Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is deeply entrenched in Chinese culture. It affects the thoughts, beliefs, and feelings of millions of Chinese people around the world. Rooted in Taoism, the doctrines and teachings around TCM profoundly affect how one views one’s body. We are taught that the flow of a mystical life energy called Qi, also known as the “divine breath of life”, determines our well being; that our organs and emotions are governed by the Five Elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water; that our bodies are fragile systems of Yin and Yang; that herbal medicines act as a physical anchor for the spirit; and so on. From the beginning of His creation, God blessed mankind and called our bodies “very good”. His blessings continue for all who will trust in Him. The Holy Spirit, who is the true divine breath of life, even comes to dwell in everyone who places their faith in Jesus, His Son. If the Lord made our body to be the temple of the Holy Spirit – how can it be deficient? One just needs to remember how magnificent the temple king Solomon built was, based on God’s instructions. How it grieves God when we think any less of our bodies and place our faith in an alternative system of health. For anyone who has decided to place their faith fully in the eternal Word of God, and no longer falter between dark and light, Yin and Yang, based on the teachings of TCM, here is a prayer.
Please read: Awakening to the Taoist foundations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Genesis 1:31 NKJV Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Job 33:4 NKJV The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
A prayer to turn from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
“Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your many good thoughts for me and for creating me in Your image. With my renewed understanding of how my body works and how You created our bodies to self heal, I proclaim that I am truly fearfully and wonderfully made! (Please read: Awakening to the Taoist foundations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).)
Psalm 139:13-15 NKJV For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
I rest in the knowledge that You are a caring and compassionate God who watches over me while I sleep and knows all my needs even before I ask. Like a nursing mother who’s tuned in and alert to all the needs of her infant, You have me always in Your thoughts, You never forget nor forsake me. Thank you, Father! You alone are the Author of my life and the Source of life itself. Your Spirit gives me breath.
Matthew 6:8 NKJV “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Isaiah 49:15 NKJV “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
Where I have believed that “health is the most important” and allowed it to become a high thing and idol in my heart, please forgive me. Health is not the ultimate source of my peace and security, Jesus is! Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins so that I may be healed and made whole – in spirit, soul, and body.
1 Corinthians 10:14 NKJV Flee from Idolatry Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NKJV Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, I offer my body back to You as a living sacrifice to be transformed into a purified vessel for the Holy Spirit. I ask to be cleansed from worldly patterns and doctrines that pollute spirit, soul, and body. Take me, Lord. I am entirely Yours from now on.
Romans 12:1-2 NKJV I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I turn from placing my faith in the universe and in nature rather than in my Father Himself. He is the One who created the universe and nature. I turn away from being double minded – from believing in the mystical powers of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and in the God of creation at the same time.
James 4:8 NKJV Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
I renounce the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) belief that I am a subject of the Dao, the “way” behind the natural order of the universe. I renounce the TCM teaching that my health is dependent on a mystical universal energy force called Qi and that my body is an unstable system of Yin and Yang – and hot, cold or damp. All these arguments from Taoism oppose my relationship with and knowledge of God as the Creator of all things, the Author of my life, and the Healer of my body.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
My body is the temple of the living God and I will have no agreement with the idols of this world.
2 Corinthians 6:16 NKJV And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
I renounce Taoism and repent for giving any credit to any Taoist doctrine, master, physician, healing deity, TCM practice or herbal formula for my health and healing. How this must have grieved You, Holy Spirit. You are the Source of my life. I renounce the doctrine that my health, life force, or spiritual vitality are all dependent on an impersonal cosmic, energy system or flowing meridians.
I declare that my breath comes directly from the Spirit of God and my emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being are all dependent on and sustained by the all-powerful Creator who thoughtfully crafted me and who loves me.
Job 12:9-10 NKJV Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
The Word of God says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Today, I renounce all negative words or words of death I have spoken over myself and forgive everyone who has spoken negative diagnosis or words of death over my body and health. Persistently negative words will actively rewire my brain’s neural pathways and trigger chronic stress that degrade physical health. This is why Your Word instructs me to meditate on Your Word (Joshua 1:8-9) and on whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8-9) – and not to worry about my health. I will rejoice and be thankful that You are with me in all situations. Oh Lord, please set a guard over my mouth so that my speech reflects Your truth and Your victory.
Proverbs 18:21 NKJV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Joshua 1:8-9 NKJV This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Psalm 141:3 NKJV Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.
