Derek Prince is a famous speaker and writer who many years ago taught Christians how to pass from curse to blessing. What he teaches is very simple and easy to follow. It is also very powerful. I encourage you to look at the last couple of chapters that contain powerful prayers of deliverance and covering. Ask God to show you if you are under any curse, either from your family of origin, what you are involved in, what someone is praying or speaking over you or even what you have said about yourself. Are you under a curse which has given Satan the ability to take you from the blessings that God is wanting to pour into your life and family?
The video which contains Derek Prince's teaching is below. After this, I have written a brief summary of each chapter of the small book he has produced on this topic. My prayer is God will release you from any curse over your life and family and release you into an incredible time of blessing!
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that murders the prophets. The city that stones those sent to help her. How often I have wanted to gather your children together even as a hen protects her brood under her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. Luke 13:34
God so wants us to come into alignment so He can bless us! This love for us must be the underlying understanding of God we have when we read what Derek has written below.
PART 1: THE REALITY OF BLESSINGS AND CURSES
Chapter 1: How God Changed My Thinking
Derek talks about two incidents. One is where a family is healed after a curse was revoked from their life. The second was when he and his wife removed a wall hanging of a dragon from their home. After this was removed God released blessing immediately into their home and stopped the opposition to his ministry. He also talked about a lady in South Africa who was healed from arthritis when she had a curse removed from her. This healing was almost instantaneous.
The realm of spiritual blessings and curses is real. With a clear understanding of these matters, we can live in victory, experiencing the full blessing of God.
Chapter 2: How Blessings and Curses Operate
Blessings and curses operate according to eternal, unchanging laws. Both unseen and seen dimensions determine the outcome of events in the world. We are called to see the natural, but also understand the unseen or spiritual. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:18 writes, "because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal."
Blessings and curses belong to the spiritual or invisible dimension and carry spiritual power. There are two important aspects of blessings and curses:-
The effects of both blessings and curses can go beyond the individual person.
Both blessings and curses can continue through generations.
God is the sole and supreme source of all blessings. They can, though, come through many different ways. They come when we obey God's voice. That is the main way we receive His blessings. Blessings are supernaturally empowered and determine the destiny of the person. Deuteronomy 28 talks about different blessings and curses. It is worth a read. This is a summary from the chapter:
Blessings - Exaltation, health, reproductiveness, prosperity, victory and God's favour.
Curses - Humiliation, barrenness, unfruitfulness, mental illness, physical sickness, family breakdown, poverty, defeat, failure, oppression, God's disfavour.
A very important picture is given in verse 13 where Moses says, "If you will only listen and obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, he will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall always have the upper hand." God wants us to make decisions and not be dragged around!
PART 2: SOURCES OF CURSES
An undeserved curse will be powerless to harm you.
It may flutter over you like a bird,
but it will find no place to land. Proverbs 26:2
A curse can only take effect if there is a cause for it. Not only do we ask the Holy Spirit to identify the curses BUT also the source of the curse. Then we can deal with it most effectively.
Chapter 3: God as a Source of Curses
We must have a clear understanding of God. Then we can understand curses and blessing more deeply. His blessings come from His kindness and His judgements from His severity.
So fix your gaze on the simultaneous kindness and strict justice of God. How severely he treated those who fell into unbelief! Yet how tender and kind is his relationship with you. So keep on trusting in his kindness; otherwise, you also will be cut off. Romans 11:22
When God has placed curses on people and nations it has been to get their attention. It warns them of the consequences of their disobedience. God's desire is always for them to repent and turn back to Him. I love the blessing God gave Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3.
12 God had told Abram, “Leave your own country behind you, and your own people, and go to the land I will guide you to. 2 If you do, I will cause you to become the father of a great nation; I will bless you and make your name famous, and you will be a blessing to many others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and the entire world will be blessed because of you.” Genesis 12:1-3
When we read this carefully, if people are called by God to do a special task, they are protected by God. If people curse you they will be cursed automatically! We can see what happens when people attack His people, the Jews! Attacking God's people bring curses into their lives automatically through their actions.
For the Israelites, when they entered the Promised Land, they pronounced upon themselves twelve curses if they disobeyed God in certain ways. They were:-
Idolatry and worshipping false gods - The First Commandment said: "You shall have no other gods besides me". In Deuteronomy 27:15 God says you are cursed if you make an image of a god. There are other hidden or covered practices which cause us to seek knowledge and power through the occult. The main sources of this are witchcraft, sorcery and divination.
Dishonouring parents - Disrespect for parents bring God's curse. Many people have trouble in their lives because the attitude they have to their parents is not right. The fifth commandment says to "honour our father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you". Derek has not seen anyone be successful in life when they put themselves under this curse.
Illicit or unnatural sex - any form of unnatural sex brings a curse.
Injustice towards the weak and helpless - We must uphold any promise we make to the weak and helpless.
Self Reliance - This is a different curse and is found in Jeremiah 17:5-6. "Thus says the Lord; "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength. Whose heart departs from the Lord. (The curse) For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited." Everyone else is being blessed but them! This desire to be independent of God brings on a curse. We must not rely on our own efforts, intelligence and religion.
