Trauma becomes a doorway…

Trauma is the deep wound left within a person when something happens that overwhelms them and they are not able to cope emotionally or mentally. It may come through abuse, violence, rejection, abandonment, betrayal, accidents, neglect or fear.

Trauma means that they experienced something painful that their mind, body and emotions were not fully able to process at the time.

What Happens When Trauma Occurs?

During a traumatic experience, the body’s survival response is activated. A person may fight, run away, freeze or emotionally shut down. These responses are the body’s way of trying to survive.

Although the traumatic event may have ended, the person’s inner world can continue reacting as though the danger is still present. They may experience:

Fear and anxiety
Shame or self-blame
Anger and bitterness
Emotional numbness
Nightmares or unwanted memories
Difficulty trusting people
A strong need to remain in control
Feelings of rejection or abandonment
Dissociation or disconnection from themselves
Harmful ways of coping with emotional pain

Trauma and Fragmentation of the Mind and Heart

Trauma can leave a person feeling fragmented inside. Their thoughts, memories, emotions and responses may no longer feel connected or whole.

When something is too painful to process, the mind may separate certain memories and emotions from everyday awareness. This is sometimes called dissociation. It can be the mind’s way of helping someone survive an experience that felt unbearable.

A person may feel numb or disconnected from their body. They may struggle to remember parts of what happened or feel as though different parts of them respond in completely different ways.

For example, one part of them may long to be loved, while another part pushes everyone away. One part may know that they are safe now, while another continues to react as though the danger is still present. One part may want to forgive, while another remains frightened, angry or deeply wounded.

They may say:

“Part of me knows I am safe, but another part is terrified.”
“I want people close, but I push them away.”
“I know Jesus loves me, but I cannot feel His love.”
“I want to move forward, but something keeps pulling me back.”
“I feel as though I lost part of myself when this happened.”

This inner conflict will very often be the result of their mind and heart trying to survive.

The person has not lost their true identity, nor does it mean that they have literally become several different people. However, the wounded and disconnected places within them need healing, deliverance safety and restoration.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

Jesus does not reject the wounded places of the heart. He comes gently to gather, heal and restore them.

Trauma Creates a Place of Vulnerability

Trauma can leave someone frightened, confused and emotionally vulnerable. In that vulnerable place, the enemy may try to take advantage of the wound.

Jesus said:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
John 10:10

The enemy often works through the lies that become attached to what happened. The traumatic event may be over, but the lie planted through it can continue shaping the person’s identity, relationships and choices.

The person may begin believing:

“I am not safe.”
“Something is wrong with me.”
“I am dirty.”
“I am powerless.”
“Nobody will protect me.”
“Jesus abandoned me.”
“I must control everything.”
“I can never trust anyone again.”

When these lies are believed and lived from, they can become strongholds within the mind.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments…and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:4–5

A stronghold is a pattern of thinking built around something that opposes the truth of Jesus. Unclean spirits may seek to reinforce these lies and keep the person trapped in fear, shame, rejection, self-hatred or hopelessness.

How the Enemy May Exploit Fragmentation

The enemy may try to exploit the fear, confusion and disconnection surrounding it.

Unclean spirits may seek to:

Reinforce lies connected to traumatic memories
Bring fear, shame or self-hatred
Keep wounded places hidden and isolated
Convince the person that they are permanently broken
Bring confusion about their identity
Make it difficult for them to trust or receive love
Keep them trapped in survival responses
Encourage destructive ways of coping with pain

The enemy wants the wounded places to remain hidden, ashamed and disconnected. Jesus brings those places into His light, not to expose or condemn the person, but to heal and restore them.

The wound and the spirit are not the same

It is important to understand the difference between an emotional wound and an unclean spirit.

A wound needs healing.

A lie needs to be replaced with truth.

Sin needs repentance and forgiveness.

An unhealthy relationship may require firm boundaries.

A traumatised nervous system needs safety, patience and appropriate care.

An unclean spirit, where genuinely present, needs to be confronted in the authority of Jesus.

Deliverance may remove spiritual oppression that has come through them trauma, but it does not always process painful memories, rebuild trust or teach the mind and body that the danger has passed. Healing is often a journey that includes learning how to receive Jesus’ love, prayer, truth, forgiveness, healthy boundaries, safe relationships and wise support.

Areas the Enemy May Try to Use

The traumatic event may bring certain beliefs and responses that develop afterwards and these may become areas the enemy tries to exploit.

Fear

Fear can become deeply rooted after trauma. A person may begin arranging their whole life around avoiding danger.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7

Not every feeling of fear is an unclean spirit. Fear is also a natural survival response. However, the enemy may try to magnify it until a spirit of fear begins controlling the person’s life and preventing them from receiving love and safety.

Shame

Shame says, “Something is wrong with me,” or, “What happened was my fault.”

