Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 AMPC)
Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians demonstrates that we are a three-part being, just like our Creator. God is a spirit, and we are spirit beings who have a soul and live in a body. This is why Paul listed the three parts to every human in this order. Many Christians have been taught that they have a spirit, soul, and body, but they may not understand the role of each of them. Some believe the soul and spirit are the same but as you can see, that is not what the Bible says.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 AKJV)
We could not divide the two if they were one and the same. The spirit is the part of us that is connected to God and Heaven. The soul is our mind, will, and emotions: that connects to the things of this Earth. It is God’s will that the spirit rule over the soul and body. The soul with its memory, will, and emotions depends on the functionality of your brain and body for it to express itself or be conscious. The spirit can exist on its own, apart from the soul and body.
It is said that the power that controls the soul, controls the person. Satan’s goal is to control our soul by deceit. The soul will appeal to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. It is controlled by pride. Why would you want your soul to dominate your body and spirit? Although, you don’t want the soul to dominate you, it may do so under the influence of demons and/or when you are sick and in need of healing. Your soul can be affected in the following ways:
Bound by swearing an oath (Num. 30:2-13)
Knitted or tied with another soul (1 Sam.18:1)
Dried away or withered (Num. 11:6)
Grieved, vexed, or in bitterness (Judges 10:16, 16:16, 1 Sam. 1:10)
Cursed by words of the mouth (Job 31:30)
Spoiled and humbled (Ps. 35:12, 13)
Pant after and thirst for God (Ps. 42:1,2)
Be lean; made empty (Ps. 106:15, Is. 32:6)
Be devoured, killed, and destroyed (Matt. 10:28, Ez. 22:25)
Unstable, beguiled (entrapped) (2 Peter 2:14)
If a person has had any ungodly activities and relationships in their past, especially occult and sex related e.g., rape, incest, bestiality, or sex outside of marriage, they will have definitely opened the door to spiritual darkness in the soul and spirit.
Although many deliverance ministries have had good intentions, the dilemma has been that they have been too focused on healing the wounded soul and have completely neglected the spirit man. Many have failed to see that your spirit has become:
Feeble
Faint
Malnourished
Ignored
Rejected
“Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled…” (Psalm 143:4 ESV)
Healing the soul and soul restoration are part of the solution to making the soul whole again: the solution to removing many internal problems. This is one side of an issue which has two aspects to it. Only through Jesus and the Holy Spirit can we heal our soul:
The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised… (Luke 4:18 AKJV)
“Broken-hearted” is two Greek words: syntribō (sün-tre'-bo), meaning shattered to shivers, like slivered glass, and Kardia (kär-de'-ä), which is often translated heart but also means “the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors,” according to Strong’s Concordance. When we experience trauma, either physical or emotional, our soul can become fragmented and pieces of it broken off and stuck in that moment. The Holy Spirit and Jesus exist throughout all time, simultaneously. They can go back and retrieve the pieces so that our soul can be made whole again.
Often if a child is raped, as an adult they will speak in a high voice - the voice they had at the age when they were raped or they will react to situations now as if they were five years old, displaying childish or immature behaviors and reactions which are not appropriate as an adult. They may also “feel” like they are five years old rather than an adult. This is an indication that there is a piece of their soul trapped in the past by that experience. Any emotional event may cause damage to our soul. This can be dealt with much like a crushed spirit (see below).
Our spirit must be strong so that it can grasp and hold onto the things of God and have the strength, power, or anointing to fight back any demons that will try to come back to invade the soul. During deliverance, some ministries will speak to your soul. They pray for your soul and cast demons out of it, but where is the fruit if your spirit is weak? A weak spirit may not be strong enough to receive and hold onto what is done, then deliverance is often only temporary.
On rare occasions, the soul may be held in captivity by a demon. The person may be prevented from or unable to strengthen the spirit. In this case, the soul would need to be set free first and THEN the spirit can be strengthened. The deliverance minister should instruct the person on ways to strengthen their spirit which needs to begin immediately after receiving the deliverance so they can maintain the freedom they have received.
There are three main ways to help build your spiritual strength:
Reading the Word
Praying in the Spirit
Worshiping God
Each of these is important, but not all are necessary to develop a strong spirit. Only two are an absolute must have in your life: reading the Word and worship.
Reading the Word
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for till now you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are you able. (1 Corinthians 3:2 AKJV)
To strengthen your spirit, you must provide food for it to grow. Reading the Word of God is not an option: it is the foundation for spiritual strength.