Theft and perjury - If we steal, swear falsely in the name of the Lord, we come under a curse. We need to put God first and His Kingdom!
Chapter 4: Curses from Authority Figures.
If we understand the concept of authority we can operate effectively in the realm of the spirit. There is only one God, and he delegates His authority through the people He chooses. This person, through this position, has the ability to bless and curse. An example of this is when after Jericho was defeated, Joshua pronounced a curse on the person who would rebuild the city. 500 years later Hiel from Bethel attempted to build the city and two of his children died for no explainable reason. (1 Kings 16).
God has given people relational authority. Fathers have authority over their families and husbands have authority over their wives. God is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of the husband and the husband is the head over the woman. Teachers can pronounce curses over children and so need to be very careful how they speak over the people in front of them.
Servants of satan can also bring curses. Satan is an adversary and is an unchanging, determined enemy of God and the people of God and God's purposes. Satan has dominion over the majority of mankind. In Ephesians 2:2 we read that he is "the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience". These people are driven by forces that they do not understand and cannot control. Very sobering! Some people open themselves up to Satan's power by pursuing power or their desires to gain what they want. Curses are one of the main weapons that Satan uses against us. It would be good to read the interaction between Balak and Balaam and God's people. Balaam was hired to place a curse over God's people but God would not let him.( Numbers 22) The curses were, in fact, turned into blessings. Both curses and blessings are powerful.
Chapter 5: Self-Imposed Curses and Soulish Talk
This chapter was one that made me sit up and take notice. God has been cautioning me that what I say out of my mouth can both bless or curse both myself and others. We can speak words that encourage others or speak words that have a negative impact. Derek says that we can actually pronounce curses upon ourselves and others. There are a number of examples of self-imposed curses in the Bible:-
Rebekah when leading Jacob in taking his brother's blessing. Genesis 27:12-13.
Rebekah was not getting what she wanted. She said life was not worth living. Genesis 27:46
When Jesus was put to death, the people said: "His blood be upon us and upon our children." Matthew 27:24-25
We also promote curses on ourselves when we wish we were dead. We need to be careful of any careless word. Even if we do not mean the words, they still have powerful effects on our lives and the lives of others. Jesus said:-
36 And I tell you this, that you must give account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak.37 Your words now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37.
We are not to make any unscriptural covenants with anybody. Read Exodus 23:22. We are not to connect ourselves in any way with groups like the Freemasons. We also need to understand what is a natural and soulish person and a spiritual person. A spiritual person functions out of God's will while the soulish person may associate with the church but his rebellious attitude and conduct grieve the Spirit of God and cause offence in the Body of Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 and Jude 16-17.)This includes gossiping about others.
When we pray, therefore, we need to approach everything with humility and purity of motive. We must learn to rely on the Holy Spirit's help in prayer so we know what and how to pray. See Romans 8:26-27 on how to pray. He warns that if we do not submit to the Holy Spirit and seek His direction our prays may be motivated by fleshly attitudes such as envy, self-seeking, resentment, anger or criticism. We must ensure our hearts are right when we pray so our prayers are effective and not harmful.
Chapter 6: Seven Indications of a Curse
Derek has noticed seven signs that a curse may be operating. If several problems are present or one problem repeats there is a possibility that a curse is operating. This is not an exhaustive list. It is essential that we ask the Holy Spirit to show us what is actually causing the issues in our lives:-
Mental and/or emotional breakdown. Confusion and depression are often associated and invariably have their roots in some form of occult involvement and/or demonic activity.
Repeated or chronic illness. Not every sickness is a result of a curse. If there is no medical diagnosis or this illness passing down generations then this could be a sign of a curse operating.
Barrenness, a tendency to miscarry or related female problems.
Breakdown of marriage and family alienation. Malachi 4:5-6 says "See, I will send you another prophet like Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful judgment day of God. His preaching will bring fathers and children together again, to be of one mind and heart, for they will know that if they do not repent, I will come and utterly destroy their land.”
Continuing financial insufficiency - Deuteronomy 28:47-48 shows that if we do not serve God joyfully and gladly in times of prosperity, we will serve our enemies in hunger, thirst, nakedness and dire poverty
Being accident-prone - This could be an unusual number of strange accidents.
A history of suicides and natural or untimely deaths.
PART 3: HOW TO BE SET FREE
Chapter 7: The Divine Exchange
The essential foundation for our release is the death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. In Hebrews 10:14 we read, "And by his one perfect sacrifice he made us perfectly holy and complete for all time!" One sacrifice has perfected those who have been sanctified forever. This is incredible!.
What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?
Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness, that we might become righteous with His righteousness. (Isaiah 53:10)
Jesus died our death that we might share His life. (Romans 6:23)
Jesus became poor with our poverty that we might become rich with His riches. (Deuteronomy 28:48)
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.
He endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance as children of God.