This is especially common after abuse. The person may carry shame that rightly belongs to the one who harmed them. Jesus does not shame the wounded. He restores their dignity and helps them understand that what was done to them does not define who they are. Jesus took our shame and humiliation when He went to the cross, He took it upon Himself.

Rejection and Abandonment

Trauma caused by parents, caregivers, family members or trusted leaders can create an expectation of rejection. A person may push others away before they have the opportunity to hurt or abandon them.

The enemy may use this wound to suggest that Jesus will also leave them. Yet Jesus promises:

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

Bitterness and Unforgiveness

Forgiveness does not mean pretending that the abuse did not happen. It does not excuse the offender. It does not remove the need for justice. It does not require the person to return to an unsafe relationship.

Forgiveness means releasing personal vengeance into the hands of Jesus. We let them go so that they no longer have a hold on us.

Bitterness can keep someone emotionally tied to the person who wounded them. The enemy may use that bitterness to keep the original pain alive.

Destructive Ways of Coping

People sometimes try to numb emotional pain through alcohol, drugs, sexual behaviour, self-harm, overeating, isolation or other compulsive patterns. These behaviours can create further bondage.

The person needs compassion and help, not condemnation. The behaviour may be harmful, but it may have begun as an attempt to survive pain they did not know how to carry.

Inner Vows

During or after trauma, a person may make inward decisions such as:

“I will never need anyone again.”
“I will never allow myself to feel.”
“I must always remain in control.”
“Nobody can be trusted.”
“I will protect myself because nobody else will.”
“I will never let anyone hurt me again.”

These vows may have made the person feel safer for a time, but they can eventually become walls that keep out love, intimacy and healing.

Jesus Comes to Heal and Restore

Jesus approaches traumatised people with compassion and tender loving care.

“A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench.”
Matthew 12:20

Jesus understands suffering, betrayal, humiliation, rejection and violence because He endured it Himself. He does not stand at a distance from human pain. He comes near to the brokenhearted.

Healing involves bringing the wounded and disconnected places of the mind and heart back into safety, truth and relationship with Jesus. Jesus’ love brings restoration to wholeness.

When His love enters those wounds and painful places, it completely restores us back to wholeness…. This means that the memories and emotions connected to the trauma gradually lose their power to control the present.

As healing takes place, the person begins to recognise:

The traumatic event is over.
I survived what happened.
I am safe in the present.
What happened to me is not my identity.
My emotions can be acknowledged without controlling me.
The wounded places within me have received compassion, not shame.
Jesus can meet me in every part of my story.

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”
Psalm 51:6

The goal in deliverance and healing is not simply to cast something out. The goal is to see the whole person healed, restored and established in truth.

Prayer for Healing, Deliverance and Wholeness

Lord Jesus, I bring You every place within my mind and heart that has been wounded through trauma. You know everything that happened to me, including the parts I cannot understand, express or remember.

Thank You that You do not condemn me for the ways I tried to survive.

I bring You my fear, grief, anger, confusion and pain. Please reveal every lie I began to believe because of what happened.

I renounce the belief that I am dirty, powerless, unwanted, abandoned or beyond healing. What happened to me is part of my story, but it is not my identity.

I give You every place within me that feels frightened, hidden or disconnected. Please come gently into those wounded places. Bring Your light into my confusion, Your love into my shame and Your peace into my fear.

Help my heart and body understand that the traumatic event is over and that I am safe in the present.

I renounce every inner vow I made in order to survive. I renounce the belief that I must always remain in control, that I can never trust anyone, that I must never feel or that I have to protect myself without You.

I choose to forgive those who harmed me, as an act of obedience to You. Forgiveness does not make what happened acceptable, and it does not remove the need for truth, justice or healthy boundaries. I place judgement and justice into Your hands, and I refuse to remain imprisoned by what was done to me.

In the name of Jesus Christ, I break agreement with every lie connected to my trauma. I withdraw every agreement with fear, shame, rejection, hatred, hopelessness and self-destruction.

I command every unclean spirit that has taken advantage of my pain, fear or vulnerability to leave me now, in the name of Jesus. I belong completely to Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, fill every place that has been occupied by pain, lies or oppression. Gather the wounded and disconnected places of my heart. Restore the connection between my thoughts, memories and emotions.

Where I feel fragmented, bring wholeness.

Where I feel disconnected, bring reconnection.

Where I feel trapped in the past, establish me safely in the present.

Where I have carried shame, restore my dignity.

Where fear has ruled me, establish me in Your love and peace.

Jesus, heal my memories, renew my mind and restore my heart. Lead me gently through the healing process and establish my whole life in Your truth.

The Central Truth

Trauma may leave a person wounded and vulnerable, but it does not remove their value, identity or hope. The enemy may try to exploit the wounds, but those wounds can be brought to Jesus.

Deliverance deals with spiritual oppression. Truth pulls down lies. Compassion creates safety. Allowing Jesus to love us and pour out His love into the deep places of our hearts restores the wounded places of the mind and heart.