Praying in the Spirit
He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself; but he that prophesies edifies the church. (1 Corinthians 14:4 AKJV)
An unknown tongue is what some refer to as “praying in the Spirit,” “speaking in tongues,” or “the heavenly language.” This is a personal language from the Holy Spirit that many Christians receive after taking Jesus as Lord.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4 AKJV)
This is the “gift of tongues” which is used with the “interpretation of tongues.” The heavenly language is different from this type of gift because often there is no interpretation of what is said. It may come with the infilling of the Holy Spirit when our lives are completely submitted to Jesus as our Lord. When we give our tongue over to the Holy Spirit to pray through us, our spirit is strengthened by His presence.
Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27 AKJV)
Praying in the Spirit is praying according to the will of God. It may set us free, especially when deliverance is not an option.
Worship
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalms 46:1 AKJV)
But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 AKJV)
When we focus on God, He renews our strength. Worship is how we enter into His presence. There is a great advantage to spending time in God’s presence.
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me… (Psalms 27:5 AKJV)
David wrote this song in a time where being on a rock was a great advantage in battle. You could see farther, your arrows would go a greater distance, and you would be swinging down with gravity while your opponent would have to fight gravity to strike you.
God’s shelter, His tent, is known as the “Secret Place.” It is the next level of worship where our spirit will find great refreshing and strengthening. How do we get there? If we keep reading, we find out:
In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. (Psalms 27:6 AMP)
Worship is a necessary part of our walk with God. It will strengthen our spirit. In time, we may also enter into the Secret Place through worship (more about that in the free book Roadmap to Heaven). Since the Feast of Trumpets 2020, the Secret Place has really opened up. Now spending time with the Lord there is like praying in the Heavenly language for hours! I pray that the Lord will use the “key of David” and open up the Secret Place for you soon.
Have you heard the word “soaking” used to refer to time in worship? In a visit to the Secret Place, the Lord showed me what “soaking” is all about.
Secret Place Visit
On Sunday, I had become so very tired in spirit and body. It felt like I was completely drained, barely able to lift up my hand. My mind was so tired, it was hard to put thoughts together. I retreated to my bed and began worshiping the Lord and my body relaxed. Usually, a vision of the Secret Place would capture my thoughts, but I was too tired to even dance with the Lord. Instead, I heard the soft whisper, “Just rest…”
It took effort to let go of all the ministry items that NEEDED my attention. I had to pry my mind away from the “to do” list on my desk. The words of the song kept me focused on how awesome God is, how loving the Lord is. The heavy weight of the Holy Spirit was upon me. A gentle tingling sensation surrounded my body.
Eventually, a picture eased into my mind:
I was in a natural hot spring at my Heavenly home. I was submerged in the middle and the Lord was behind me. His strong hands rubbed my head and shoulders, working out the knots that had been building there.
“Shouldn’t I be serving you? Honoring you?” The whispered thought was clearly heard by the Lord.
“He who is greatest is a servant to all. You honor me and I serve you.” I knew He could feel what my heart and mind were thinking as the music played.
As my body, soul, and mind became refreshed, He slipped down into the water where I was sitting. It was like He was all around me or I was fully inside Him. “You are safe, you are love, you are MY BRIDE.”
I knew that as long as my heart remained focused on Him, submitted to His will, that I would remain in Him.
This is what may be happening when you “soak” as you worship Him. Even if your spiritual eyes do not see Him, He is there when your heart surrenders and you let go of all that is in this world demanding your attention.
When ministering to the spirit through the Word, prayer, or worship, we are asking God to bless us according to the promises of His Word, so the Holy Spirit can move in with greater measure. This will help empower your spirit to dominate the soul and body.
To enter into worship, our soul may need some healing or our spirit may need strengthening. There are several common ways our spirit may be negatively impacted throughout our life. Knowing these common ways our spirit may be negatively impacted throughout our life will allow us to address and overcome these issues.
Weak or Malnourished Spirit
One dilemma of a weak spirit is if you have not spent time feeding your spirit by reading the Word of God, your spirit is most likely malnourished, therefore it cannot be in a close relationship with God. Without the Word, and because the spirit is weak, your relationship with God is only “head knowledge” within the soul. You are relying on other people’s experiences or teachings about God, but you really do not know God on your own.
You may think you are hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, but instead, it is a voice coming from your wounded, controlling, dominant soul. We can recognize this when we respond to what we are hearing and then our life winds up in a mess. Did you feel you were receiving from the Holy Spirit and followed that leading only to see the situation get worse and destruction come into your life? You may have been listening to your own soul instead of the Holy Spirit.