I now renounce every evaluation and declaration that Chinese herbal doctors or TCM practitioners have spoken over my body – whether in person, through third-party consultation, or online. I cancel every spoken curse of chronic sickness, constitutional weakness, or energetic imbalance that I have placed over myself by agreeing that I have Qi deficiency, Yin deficiency, Yang deficiency, blood deficiency, liver qi stagnation, kidney essence depletion, internal damp or heat, dry-heat, phlegm stagnation, or toxic internal fire! In the mighty name of Jesus, I break the power of all negative words, prognosis, and curses spoken over my body, my health, and my future.
My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, not a battleground of elements or a fragile system of Yin (dark) and Yang (light). I turn from darkness and choose light, who is Jesus.
John 8:12 NKJV Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
I declare that my heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and every part of my body are governed only by the Holy Spirit – not by the cosmos, the Five Elements, five stars, or four seasons. I break any spiritual alignment or agreement with Taoism I may have made, knowingly or unknowingly, with the belief that my health, emotions, or organs are subject to astrological energies and cosmic constellations.
Deuteronomy 4:19 NKJV And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
I renounce the TCM teaching that my kidneys serve as a direct spiritual link to my ancestors and that they determine my destiny. I renounce generational bondages linking me to the sins, illnesses, afflictions, and curses of my ancestors. The blood of Jesus has purchased all of my body and God has devised a future and a hope just for me! I belong to God.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
I renounce the TCM diagnostic framework of the Eight Principles with its classifications of exterior and interior, cold and heat, dry and heat, deficiency and excess, Yin and Yang over my health. I reject and renounce the pattern of constant cycle of self-diagnosis that breeds anxiety and pride. I choose in live in joy and peace, fruit of the Holy Spirit. I repent for and renounce my and my family’s participation in the practices, treatments and therapies of traditional Chinese medicine that are all based on these TCM frameworks, such as (… please list e.g. acupuncture, moxibustion, reflexology, tuina massage, cupping, gua sha, bloodletting therapy, bone setting, qigong, taichi etc.)
Colossians 2:20-22 NKJV Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using – according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
My Father in heaven has created all foods for my consumption that are sanctified through prayer in Jesus’ name. I will eat any and all food with thanksgiving in my heart to the Lord. I renounce the fear of illness, imbalance, or bodily harm associated with eating sour, bitter, sweet, pungent/spicy and salty foods. My conscience will not be defiled by the fear of dampness, heat, or internal imbalance in my body, as dictated by the “Five Tastes” and Yin and Yang.
1 Timothy 4:3-5. NKJV … commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
The only food I will abstain from eating is food that has been offered to idols. That is where real defilement happens. Food and the stomach will be destroyed one day. What is of much greater concern are things that defile the heart and spirit, rather than the stomach. My main sustenance is not food, but to live “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” That will lead to eternal riches in heaven.
Acts 21:25 NKJV But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
1 Corinthians 6:13 NKJV Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them …
Mark 7:18-19 NKJV So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”
Matthew 4:4 NKJV But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Holy Spirit, please lead me to herbal remedies for sicknesses which You have prepared for mankind, not based on negative pronouncements by a Taoist practitioner, but based on Your wisdom and understanding.
Ezekiel 47:12 NKJV Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Isaiah 11:2 NKJV The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
I declare that children are a heritage from the Lord and He is the One who keeps us. I renounce the foundational TCM philosophy behind a mother’s confinement after delivering a baby, the 30-day postpartum recovery period (“sitting the month”). I renounce the curses, warnings, and TCM prognosis spoken over every mother and child in my bloodline that may have affected me, as well as the rules and protocols behind confinement that are rooted in Taoist teachings. My Lord God has promised to keep all children in peace, to establish us in His righteousness, and keep us far from terror. In Him will I trust.
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Isaiah 54:13-14 NKJV All your children shall be taught by the Lord, And great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Holy Spirit, please restore my body to divine health and peace according to Your perfect design. I speak health, life, and divine order over my organs, my blood, and my emotions in accordance with Your Word. Jesus came to earth to defeat death, so we will no longer have any fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14–15 NKJV Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
I declare that my life, my breath, and my physical strength come directly from the Creator of the universe. Jesus, You are my Healer and my Sustainer. I place my body, my organs, and my health securely in Your hands, free from the yoke of spiritual frameworks. Thank You for Your peace, Your protection, and my total freedom in Christ.
I now command every spirit connected to what I have repented for and renounced to come out of me and from around me, and to leave me and go into the pit of fire. Before you go, restore to me all that you have destroyed and stolen from me. Remove your poisons and your curses. Take back your false blessings and gifts. Go now, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour! I forbid all of you from coming back to me or any member of my family in Jesus’ name.
Beloved Holy Spirit, where my temple has been cleared of evil spirits, please now come and fill the open spaces with Your presence and Light. Jesus, thank you Lord for Your work on the cross to make this possible for me today. Thank you for Your mercy and grace.
In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, amen.”