of the dark arts from an early age. When he became a Christian however, he seemed to face more than the usual “invisible” obstacles whenever he made an effort to study God’s Word. His efforts were usually met with unexplainable stomach cramps, unforeseen events or mental blocks.
Another person is unable to hold a normal conversation with her sister for long before there is some severe misunderstanding. When she started to examine her family tree, she noticed her parents had ongoing fights or disagreements with her uncles and aunties, as did her grandparents with her grand aunts and uncles. Unforgiveness was rife in her generational chart.
Generational blessings
Some people’s lives seem to be blessed: things go smoothly, there are no major diseases, and families are closely knit and loving. Generally, whatever they do seems to go well and prosper. It would appear that events and circumstances around them set them off in the right direction. Take a closer look and it is likely that such families are descendants of a line of faithful believers. Such is the promised legacy of those whose forefathers obeyed all the commandments of the Lord. They enjoy generational blessings.
Deuteronomy 28:11-14 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Generational curses
Then there are those who have a family history of relatives who die early, suffer sicknesses or mental disorders, fight each other or slip into bankruptcy. It is not surprising to find that their forefathers had turned to idol worship or defied God’s commandments.
Exodus 34:6-7 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
From the beginning, God laid out clear warnings about the consequences of our choices that would fall on both our offspring and us. Blessings and curses get passed on through the generations.
Genesis 22:18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Take Abraham for example. He was a man who revered God but he also had his weaknesses. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son, but after nearly 10 years of waiting, Abraham listened to the advice of his wife, Sarah, and slept with his slave to bring about a child on his own. Eventually, he was made to disown this first son, when Sarah eventually give birth to the boy that God had promised them.
Genesis 21:8-10 And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.”
Curiously, we see this type of ungodly pattern for the first-born son down to the fourth generation after Abraham. Abraham’s son, Isaac, is tricked into giving the firstborn blessings to his second son, Jacob, instead of Esau (Genesis 27:34-35). Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, does not bless his firstborn Reuben because he slept with his father’s concubine (Genesis 49:3-4,8). Abraham’s great-grandson, Joseph, does not properly pass on blessings to his children, Ephraim and Manasseh, because his own father, Isaac, intentionally blessed them in the wrong order (Genesis 48:18-19). At first glance, Esau, Reuben, and Joseph seem to have been victims of their fathers’ ineptitude, when in reality, they were suffering the consequences of generational curses.
Exodus 34:6-7 ESV The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
When our families sin against God’s Law, we too will continue to suffer the consequences until we confess our forefathers’ sins and repent of our own sins in Jesus’ name. God promises wonderful blessings to those who follow Him joyfully and wholeheartedly – and warns us that He will not bless those who turn against Him. How can a just God bless the sinful things we do that eventually will bring suffering to others?
Possible signs of generational curses
When one or more of these patterns below are evident in our extended families, we may need to consider the possibility of generational curses.
1. Broken family relationships and constant conflict
Uncles and aunties don’t get along. Grandparents are distrusted or abandoned. Siblings don’t speak with each other. Figuratively speaking, family members will tend to set themselves up on opposite sides of the fence and see each other as enemies. Hatred and unforgiveness run throughout family relationships.
2. Early deaths, recurring sicknesses
In each generation will be at least one relative who died early because of sickness, suicide or murder.
Deuteronomy 28:59 the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.
3. Mental illnesses
A pattern of mental confusion and illnesses flows through the family tree.
Deuteronomy 28:20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.
4. Difficulty in childbearing and multiplying in number
Miscarriages, barrenness and difficulty in having children appear in one or more families in each generation.
Deuteronomy 28:62 Whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, you shall be left few in number, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
5. Difficulty in prospering financially or materially
Wealth that is accumulated is not prolonged. Business failures, bad loans, betrayal by business partners, bad investments and bankruptcy dry up the bank account.
Deuteronomy 28:18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
Practical steps in breaking generational curses
Generational curses are not an excuse to continue sinning. Jesus came to die a cursed death on the cross so that He could remove our curses, and we would dishonour His sacrifice for us if we continue to sin.
Galatians 3:13 ESV Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
1. Draw our family tree
First, we can start by drawing up a family tree as far back as we can, preferably to our great-grandparents. The more we can describe, the better, particularly anything that may be described as immoral.
2. Look for patterns
Next, we should try to identify any patterns of sin and curses.
3. Confess our forefathers’ sins and revoke the cures in Jesus’ name
Here, we should pray and confess our forefathers’ sins to God and ask for generational curses to be revoked in Jesus’ name.
4. Celebrate that Jesus came to set us free
Once we have confessed and prayed, we can thank God for sending Jesus to take on our curses on the cross. Finally, we can ask God to turn all curses into blessings over ourselves and our children. We can invite Him to make us into a new creation, regardless of the condition of our DNA and our spiritual heritage.
Nehemiah 13:2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Thankfully, God is faithful and will answer our prayers for new life through Jesus Christ. The old will become new.
Over time, we will notice that the direction of our lives will start to change for the better, as we are remade into the image of God, rather than our human parents.
