Captivity of the Mind

For as long as I can remember, my mind has been the greatest battlefield of my life. I think that that is a true statement for many people, as our minds and hearts are private to everyone except ourselves and God. We compile mental lists in our mind, day dream about delightful things or scenarios and respond to our world internally during those times that it may or may not be appropriate to verbalize or act upon.
The things that we tell ourselves in our mind have the power to make or break us. We've all heard authors and motivational speakers talk about the effectiveness of positive "self pep talks", as well as the impending doom of destructive thinking. I have learned that somewhere along those lines, the ultimate adversary of evil can weave his way into this personal world, at times making it a literal prison in which we can't break free. There is a song by the popular Christian music group "Selah" called "I Bless Your Name". In that song there is a verse that always ministers to my heart, and prompts me to pray for others who struggle in a similar fashion. "Some midnight hour if you should find, you're in a prison in your mind; reach out and pray, defy those chains, and they will fall in Jesus name."
Praise God when we can identify that we are truly in a mental prison, but what about the times when we can't even identify that there are actual lies we are believing that are putting us behind those bars? On our knees and in our willingness to follow Christ, to seek His peace and to understand His ways, we are given the opportunity to allow Jesus to penetrate our hearts and show us the difference between a thought life that is free of the captivity of lies and one that is abiding in the richness of a Father who loves you, and desires you to have nothing but peace.
Just the other night, I was wrestling with some severe anxiety and worry about something going on in my life. I found myself going back and forth in my mind, and then realized that this wasn't of the Lord. Remembering a method that I had read from a book that I just recently finished, I decided to do my best to put words to the thoughts that were going on in my head. As I articulated the thoughts from my pen onto the paper, it didn't take long to discover that many of the thoughts were lies straight from the enemy. Next to the lie, I wrote down the truth, and then did my best to find scripture to back up that truth. By giving words to those lies, they lost their power. They were revealed as the destructive, unnecessary, life sucking demons that they really were.
How about you? Do you find yourself "in a prison in your mind"? Maybe it's depression, or maybe it's simply just the tendency to over think and over analyze. But whatever the case, God desires to break you free of that stronghold. Satan has no place or authority in your heart or mind, despite his deceptive visits that seem to be harmless.
Disrobe the darkness in your mind by allowing Christ to illuminate His light on your path. Just like crickets in a dark room that are being invaded by the flip of a light switch, so will Christ cause those lies to scatter to the corners as He rolls out His carpet of peace and truth.