Breaking Inner Vows and bitter root Judgments

What is an INNER VOW?

"An inner vow and bitter root judgment, is a solemn promise made to self, from deep within the
heart, in response to a difficult, frustrating, painful, unfulfilled expectation, or unmet need."
Both inner vows and bitter root judgments are formed in response to the same hurt received.
Such painful declarations are made primarily for one of two reasons:
1. Either as a defensive reaction to wounding,
2. Or because of a choice to reject a person.
Invasion of Innocence: Inner vows and bitter root judgments most often start at the age of
childhood, especially when an adult may not have been around to defend us against a hurt
incurred from another person.
Examples of inner vows and bitter root judgments:
I’ll never be fat like my mother…
I’ll never let anyone get close to me again…
I’ll never yell at my kids the way my father did to me!
I will never trust an authority figure again.
I will never let myself love a man/woman again.
I will never let anyone love me again.
I will never give in to my spouse without a struggle.
I will never cry again.
I will never let my spouse/people see my emotions again.
I will never allow myself to be vulnerable again.
I will never let anyone hurt me again.
I will never let a man/woman or anyone control me again.
I will never believe anyone again.
I will never forgive him/her unless he/she apologizes to me first.
I will prove that I am not worthless.
I will never ask anyone for help again. I can do it all by myself.
I will never allow myself to feel pain again.
I will never be weak again.
I only will be in control of my life.
I will hurt others more than they hurt me.
I am ugly. I will always be overweight.
I am unattractive.
I am clumsy.
I am accident-prone.
I am dumb.
I will never be a good reader.
I will not get a divorce, but as of this moment, this marriage is over!
I will never trust my spouse again.
I will never let my spouse control our relationship.
I will not let my spouse hurt me again. (hard heart)
I will not agree with my spouse on anything. (arguing, quarreling)
I will not cooperate with my spouse on anything. (contention)
I will not love or be nice to, my spouse again.
I will try to make my spouse suffer as much as I do.
An inner vow and bitter root judgment made decades ago may be forgotten by the conscious
mind, but behind the scenes it is still working against us. They are like strings that continue to
pull at the fabric of our lives and relationships as adults.
The fruit from inner vows and bitter root judgments does not always show up immediately.
Instead, these statements may lie dormant and forgotten, until triggered by the right person or
situation.
Yet over time judgments begin to manifest outwardly in several ways.
Excessive anger, hatred, guilt, anxiety, and compulsive behavior, False expectations in current
relationships, selfishness, abuse towards others, Critical and judgmental towards others,
aggression, control of others or situations, unreasonable pride,
Inner vows override our ability to allow Jesus to direct out mind, will, and emotions.
They harden our hearts and add bricks to walls in our life for protection, which puts a barrier
between God and us and us and others.
Leviticus 5:4 MSG, “Or if you impulsively swear to do something, whether good or bad—some
rash oath that just pops out—and you aren’t aware of what you’ve done at the time, but later
you come to realize it and you’re guilty in any of these cases;

Proverbs 18:21 [NKJV], Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it
will eat its fruit.

Matthew 12:37 [ESV],"for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be
condemned."
For example, a woman bitter toward her critical father judges all men to be that way and treats
them accordingly.
When making an inner vow we turn to ourselves rather than God.
Jeremiah 17:5 [ESV], Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes
flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
Psalm 18:2 [NLT],The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in
whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of
safety. [stronghold]
An inner vow says, "God, if you can't, then I will."
James 4:13-15 [ESV], Come now, You who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and
such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” — yet you do not know what
tomorrow will bring…Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or
that.”

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be
judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.” -Matthew 7: 1-2
Jesus taught, “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of
God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet… Nor shall you make an oath by your
head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be ‘yes, yes’ or ‘no,
no’; and anything beyond these is of the devil.” -Matthew 5: 34-36

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”-
Galatians 6: 7
Consider the Israelites whom Moses helped escape from Egypt bound for the Promised Land.
They all died in the desert after wandering around for 40 years.
The reason? It wasn’t because God is wicked – but primarily because they kept grumbling and
declaring again and again that they would die in the wilderness. Their own words overturned
His intent.
Because God respects our freedom to choose, our invisible spoken words can bring about
changes in the visible, physical realm.
Inner vows and bitter root judgments, also blocks our freedom to become all we were created to
be,
because they keep us attempting to totally control our destiny, thus preventing the surrender of
our lives to God’s will and purpose.
Inner vows are often discovered when processing root memories. Commonly, when an
individual is “in” the memory and feeling its impact, she remembers that she dealt with the pain
by making a specific choice.
For example, young Mike was disgusted with his father, who was violent, abusive, and
addicted to food. he said he would never be like his father, and strove with all his might to make
himself different. However, all this struggling and “independent identity-forming” continually
created more frustration, pressure, and cumulative stress for him. He found himself eating to
relax and “check out”, just as he had seen his father do. As he matured, he was attracted to
gentle and attentive codependent women, like his mother. After he married one, he found
himself criticizing and yelling at her in anger, just as his father had done.

The way to deal with inner vows and judgments is through repentance and renunciation.

First, acknowledge to God the judgment you made against the person,
recognizing that only God can rightly judge a person.
For example he may confess: “God, when I saw my dad beat my mom I hated him, and judged
him as evil and worthy of rejection.”
Second, state specifically the vow you made based on that judgment:
“I vowed I would never be like my dad in any way, and never treat a woman the way Dad
treated Mom.
Now I am yelling and criticizing my wife, just like Dad did. All I wanted was for Dad to love us,
and for my parents to have a happy marriage. Please forgive me for hating and judging my
dad.”
Third, renounce the vow: “I renounce that vow I made never to be like my dad. I pull it out by
the root and cut off all effects of that vow in my life. From now on I ask you, God, to be in
charge of every aspect of my life and marriage. I ask you to show me how to be the husband
and father you desire me to be.”
Breaking vows also seems to disengage unseen strongholds in the spirit realm.
Inner Vows breaking:
Prayer: "Father, I recognize that you are God and I am not. Therefore, I confess to You that I
have attempted to protect myself and those I love in my own strength. Father, I repent for
pushing You out of that part of my life. I repent for not trusting You and for not submitting to
Your authority in my life. I repent for thinking that I could do a better job than You of keeping
me and those I love safe. I repent for trying to rely on my own strength instead of Yours. Lord
I ask You to forgive me for making an Inner Vow in that area _______. I renounce that Vow
and break my agreement with it. By the power in the Name of Jesus, I thank you for breaking
off every negative Consequence of my sin. Thank you for breaking off every negative Habit
Structure I have created. I choose to bring every part of my life back under Your authority and
protection...I choose to trust You and Your will for my life. I ask You again to be Lord over
every part of my life.
I choose to forgive those who hurt me [name] _____ .
I choose to forgive myself for making this Vow.
Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for the Blood of Your Son covering my
life. I ask You to remove and transform my heart of stone...I ask You for a Tender/Sensitive
new heart for You...so that I can walk in Your ways. Father, I declare that You are my Rock,
Shield, Fortress, and my Defender. Thank you for setting me free today in Jesus' mighty
name. Amen!"

Prayer Minister: By the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, I break this vow. I
command your body, spirit, emotions, and mind to remember it no more. You are free, restored
to your original design. You are no longer required to feel, think and act according to this vow