Psalm 119:88,90 ESV In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Your faithfulness endures to all generations…
Testimony 1: Breaking free from curses from ancestral witchcraft
“The first time I heard about generational sins, I became convinced that they could have impacted me and hindered my spiritual growth. Not only did I observe a strong generational stronghold of sibling rivalry amongst my family and relatives, I found it difficult to concentrate when reading the Bible and to grow in my spiritual gifts. Moreover, I felt deep personal grudges against a couple of female spiritual leaders at church over some comments they had made.
I prayed for God to reveal what my ancestors were like and their backgrounds. Amazingly, as I prayed and fasted, more and more revelations came up.
As I spoke to my parents about their own ancestry, I found out that my grandparents and great-grandparents were devout Buddhists and Taoists. Not only did they bow down and worship before buddhas, alters and temples, my maternal grandma would habitually invite spirits into her body using certain objects and accessories. In these Taoist / Buddhist occult practices in China, it is rather common to be assigned a spirit resembling a character from Chinese history to look after and “protect” the family.
Apparently, my grandma would summon the spirit of “la ja” (哪吒) to come into her.
Whenever she manifested the spirit of “la ja”, she would do unbelievable things that she normally wasn’t able to, such as chant poems and perform kungfu.
There was a huge reliance placed on cooperating with these “spiritual forces” so that we could ask for good health, blessings and safety for the family. My grandma was also part of a guan yin worship group (觀音道) in the Chiu Chow province of China.
My father grew up in China where his town practised “old mother sect” (老母教).
This sect worshipped the big belly buddha, amongst other idols. The sect’s disciples practised planchette writing (扶乩), where they invite spirits to be channelled through their hands to write down the future using a pan and a sandbox. Their leaders also carry out rituals to anoint people’s heads (點頭). My dad recalled visiting and worshipping at the sect’s temple with his entire family.
Furthermore, I learnt my great-grandfather worked in an opium parlour for a long time.
There used to be a lot of arguments between his mother and his wife. Shockingly, both of them passed away within a day of each other. His son (my grandfather) also died quite young in his 50’s. My grandma believed there was a lot of “bad karma” from her father-in-law’s long association with the opium house. So she donated a lot of money to the temple to “redeem” the family.
My parents, having been hugely influenced by their family culture, engaged in all these occult rituals and practices.
I am glad that God revealed my family heritage to me and how demonic some of their practices have been. Rather than being ashamed, I gladly confessed the sins to God and cut off spiritual ties to such an occult and demonic ancestry. I also confessed the generational sin of sibling rivalries and asked Jesus to remove those curses from me as well as the family line after me.
After the prayer, I saw that Jesus was strolling around a rainbow filled garden with me. It was so vibrant and full of life and colours. In that vision, I was a little child holding Jesus’ hands. He was taking me around to see His beautiful garden with His amazing creations. There was a rainfall of golden coloured glitter showering upon us as we walked together. One of my prayer counsellors also received a very similar vision for me. I felt really loved.
Finally, I am more connected spiritually with my Heavenly Father. My new relationship with God has begun and grows more intimate day by day.”
Testimony 2: Repenting of sinful family patterns
“I am one of seven children in my family. My parents were devout Christians and they took all of us to church. But their marriage was not harmonious. My father had loved another woman before he met my mother, but that woman rejected him because she felt he was not rich enough. Their feelings for each other continued and they remained friends.
My father married my mother because his mother (our grandmother) met her in church and introduced her to her son. This was a pragmatic marriage. My father is a responsible man. He worked very hard to provide for all of us and had a good paying job. However, he became quite self-reliant and proud. He also has a temper.
He often lost his temper with my mother because of the stress of raising all of us. My mother always understood and accepted my father, even though he never let go of the other woman in his heart.
Basically, my father didn’t really love and respect his wife, he just acted like a chauvinistic macho man. Sometimes, he would take us out to play with that lady, and sometimes he would invite her to our house.
Because of the disharmony in my parents’ marriage, three generations of marriages were cursed.
My second brother is divorced, one of our nephews is divorced, and my son is also divorced.
All three sisters in my family ended up marrying equally chauvinistic men. Although our husbands are loyal and love us, they don’t seem to know how to care for us.
I noticed another pattern in my parents’ marriage showing up in mine; disharmony, lack of emotional connection, anger, unkind words, and pride.
Even though we are all Christians, we allow the devil to bring disharmony and curses through our sinful patterns.
In order to prevent this situation from harming future generations, I humbly bowed my head before the Lord and admitted that I had refused to accept my husband in the past. My husband has good qualities, but we come from very different backgrounds and there are things I could not understand or accept. Instead of praying for him, I was filled with resentment and anger, and I ignored everything he had done for my family.
In the name of Jesus, I repented of my sins and renounced the sinful patterns that we have inherited from generation to generation. I then banished all those evil ancestral spirits and curses into the pit of fire and commanded them never to return.
The morning of this prayer, I felt a little dizzy, but after the prayer, I felt clear-headed again.
My mood and spirit have felt much better now. Thank the Lord!”
May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love God with all your heart and follow His lead to cut off all curses from your generational bloodline.