Is the Orphan Spirit Operating in My Life?

The orphan spirit is a thorn in the side of humanity. It is a spirit that speaks a lie that says, “I am alone, isolated, rejected, and unsafe.” The enemy takes those lies and tempts one to come into agreement with them, attaching them to their view of God the Father, thus creating fear and feelings of separation. 

How Did the Orphan Spirit Enter into Humanity?

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden, sin entered God’s perfect creation. The devastating result was a separation between God and man. We became orphans in dire need of being rescued and restored back to our Father. 

When a baby is separated from his or her parents, they often experience separation anxiety, causing great fear. This is a normal reaction as their protectors are no longer with them. The baby instinctively knows something is wrong. 

So, too, when humanity chose to turn away from God, an unexpected fear entered our lives–the orphan spirit. Our protector and provider appeared to have left our presence. 

We must remember that God is merciful. Often when we have done something wrong, we take the way of Adam and Eve and recoil—isolating ourselves from God and others. We feel alienated and alone. 

However… 

The opposite is true. God is never the one who leaves us–we are the ones who often leave Him.

God initiated the greatest rescue mission when He sent His Son to save us and bring us back into His family. But we must choose if we want to be rescued or not. 

Salvation is a choice and He will never violate our decisions, even when they may go against His greatest desire—to draw near to us. We can also choose to rest in that salvation after choosing Yeshua–not coming into agreement with the orphan spirit who wants us to pick up lies of doubt and unbelief.

He is patient and waits for us to choose Him–and as we choose Him, we find real life and true restoration.

Knowing God as Abba Father

There is something unique about a father’s role in the life of a child. The father and child relationship is the heart of where our identity is formed, and it should be a healthy picture of how our Heavenly Father interacts with us. But this is not everyone’s story.

When one is abandoned or rejected by their earthly father, a deep void is created. This often makes it difficult for us to interact with God. Our trust has been broken, and healing must take place. 

Knowing the Father’s love is critical for wholeness and enables us to be healthy members of the Body of Messiah.

What Does an Orphan Spirit Look Like? 

An orphan spirit is defined like this: 

“A type of demonic spirit that invades a person’s mind causing a sense of abandonment, loneliness, alienation, and isolation. It often attaches itself to someone who has experienced extreme rejection in his or her life. A person operating out of an orphan spirit compensates these feelings of insecurities by being performance driven, competitive, and works independently. They struggle with self-worth and find it difficult to maintain healthy relationships.”

We often live with dysfunction for such a long time in our lives that we don’t realize we are struggling. 

Ask yourself these questions… 

• Do I operate out of insecurity?
• Am I jealous of others’ successes?
• Do I serve God to earn His love?
• Do I self-medicate by pulling deeply inward?
• Do I struggle with self-worth?
• Do I fill the void by working constantly, through physical gratification, or with narcissistic behavior and/or self-indulgence? 
• Am I driven by the need to succeed? 
• Do I use people to accomplish my goals?
• Do I repel my biological or spiritual children? 
• Do I struggle with anger or fits of rage?
• Am I always in competition with others?
• Do I lack self-esteem? 
• Do I receive my identity from material possessions, physical appearance, or activities?

If you’ve answered yes to several of these, it’s safe to say there are heart issues that are in need of healing. God desires to provide this healing, and it starts when you believe this: I am not abandoned. I have been adopted. 

When a child is adopted, they are no longer penniless. They are no longer without a name. They have the promise of provision. They have protection and covering.

The same is true for us when we are adopted into God’s family. He promises provision and protection as we come under His covering. 

Jesus says in John 14:18 and 15:4-5: 

• “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you…. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus assures us we do not belong to an orphan spirit and that we can do nothing without Him–which tells us God is not a passive Father who gives instructions from a distance. He intends to be intricately involved and active within our minds, wills, and emotions. 

We’re implored to remain in Him through attachment, for He longs to provide for us and fill us with His life. Experiencing this attachment with God, this Father covering, assures our hearts He won’t abandon us. This further dismantles the strongholds of an orphan spirit. 

The Spirit of Adoption 

Paul tells us in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba Father.’”

When you come under the blood-covering of Jesus, you become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and receive a new identity. The orphan spirit is canceled and you are brought home to the Father through the spirit of adoption. You are no longer a slave to fear. You are a child of God!

When we are operating in the spirit of adoption… 

• We are secure
• We celebrate the accomplishments of others
• We experience acceptance
• We fill emotional voids with intimate time with the Father 
• We allow the Spirit to lead us into our calling 
• We serve others and provide opportunities for them to grow in their own destiny in Jesus 
• We don’t use anger or other forms of manipulation to get our way 
• We bless others around us, freely sharing the Father’s love with others 
• We love ourselves and exhibit healthy self-esteem 
• We are grounded in our identity in Yeshua 

How do I get healing from something that has controlled my life for so long? 

The first step to healing is admitting that there’s a problem and being willing to take it to God.

Prayer for Healing and Transformation

Jesus longs to deliver you from the pain of operating under the orphan spirit. Will you take Him up on His offer for life and wholeness? If you feel an orphan spirit has been robbing you, invite God in, trusting His heart for you. You can pray something like this…

“Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I admit that I am struggling to connect with You in a healthy way because of the rejection I’ve experienced in my past. I ask You to forgive me for assuming that You were like the people who have hurt me, and I ask You to help me start the process of healing that I so desperately need. I give You permission to begin cleaning out the things in my life that hold me back from truly getting my identity from a Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally. In the name of Yeshua, Amen. 

Healing takes time and because we are in a spiritual war, healing comes with great opposition.

Don’t be discouraged if everything doesn’t change at once. God has heard your cry and He will come. This is part of how we grow closer to Him in the daily steps and choices toward healing. 

He is always speaking. During this time, write in a journal about what the Holy Spirit is showing you. As different emotions and memories surface, invite the Holy Spirit in. Listen for His voice of truth as He exposes lies and leads you into freedom.

Battling in the Opposite Spirit with God’s Word

Here are several scriptures to encourage you as you battle in the opposite spirit–the spirit of adoption–against the orphan spirit: 

• “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.”—Proverbs 12:18 

• “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”—James 3:5

• “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”—James 1:17

• “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”—Philippians 4:6 

• “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”—Romans 8:26-27

• “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”—Exodus 33:14

• “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.”—Proverbs 16:3

• “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11

• “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”—1 Corinthians 14:33

• “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”—1 Corinthians 2:9 

• “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.”—Job 22:28 

• “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”—James 3:14-16

• “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”—Philippians 2:3 

• “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”—Hebrews 10:36

I Will Not Leave You As Orphans…

Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you” (John 14:18). His desire is to restore you to Himself, showing you who you are as He reveals Who He is. He is the Jewish Messiah to all people. He is the Father to the fatherless. The Defender of orphans and widows. He is Immanuel. God with you. 

If you’re battling an orphan spirit, you are not alone and you can be victorious. Embrace your identity as a new creation in God’s family. Be empowered to battle in the opposite spirit–the spirit of adoption. Claim your inheritance. You are no longer a slave to fear. You are a child of God!