Root Work: The Deliverance Sessions
Session Eight – Spirits That Enter Through Sexual Violation and Trauma Bonds
Some open doors are forced.
Sexual violation, abuse, assault, and the relational distortions that follow are among the most violent ways the enemy gains ground. The trauma itself is real. The spiritual consequences are also real. Ignoring either leaves people partially healed at best.
This session must be read with particular caution. If this is your history, do not walk through it alone. The material is written for those who already have mature, trustworthy covering and who are ready to address spiritual roots alongside the necessary work of safety, counseling, and justice.
The Nature of the Violation
Sexual sin and sexual violence are uniquely invasive because they attack both body and soul at the point of deepest vulnerability and intended intimacy. Scripture treats sexual union as a joining that is meant to be covenantal (Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:16). When that joining is forced, distorted, or treated as consumable, profound spiritual and soul-level damage occurs.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 is direct:
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Violation treats the body as something that can be taken or used. The gospel declares that the body has been purchased and is now the Spirit’s temple. Deliverance in this area is, in part, the recovery of that truth.
Common Spirits and Bonds
The strong men and secondary spirits that frequently enter or attach through sexual violation include:
- Spirit of trauma / fear (already addressed, but often intensified here)
- Shame and self-hatred
- Defilement and the sense of being permanently marked
- Trauma bonds (unholy soul ties that keep the person emotionally and spiritually linked to the violator or to the pattern)
- Spirits of lust, perversion, or confusion that exploit the original wound
- Distrust of healthy intimacy and, at times, of God Himself
Trauma bonds are particularly deceptive. They can feel like loyalty, longing, or unfinished business. In reality they are spiritual and soulish connections that keep the original violation active in the present.
The Biblical Path to Freedom
The cross addresses both the sin committed against a person and the defilement that resulted. Isaiah 61:1-3, which Jesus applied to Himself, includes binding up the brokenhearted and proclaiming liberty to the captives. Psalm 147:3 says the Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Freedom in this area requires the same process we have followed, applied with greater care and usually with longer discipleship:
Identification With the help of mature covering, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the specific violations, the lies that entered with them (“I am ruined,” “I am dirty,” “I caused this,” “Intimacy is dangerous,” “I am only valuable for my body”), and any ongoing bonds with people or patterns.
Repentance and Renunciation This step is delicate. The person is not repenting for being violated. They are renouncing the agreements made with the resulting lies, shame, and bonds, and repenting of any ways they later partnered with darkness in response to the wound. Specific language may include:
- “I renounce the lie that I am permanently defiled or marked by what was done to me.”
- “I renounce every trauma bond and unholy soul tie formed through violation or through my own later choices.”
- “I cancel every agreement with shame, self-hatred, and the belief that I am unclean.”
- “I forgive those who violated me, releasing them to God’s justice, and I refuse to carry their sin as my identity.”
- “I renounce any spirits of lust, perversion, fear, or control that entered through these experiences.”
Resistance In the authority of Jesus Christ, and usually with the agreement of mature believers, command the spirits and bonds to leave. The blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse what violence tried to claim.
Filling Receive the truth that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, that the person has been washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Corinthians 6:11). Ask the Father to restore a clean sense of self, to rebuild the capacity for safe intimacy in His timing, and to replace trauma bonds with holy, life-giving connections.
This filling is rarely instantaneous. It is a sustained work of the Spirit alongside wise human care.
Strong Caution
This area is high-risk for further wounding if handled poorly. Do not attempt self-deliverance here. Do not submit this history to immature, overly dramatic, or theologically unsound ministry. Seek those who understand both the spiritual reality and the need for safety, pacing, and ongoing care. Justice and protection matter. Spiritual work does not replace them.
Moving Forward
The next session will address the deep spirit of self-hatred and the orphan identity that so often underlies and outlasts many of the patterns we have examined. It is the quiet agreement that turns every other wound into a verdict against the self.
You were bought with a price. What was taken does not get to define what God has purchased. The spirits that entered through violence must go.
Closing Prayer
Father,
I submit every place of violation and trauma in me to You.
I renounce the lies of defilement, shame, and permanent damage.
I cancel every trauma bond and unholy soul tie.
I forgive those who harmed me and release them to Your justice.
I receive the truth that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and that I have been washed and claimed by You.
Restore what was broken and teach me to walk in the cleanliness and worth You have given.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Closing Thoughts
Violence does not get the final word over a life purchased by the blood of Jesus. The process is often slow and requires careful covering, but the cleansing and restoration are real.