VOWS: An unbiblical vow is a strong decision, oath, or declaration of what we will or will not do in order to protect ourselves from pain, or to obtain what we think we need. These vows are usually made unconsciously during a painful experience and involve relying on ourselves for protection rather than trusting in God and His power. Thus the vows rob us of God’s blessing and open us up to the demonic realm (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

Examples include:

• I will never be like my father. 
• I will never cry or feel my emotions again. 
• Men/women cannot be trusted. 
• I will prove __________. 
• I will do whatever it takes to have/be __________. 

STRATEGIES: We also often adopt strategies to avoid pain or get needs met in accordance with our vows. E.g., we may vow “I will never be out of control again,” and then develop a strategy of planning for every contingency, such as being extremely organized or hypervigilant, etc.

You can have the person ask, 

• "Lord, did I make any unbiblical vows or decisions?"
• "As I renounce this vow, what would you give me in its place?"
• "Lord, were there any faulty strategies I began to follow during this time, or as a general way of trying to make life work?"
• "As I renounce this strategy, what would you give me in its place for protection?" (Oftentimes it’s simply trusting God instead of the strategy.)

Lead them to break and replace the vow and strategies using the 4 R’s: 

• Repent: “Father, I repent for making the decision to …” 
• Receive: “I receive Your forgiveness and cleansing for my sin…” 
• Rebuke: “I rebuke the devil from this area of my life…” 
• Replace: “I choose instead to ___(replace vow with trust in the Lord)___…”