Generational curses are real, they are not just imaginations of men. Many today are struggling and suffering not because they are lazy but because there are forces working against their advancement. Lamentation 5:1-7 paints a graphic picture of what curses are about. Curses are paying for the sins you have not committed, paying the sins that you are not the originator.

Generation is GENE and RATION. Generation is the ration you get from your family lineage because of your gene. So generational curses are talking about certain things that flow in a man’s life because of where he is coming from. You cannot separate your fruits from your roots, Isaiah 37:31. If there are certain fruits you are seeing in your life, you need to go downwards to find the real curse. The things we are experiencing have some reasons underneath that we need to discover. Just like we have generational curses, we also have generational blessings.

Jonathan Edwards was a godly man, one of the most notable and respected preachers in American history. He preached a classic sermon on sinners in the hands of an angry God. He got married in 1767 and had 11 children. Despite his busy schedule as a Pastor, he spent quality time with his wife and children. He specially spent time to pour blessings on his family. The effect showed, as in the year 1900, a man traced 1,400 descendants of Jonathan Edwards, and these were his findings – his offprings produced 285 college graduates, 300 preachers, 13 notable authors, 13 college presidents, 65 college professors, 100 lawyers, 30 judges, 55 physicians, 30 holders of public office, 3 United States Senators, 1 Vice President and 1 Controller of the US Treasury.

Another study was the Kennedys family. JF Kennedy had 4 sons. The first was Joseph Kennedy Jnr., second was John F. Kennedy, 3^rd Robert F Kennedy and the last was Edward N. Kennedy. All these 4 sons had tragedies in their families. The 1^st was killed in a plane crash, the 2^nd was assassinated, the 3^rd was also assassinated, the last was being prepared to be the president and had an accident which resulted in a scandal and that wiped him off his political career. It is very clear that there was something wrong in that family. The progenitor was greedy and he was involved in some funny dealings that affected his lineage. He also fought the Jews and as it is in Gen. 12:3, anyone that fights the Jews will be under a direct curse of God.

Generational curses are real, but any curse at work in your family shall be broken today! Curses place people under hardship, they are transgenerational. Deut. 5:7-10. Exodus 20:5. Incidentally, in Joshua 24:2, Abraham’s forefather was an idol worshipper. So there was a generational curse in the lineage of Abraham. He had a challenge with childbearing. Isaac, too, (Rebeccah his wife), and Jacob (Rachael his wife). Also looking at Abraham’s lineage, the first sons were mediocres. Ishmael, Reuben, etc. Curses usually come with patterns. You need to check if there are some patterns happening in your family. If you check the history of American Presidents, they were assassinated every 20 years, and eventually the curse was broken when the Christians noticed this and prayed.

What are curses?

1. Curses are spiritual forces that work against the progress and advancement of people. They operate from the unseen realm but their effects are visible.

2. Curses are opposite of blessings, while blessings advance and increase people, curses reduce and stagnate people. Genesis 49:3. From the moment the curse was pronounced, the tribe of Reuben started decreasing until in Deut. 33:6 when Moses removed the curse.

3. Curses are invisible hands directing the affairs of a person or family. It places limits on their progress and it is usually an invisible barrier.

4. Curses bring evil events to pass. They are vehicles of calamities, misfortune and stagnation in the lives of people.

Curses may be hanging in the air and they seem to have gone, but when they find the right environment they manifest. Joshua 6:26. That curse was hanging in the air for over 500 years, but eventually it happened in the days of King Ahab – 1Kings 16:34. Curses become effectual when there is a cause, when they have legal rights to work. There is no curse without a cause. Prov. 26:2. If the curse has a cause, it will stand! If things are not working, there is a reason so you need to find it out. Curses are released by pronouncements from men.

What are the indications that one might be under a curse?

1. All-round stagnation

2. Broken marriages and relationships

3. Disease and infirmities – often- time, hereditary

4. Hatred, rejection and disappointment where others succeed

5. Failures at the edge of breakthroughs – near-success syndrome. So much efforts, yet nothing to show

6. Accident prone – people that attract calamities

7. Profitless hard work

8. Tragic, violent and untimely deaths

What are the types of curses?

1. The curse of God. Genesis 3:12-19. Genesis 12:3

2. The curse of man. When a man has a reason to place a curse on people, God honours it. Also parental curses.

3. The curse of seedtime and harvest. These are self-inflicted curses. Genesis 27:12-13. The curse affected Rebeccah.

4. The curse of satan. Going to funny places to check your star, occultic practices, etc. These can bring one under a curse of satan.

How do we break curses?

The good news is that curses are hidden traps, once you discover them you can break them. Isaiah 52:2. You can loose yourself from curses.

1. By observation. Sit down to observe your family tree, your life and that of your siblings to see if there is a pattern.

2. Go into supplication. James 5:13. Curses bring affliction. The cure to come out of affliction is prayer. You can organize a prayer and fasting period in the family.

3. We need to go to God for repentance and mercy for ourselves and also for our forefathers. Hebrews 4:16. Then we would find Grace.

4. Go for revelation – that is, light. John 8:32. Where you connect determines what you collect. Romans 11:16, John 15:1-5. If Jesus is your spiritual ancestral root, you are holy and free. You are grafted. God takes you from your ancestral family tree and grafts you into a spiritual family, that makes you different because of your spiritual alignment. Romans 11:17. So curse cannot happen around you.

5. Walk in obedience. Christianity cannot cancel responsibility, you need to go and make peace if you have offended someone. There are things you need to go and do, like restitution for things to be right! Go and make peace. 2 Cor. 10:3-6. If you are not walking in obedience, curses will not go.

6. Declare your release. Your mouth is an instrument of release.

7. Embrace Kingdom service. Nothing brings blessings like service. Exodus 23:25-26

8. Raise an altar of sacrifice. Gen. 8:20-22, 2 Sam. 24-25