Merriam-Webster defines a curse as “a prayer or invocation for harm or injury to come upon one” and “evil or misfortune that comes as if in response to imprecation or as retribution”
Curses can be real. When praying to break a curse, it is helpful to know the origin of the curse. If you have no idea of the origin, you can always pray and ask God to reveal the source of the curse to you. There are two primary sources of curses:
- From sin – yours or from one of your ancestors
- From people who desire to harm you (ex. curses sent via witchcraft or sorcery)
If it was sin on your part or an ancestor’s part, you should repent of the sin as a representative of your family and receive forgiveness and redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ.
There are certain sins that carry more lasting and significant consequences. For example, involvement in “The Occult” often causes curses which affect the perpetrator and his/her family for several generations. If you are not sure if there are curses that are affecting you or your family, it is a good idea to pray these prayers just in case:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you are the Son of God and the only way to God, and that You died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. I give up all my rebellion and all my sin, and I submit myself to You as my Lord. I confess all my sins before You and ask for Your forgiveness – especially for any sins that exposed me to a curse. Release me also from the consequences of my ancestor’s sins.
By a decision of my will, I forgive all who have harmed or wronged me- just as I want God to forgive me. In particular I forgive…..I renounce all contact with anything occult or satanic- if I have any “contact objects”, I commit myself to destroy them. I cancel all Satan’s claims against me. Lord Jesus, I believe that on the cross You took on yourself every curse that could ever come upon me. So I ask you now to release me from every curse on my life- in Your Name, Lord Jesus Christ! By faith, I now receive my release and thank You for it.”
(prayer is borrowed from Blessing Or Curse- You Can Choose by Derek Prince)
If you suspect that curses have been sent to you by another person, you can pray to break the curses using the authority of Jesus Christ. Before doing so, however, be sure to examine your own heart and deal with any sin (i.e. confess & repent) that you might have committed related to the originator. The Bible says, “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest” (Proverbs 26:2 NIV). By repenting from any sin that you may have committed, you are removing any possible foothold a curse might have to “come to rest” on you. Additionally, if the person who allegedly sent the curse used a personal belonging of yours to direct the curse (AKA a “contact object”), you’ll want to renounce ownership of the belonging and ask the Lord to severe any ties you might have with it. Here is a sample prayer to address the above issues:
“Heavenly Father, I come to you regarding the evil that I believe has been sent against me by __________ (state name if you know it). I confess any sin that I have committed related to this person, specifically that I _____________________ (list any sins involved). I forgive this person and anyone else who may tried to harm me in any way, and I ask you, Lord, to carry out justice in this matter. I repent from any fear that I have allowed to influence me related to this evil. I turn from my sin and ask to be cleansed from it by faith in Jesus Christ and his shed blood in every level of my body, soul and spirit.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I cancel every hex, curse, spell, ungodly prayers , vortexes and Satanic assignments that have been made against me and my family. I break any curses associated with black magic, witchcraft, Voodoo, Santeria or any other form of evil. Heavenly Father, I ask that you would reverse any damage that has been caused in my life or my family’s life as a result of the evil that was sent to me. I pray for your healing and restoration in our lives.
If any personal belongings or contact objects have been used in directing this evil against me, I ask that they be returned to me. If this is not possible, then I renounce my ownership to such things and ask you, Father, to sever all ties between me and those things. I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over myself and my family, and ask for a thick hedge of protection to be established around us from any further attacks of evil. Thank you, Father! I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”