What exactly is a spiritual stronghold?
A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought, built into one’s thought life. Satan and his minions want to capture the minds of people: the mind is the bedrock of the soul. The one who controls the mind controls a person’s life!
A stronghold is a way of thinking and feeling that has developed a life of its own within a person. Satanic strongholds can be destructive in a person’s life.
We read in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates].
We also read in Romans 8:5-6 that:
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
What does a stronghold look like? Here are some examples:
It might be a repeating pattern of failure:
Sometimes a stronghold will cause you to provoke others to reject you (without necessarily knowing you’re doing it)
It might be a stronghold of resentment or worthlessness.
If a child is sexually molested and/or badly verbally abused, a stronghold of worthlessness may build up a stockpile of negative thoughts:
I’m guilty.
Nobody could really love me.
I’m good for nothing.
I’m ugly.”She might actually be beautiful— and certainly is. beautiful in the eyes of God.
Sometimes a stronghold gets filled with arguments like these:
Nobody would like me if they really got to know me.
Nobody really knows me.
Nobody really cares for me.
Nobody really wants me for me.
Now all these thoughts may be a pack of lies, but they can be a stronghold keeping out the truth of God’s love.
Such a person may hear a message about God’s love, whether from a pulpit or a friend, but it goes in one ear and out the other, bouncing off the walls of a stronghold of rejection or worthlessness.
Just when you think you are free from negative thoughts, The enemy comes with another string of lies, excuses, smokescreens, shot down by blocking spirits.
Thus a stronghold creates inner captivity to deception and misery.
A stronghold keeps a person from thinking clearly, accepting the truth, repenting of sin, and receiving deliverance.
A stronghold can keep an unbeliever from hearing the good news.
A stronghold can keep a believer from hearing the fullness of the good news.
So how do you demolish(take down) a stronghold?
God knows all about strongholds and He knows how to take them down— and he’ll tell you how to do it, if you’re willing to fight!
When you come up against a stronghold in your life, do you just want to give up? Or are you going to be willing to fight to take the stronghold? Strongholds are captured by people who are willing to fight, with the help of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
God gave us a blueprint on how to demolish strongholds in
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
“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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”
If we want the abundant life and peace that Jesus promised, we must let God’s Spirit capture our thoughts and any stronghold that is there!
LET US PRAY:
Father, thank You for helping us to demolish any and all strongholds in our lives. Help us to recognize thoughts that are not from God, so we can take it captive to Jesus Christ. In Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen 
Have a blessed day 