Solution:
Confess that you have been listening to something that isn’t the Holy Spirit.
Repent for this, strengthen your spirit, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak clearly to you.
Plead the blood over the sins you have repented for, especially every time you have attributed your own thoughts to being the Holy Spirit.
Rejected Spirit
Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me or I will be like those who descend to the pit. (Psalms 143:7 BSB)
If your spirit has been rejected for many years, and you’ve been through a lot of trauma in your life, your spirit can gradually shrink back and possibly even go into hiding because it has not been recognized as an important part of you as an individual. You may need help from a mature Christian to have your spirit ministered to: someone else reading the Word over you.
Solution:
Strengthen your spirit - see below.
Grieved, Crushed, Broken or Bruised Spirit
Your spirit man can grieve to the point that it can become so burdened down that it feels crushed, broken, and bruised. When your spirit is weakened and just too heavy to bear, you can begin to have no hope for the future. The soul then starts thinking about death or suicide.
For the enemy has persecuted me, He has crushed my life down to the ground; He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead. (Psalm 143:3 AMP)
My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. (Job 17:1 AMP)
Examples of a person with a broken spirit can be someone who is a rape victim or one who has witnessed a horrific crime. It could be a person who was given too much responsibility when they were children, e.g., they had an ailing mother and had to fill her shoes and take care of the family. They may have been abused by someone in authority and the words spoken over them crushed their spirit.
A happy heart is good medicine and a joyful mind causes healing, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22 AMP)
If your spirit is in this condition, it may affect your health. Praise God that our Lord heals the brokenhearted!
Solution:
Forgive those who abused you: You may need to cry out to the Lord and ask Him to help you forgive them. Know that the enemy had a piece of them and was pushing them to abuse you. It is Satan’s plan to let that abuse keep you from being close to your heavenly Father. Forgiveness removes the enemy’s ability to afflict you further.
Plead the blood of Jesus over the sin of unforgiveness.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring you back to the moment of the damage and the Lord to heal your soul, bringing any pieces back to you, in this moment in time.
Defiled Spirit
A person can also have a “defiled spirit” especially if they or their ancestors have dabbled in occult practices. This will block them from being able to enter into true worship with God. Their spirit can even become imprisoned or caged if witchcraft rituals have been performed on them. They might fall asleep whenever they attempt to read the Bible.
A defiled spirit may also be the result of the sin of idolatry; not only worshiping other gods, participating in all forms of witchcraft, and freemasonry but focusing on a particular item above God for an extended amount of time. It can be:
Focusing on financial success.
Desiring a spouse or a child.
Focusing on entertainment (video games, non-fiction books, porn, or any other entertainment).
Seeking healing or deliverance instead of the healer: the healing then becomes an idol.
If this is you, you need your spirit strengthened immediately!
“So come out from among unbelievers and be separate,” says the Lord, “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will graciously receive you and welcome you [with favor].” (2 Corinthians 6:17 AMP)
Solution:
Confess, repent, and plead the blood for any form of idolatry or occult practices you participated in.
Confess for your ancestors.
Sever soul ties with anyone you practiced these with.
Begin setting aside all else, focusing on God instead, and reading His Word to strengthen your spirit.
Ruled by the Soul
Let us emphasize that when the spirit is weak and the soul is the “center of attention,” the soul then is allowed to rule and reign over the spirit man. Focusing on repairing the soul first is not how you are going to maintain your breakthrough. Even going through the Courts of Heaven is not a guarantee you will receive your healing or hold onto it once you do receive it, unless your spirit and soul are cooperating with the Holy Spirit together.
When the soul, spirit, and body are out of order, it is your responsibility to feed your spirit truth so that the soul can step back to its proper place, submitted to the spirit. Over time your spirit will once again feel legitimate and be recognized as an important part of the person.
Your goal is for your spirit to become actively engaged in the healing process and be alert enough to work with the Holy Spirit. When the spirit is engaged in receiving ministry it can tap into the resources of God, the gifts of God, and the power of God.
Clear signs of a weakened spirit are:
A lack of peace with no evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit manifesting in your life.
If you do not have love, joy, peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), and self-control truly manifesting in your life as explained in Galatians 5:22-23 then your spirit is not fully engaged with the Holy Spirit.
You still must learn how to die to the flesh and feed yourself spiritual food from the Word of God. To receive all God has for you, your spirit must be strong:
You cannot sustain the anointing of the Holy Spirit if your spirit is weak.
