FAQ'S About Inner Healing to the Body of Christ
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An inner vow, by definition, is a personal determination made as a reaction to an event; the reaction may or may not have ever been verbalized. The nature of the inner vow is such that it takes the form of "I will never." or "I will always." or some other statement of our will.
The Inner Vow is a "bad thing" because it is activated by our personal spirit. Our personal spirit is that part of our being which, as God designed it, rules over the rest of our being. The strength of the inner vow is such that it affects the mind, will, emotions, soul and body. But let us examine the Scriptural basis for the Inner Vow.
We need go no further than Matthew 5:21,22:
You have heard it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment." But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca! Shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, You fool! Shall be in danger of hell fire.
The point of this scripture obviously deals with murder. But is that the only application? I think it can be logically extended to any sin. But of more importance is verse 22 which deals with an emotion in the same way. Emotions, while they may be shown externally, are based upon inner reactions to events in our lives. The implication is that inner reactions lead to the same judgment as outer actions do.
James 1:14, 15 states,
"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown brings forth death."
Temptation is an inner process. Our desires begin internally to ourselves. So the implication is that sin begins inside, in the heart or an inner determination to take action. This is amazingly similar to the process that an inner vow follows.
Proverbs 23:7 states, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Thinking is an internal process. The power of this scripture indicates that thoughts have the power to cause us to be in a certain condition. Is it then such a stretch of logic to believe that an inner thought could take on the form of a vow?
Jeremiah 17:9,10 states, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." Clearly, issues of the heart affect the inner man. The scripture indicates that man has trouble truly knowing the issues of his own heart. Additionally, God gives every man according to his ways. So it is logical to assume that the issues of our hearts, that may include vows, will result in rewards (consequences) measured out in accordance with the severity of the issues/vows.
The concept of inner vows is biblical. No one argues that making vows is not the best practice. Vows, even good vows, place an emphasis on something other than God. If God is not the center of all, He is not the center at all. The consequences of vows are almost always not what we intended and almost always negative.
Therefore, the root issue is sin. All sin is handled at the Cross of Jesus Christ, by His shed blood. The consequences of those sins are dealt with by the power of the Cross to destroy sinful structures or patterns of response. The result is a healthy soul, free of wounds and flowing with the Holy Spirit.
The Elijah House method of prayer ministry hears the heart of the believer and traces "fruit to root" to discover Inner Vows developed as a sinful response to life's realities. Then the believer is led to pray through and break the vow and release healing and restoration into their lives. The Word, The Blood and The Spirit are applied to the believer that result in a powerful healing and freedom in Christ!
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