How to identify and break a curse

How do I know if I have a curse? The fact that you are considering this question indicates that you think there could be a curse operating in your life, or in the life of a loved one. A curse is often marked by something unusual such as repeated sickness, reoccurring financial poverty, or unnatural deaths in a family. But the good news is for those who believe in Jesus Christ, He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy.

This problem area is rooted in the second commandment (Exodus 20:3–6), in which the sin of idolatry results in the curse of ''visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation''. In order to get free of this curse, God provides a pattern of confession that we can follow, first mentioned in Leviticus 26:40. We confess our ancestors' sin as well as our own sin (1 John 1:9), forgive as needed (Matthew. 6:14–15), appropriate Christ's finished work on the cross to break curses (Galatians 3:13), and recover the ''legal ground'' from the enemy (Colossians 2:14).

There are a number of indicators which can point out that there is a curse operating in our life.

These indicators include:

Mental and emotional breakdown
Repeated sickness, especially hereditary sickness when doctors can not find the cause.
Feminine problems including barrenness, miscarriage, menstruation problems.
Generational breakdown of marriage (divorce) and situations of family alienation
Financial insufficiency, and poverty.
Accident-prone
History of unnatural deaths in family

It is said that a curse can be like an evil thing moving up from the past. It is like a deep shadow from the past that follows you. That sounds a bit creepy, doesn’t it?

“Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight.” (Proverbs 26:2.)

Reasons for curses:

Having false gods. (Exodus 20:3-4, Deuteronomy 27:15.)
Disrespect for parents. When we fail to our honor our parents the curses from the previous generations of our families come upon us. This can include any form of sickness or disease. Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
Treachery against a neighbor. (Deuteronomy 27:17.)
Injustice to the weak. (Deuteronomy 27:18-19.)
Illicit sex. (Deuteronomy 27:20-23.) A curse can be the effect of wrong sexual relationships with those outside of marriage or with members of one’s family.
Perjury - lying while giving evidence under oath. (Deuteronomy 27:25.)
Stealing. (Zechariah 5:1-4.)
Stinginess towards God. (Malachi 3:9.)
Perverting the gospel. (Galatians 1:8-9.)
Depending on the flesh. (Jeremiah 17:5.)
Anti-Semitism i.e. hatred of the Jews. (Genesis 12:3, Genesis 28:3
Involvement in the occult.
The words that people with relational authority (e.g. husband over wife, parents over children) speak over us have supernatural powers. E.g. a husband is cursing his wife by saying, “You cannot cook.” Parents are cursing a child by saying to a child, “You are no good.” Other things that can be said which are curses include, “You are useless,” “You are a failure,” “You’ll never be any good,” “You are hopeless,” “You will never achieve anything,” “You are a bad person,” “You are always a liar,” “It’s in the family and you are sure to get it.”

Breaking curses includes

Repenting for any sin that is connected to the curse.
Forgiving anyone who was involved in the curse.
Breaking any agreement with the curse.
Break the curse and casting it off.
Another controversial step that some take is to begin to make conscious effort to exhibit the opposite of whatever you were cursed with. (I certainly do not think this will hurt, but do not feel it is necessary for freedom)

Do not allow the enemy of our souls to keep you bound or cause you to think that you will never be free, happy, whole, or able to fully follow Christ. Our enemy is a liar and his desire is to keep you from experiencing everything that God has for you.