It is your spirit that enters the Courts of Heaven and is seated in Heavenly places.
When you meditate daily on the Word of God, your spirit will be able to obey God.
Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the] body is weak. (Mark 14:38 AMP)
Our soul must submit to our spirit and our flesh must die and submit to our soul. Spirit, soul, and body is the order in which we must live as Christians. The Bible tells us clearly that we must die to the flesh.
For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. (Romans 8:13 AKJV)
We must understand that the spirit is meant to reflect the sevenfold nature of God because it was created in the image of God: the spirit of Yahweh (the Lord), wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And 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. (Isaiah 11:2 AKJV)
The spirit has also been given the six motivational or operational gifts by our Heavenly Father. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them accordingly:
If [someone has the gift of] prophecy, let him speak a new message from God to His people] in proportion to the faith possessed:
If service, in the act of serving
He who teaches, in the act of teaching
He who encourages, in the act of encouragement
He who gives, with generosity
He who leads, with diligence
He who shows mercy [in caring for others], with cheerfulness
(Romans 12:6-8 AMP)
Then there are also gifts of the Holy Spirit that are given to believers. It is through our spirit, into our soul, then through our body that these gifts function. We receive these gifts from the Holy Spirit into our spirit. They move into our soul; our mind, will, and emotions; we walk in these gifts through actions from our flesh:
To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom
To another a message of knowledge
By means of the same Spirit, to another faith
By the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing
By that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers
To another prophecy
To another distinguishing between spirits
To another speaking in different kinds of tongues
And to still another the interpretation of tongues
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NIV)
As we strengthen our spirit, we are legitimizing the nature of God that our spirit was born with. We are drawing out that which God has gifted us. Mature believers and baby Christians alike should daily minister the Word of God into their spirit. How else are you going to remain mature if you don’t stay in the Word?
We cannot live on yesterday’s manna (food from Heaven). It becomes stale and we need fresh bread daily which is the Word of God giving life to our spirit. The Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is truth. The Word of God is bread that our spirit cannot live without.
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of Heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of Heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of Heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, ever more give us this bread.” (John 6:32-34 AKJV)
The Word of God will continue to usher in the anointing from the Holy Spirit giving peace to our spirit and soul. Your spirit needs daily communication with the Holy Spirit. This is what God initially intended for all of us in the Garden of Eden. We must renew our spirit man daily.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV)
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. (1 Peter 3:4 AKJV)
Practical Steps to Minister to Your Spirit
Reading the Word out loud is blessing your spirit, and this has been proven to be one of the most fruitful exercises you can do to help strengthen your spirit. In fact, it will bless your spirit, soul, and body! Ideally, if someone can partner with you, your spirit is far more receptive to listening to the reading of the Word and the prayers being prayed out loud. Your spirit can focus on the words being said when you can look at the person in the eyes and allow them to ask God to bless your spirit. If you can do this daily, or even weekly with someone, you will both grow in Christ at a much faster pace causing your spirits to gain strength.
You should use caution when choosing who to partner with. In the prior teaching you learned how to spot Jezebel and Leviathan as well as how to remove them. We strongly recommend both people involved go through the Courts of Heaven Academy course 201 before joining in prayer this way.
And the child grew and became strong in spirit... (Luke 1:80 NIV)
To begin with, we simply ask the soul to step aside and call your spirit to the forefront or to attention in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Many will feel their spirit respond to this command. This is called engaging the spirit on purpose.
Our spirit is the dwelling place for the spirit of God. By engaging our spirit, we are helping it to recognize its value; acknowledging who we are in Christ, and encouraging our spirit to operate in all the gifts that are given to it. God desires our daily presence, and our spirit desires His presence. This is our goal: to enter into the Secret Place and commune with God every day.
Video Prayer to Strengthen Your Spirit
Agape Christian Fellowship holds online weekly meetings where we read the Word out loud to you. You can listen to these readings over and over again in our Agape Family Facebook group and on YouTube.
We also have a morning prayer time on Facebook live with Lynn. These meetings are for everyone; especially those who do not have a prayer partner who can minister to them. If you register for these events on our website, then you will receive a reminder the day before the meeting: https://www.agape-cf.org/events
When you come to the meetings, please just come and relax as we minister to your spirit by reading the Word of God over you. It will refresh you and strengthen you. Once your spirit is engaged and participating, you will feel the presence of God as you allow the Holy Spirit to minister to your spirit when the Word is being read out loud. Awesome things happen at these meetings.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)
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