Jesus became a curse that we might receive the blessing. (Galatians 3:13-14)
When you have received all Jesus has given you, we still need to do what John 10:27 says. That is we need to listen to God's voice and do what He says. (John 10:27)
Chapter 8: Seven Steps to Release
When salvation was translated from the Greek word "sozo", it meant not just to save but healing, deliverance from demons and being brought back to life. 2 Timothy 4:18 says, "And my Lord will continue to deliver me from every form of evil and give me life in his heavenly kingdom". This means this salvation is ongoing. The outworkings of salvation include every part of a person including soul, spirit and body. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Our destiny and those of our descendants is determined by the choices we make.
To move into salvation there are 7 steps:-
Step 1: Confess your faith in Christ and His sacrifice on your behalf - In Romans 10:9-10 Paul says we need to both believe Jesus was raised from the dead AND confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord.
Step 2: Repent of all rebellion and sin - You must accept responsibility for your rebellious attitude towards God and your sins. Say "I give up all my rebellion and all my sin. I submit myself to You as Lord".
Step 3: Recieve forgiveness for all sins - the biggest barrier to keeping God's blessings from our lives is unforgiven sin. All sin must be confessed. It might be a sin that has thrown a curse over you or your family. "But if we freely admit our sins when his light uncovers them, he will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and he will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9)
Step 4: Forgive all other people who have ever harmed you or wronged you - Unforgiveness towards others can cause us to not receive the blessing of God. This decision to forgive sometimes happens after we ask the Holy Spirit to show us who we have not forgiven. Then we say, " Lord, I forgive _____)
Step 5: Renounce all contact with the occult or satanic things - This includes quite a number of activities. If you have taken part in any of these activities you have crossed into Satan's territory and he considers you now one of his subjects. You need to cut off all connection with Satan.
Step 6: Pray the prayer of release from any curse - When you pray this prayer, you realise that you do not earn your release but Jesus has obtained victory through His death on the cross and resurrection. Your could pray:-
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 You for Your forgiveness - especially for any sins that have 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 (Name the person(s).)
I renounce all contact with anything occultic or satanic - If I have any "contact or objects" I commit myself to destroy them. I cancel all of 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 over my life - in Your name, Lord Jesus Christ!
By faith, I now receive my release and I thank You for it.
Amen.
Step 7: Now believe that you have received and go on in God's blessing - God will now bless you in HIs way. Just open yourself with no reservations to Him and His blessings.
Chapter 9: From Shadows to Sunlight.
If you have prayed the prayers in Chapter 8 you have moved into new territory which is bright with God's incredible blessings. In Deuteronomy 28:2-13 we can read of the inheritance we have as members of God's family. It includes exaltation, health, reproductiveness, prosperity, victory and God's favour. Seek God to make His abundance real. The way you transition from curses to blessing is individual and can be immediate or a hard road of releasing the effects of the curses over your life.
When we read Galatians 3:13-14 we understand we are now under the blessings of Abraham. (Genesis 24:1) This blessing only comes in Jesus Christ, is in "all things" and is in the promise of the Holy Spirit. As we grow up to be sons and daughters of God, we find that we are led into the blessings through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:14 says "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."
Learnt to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit and speak out the promises of God. He will lead you into a new sense of peace and joy that is beyond what you have experienced before. There are three ways to respond to the different situations we face:-
Make a positive, scriptural confession. By doing this we release the ministry of Jesus to help us and meet our need. The confessions MUST be totally scriptural. They must be from the Bible.
Make no confession. By doing this we are at the mercy of the situation.
Make a negative, non-scriptural confession. When we do this we expose ourselves to evil, demonic forces.
I encourage you to always make a positive, scriptural confession!
DECLARATION OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PROTECTION
This is a prayer that can be prayed every night before you go to bed or every morning when you get up.... or both.
No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that rises against me in judgment I do condemn. This is my heritage as a servant of the Lord and my righteousness is from You, O Lord of Hosts.
If there are those who have been speaking or praying against me, or seeking to harm me, or who have rejected me, I forgive them (Name people if you know them). Having forgiven them, I bless the in the name of the Lord.
Now I declare, O Lord, that You and You alone are my God. Besides You there is no other; a just God and a saviour; the Father, Son and Spirit and I worship You!
I submit myself afresh to You today in unreserved obedience. Having submitted to You, Lord, I do as Your Word directs. I resist the devil; all his pressures, his attacks, his deceptions and every instrument or agent he would seek to use against me. I do not submit! I resist him, drive him from me and exclude him from me in the name of Jesus.
Specifically, I resist and repel infirmity, infection, pain, inflammation, malignancies, allergies, viruses, (name anything else here) and every form of witchcraft and every type of stress.
Finally, Lord, I thank You that through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, I have passed out from under the curse and entered into the blessing of Abraham whom You blessed in all things; exaltation, health, prosperity, reproductiveness, victory, God's favour and God's friendship.
Resouces
1. Derek Prince Ministries Australia: https://www.derekprince.com.au/
2. How To Pass From Curses To Blessings: https://www.derekprince.com.au/product/how-to-pass-from-curse-to-blessing
3. Blessing or Curse - You Can Choose: https://www.derekprince.com.au/product/blessing-or-curse-you-can-choose
4. Proclamation Cards: https://www.derekprince.com.au/shop/category/proclamation-cards