Understanding Ungodly Soul Ties and How to Break Them

Ungodly soul ties can harm us. We must learn how they work and what they are to regain our freedom in Christ. 

Soul ties are meaningful and deep. These spiritual connections, whether good or bad, can impact our relationships with others and ourselves. Ungodly soul ties can hurt and harm us. Learning how soul ties form, the symptoms of ungodly soul ties, and how to break them is key to understanding our spirituality and interacting with those around us.

What are Ungodly Soul Ties?

You’ve probably heard the term “soul ties” before. Sometimes we hear this and think of sexual or emotional relationships. But there’s more to them than that, and you may be surprised to discover you have them. Some are godly, and some are ungodly soul ties. Let’s find out how they differ. 

What are Soul Ties?

Soul ties are when two people become one in their body, mind, heart, or emotions. It’s like an invisible umbilical cord binding you to another person.

Godly vs. Ungodly Soul Ties

Soul ties are healthy and essential in God’s design for human relationships. The Holy Spirit joins or knits together the bond of a relationship through soul ties.

People likeminded in the Lord form soul ties, be it friends, marriage partners, fellow believers, or pastors and others. Genuine love is the basis of Godly soul ties. Some examples of these in the Bible are Ephesians 5:31, Mark 10:8, and Genesis 2:24.

It is highly likely that you are dealing with an ungodly soul tie if you have ever felt controlled, manipulated, or dominated, or if you have had frustrating memories of a former relationship. Demonic forces enforce the formation of ungodly soul ties to enslave us as these relationships are contrary to God’s will. (1 Corinthians 6:16) They can result when we step outside God’s boundaries regarding relationships.

Examples of Ungodly Soul Ties

If you or someone else violates the boundaries of a healthy relationship, an unhealthy soul tie can form. When you are spiritually connected to someone, not of God, and have a close relationship with them, they can bring negative things into your life. Ungodly or unhealthy soul ties can result in codependency in more severe cases. It is a dependence on the opinions and judgment of others to an excessive degree.

Some examples that you may find familiar or recognizable are:

• Gossip and secrecy can bind you together with another person and shut other people out. 

• Another example is someone who uses witchcraft or spiritual forces to manipulate and control others. 
• Parents who destructively interfere in their adult children’s lives are also examples of ungodly soul ties. 

How Ungodly Soul Ties Form

We enter into the bondage of ungodly soul ties through our wrong choices concerning companionship. Jesus came to liberate us from sin, but the devil can still hold us captive when we form ungodly associations. However, we can resist his tricks when we know his tactics for ensnaring us. 1 Peter 5:8 instructs us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Ungodly soul ties can form in a variety of ways, but here are some examples:

Sexual Connections

When we have sex outside of marriage, we can form ungodly soul ties with people who are not our spouse or future spouse. The Bible warns us that sexual immorality and intercourse outside marriage lead only to spiritual death. For example, sexual intercourse with a prostitute might join a person’s soul with the prostitute and all of her previous clients’ souls. 

Proverbs 5:3-5 says, “For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end, she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.”

Emotional Connections

We can develop ungodly soul ties with people with strong emotional ties as children, such as our parents and family members (Deuteronomy 13:6). Our souls can become so intertwined with theirs that it feels like we’re one person, and we end up doing whatever they want. These relationships can be so overpowering that it becomes difficult to obey God and love Him with all our hearts.

It can also happen to friendships. For example, consider King Saul’s son Jonathan’s soul ties with David, the king’s attendant. The Bible says, “Jonathan’s soul was knit to David’s soul” (1 Samuel 18:1). Jonathan risked his own life, even disobeying his father when he tried to save David from King Saul.

We can form “soul ties” with objects, too. For example, if you use something to soothe your feelings rather than turn to God, that thing becomes a soul tie that keeps you from growing spiritually. We can develop an attachment to particular objects, such as toys, blankets, or lucky charms that they turn into idols. We know we have built ungodly soul ties with these objects when we feel the need to hang onto them.

Mental Connections

The Bible teaches us to focus on pleasing God and fulfilling His will, having a mind like Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). We must renew our minds to discern what God’s perfect will is for us.

The thoughts, wills, and ideas of others can influence us. If we’re not careful, we’ll start thinking the way they do. Examples could include parents, teachers, friends, the media, bosses, and celebrities. Other ungodly soul ties involve worldly doctrines like materialism, secularism, socialism, and consumerism. All of these things contribute to ungodly soul ties.

Spiritual Connections

Another form of ungodly soul ties is those we make with idolatrous or religious groups that push half-truths and false teachings. We need to verify everything that professes to be from God, including spiritual teachers and leaders, and be on guard against falling under the influence of ungodly people. 

Schools, cults, clubs, fraternities, and communities that claim to be Christian but entice their members to do ungodly things fall into this category. Not everything people claim to do in the name of God can be considered godly. 1 Corinthians 14:15 says “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.“

Idolatrous Soul Ties

Anything we desire more than God is an idol. Ungodly soul ties happen when we lust for and crave any person, place, or thing. We become discouraged when we don’t get what we want; we believe we are miserable without something, and we become angry when our desires are frustrated. Worshipping idols always leaves one dissatisfied since they can never give us true contentment and satisfaction.

Symptoms of an Ungodly Soul Ties with Something or Someone

How do you know if you have already formed an ungodly soul tie? Here are some samples that can bring light to us:

Breakdown or Barrier in Communication

Communication breakdown is almost always the first symptom. Your communication becomes controlling and degrading, and you stop talking or can’t talk without fighting.

Loss of Identity 

Identity loss is when we no longer have a sense of our genuine selves. Sometimes, we take on labels and titles that give us power and, in turn, lose our identity. In Esther 3:5, Hamman gets enraged when Mordecai won’t bow to him. He became so lost in power that he wanted to eradicate all of Mordecai’s people. 

We can also take on and develop characteristics like those we associate with the ungodly soul ties that form. Spending time with angry, complaining people leads us to mirror their behavior. We become partakers of sin if we surround ourselves with those who engage in sinful behavior.

Shame

Of all the symptoms, shame can be the most destructive one. Here is where feelings of guilt and self-pity build up. We feel like a “mistake,” making it easy for others to abuse us because we feel like we deserve that treatment. Shame then leads to fear and cowardice. 

Cowardice

We can tie cowardice to anxiety. We’re always anxious and fearful of everything. This emotion dictates that we’re helpless and that something is not worth trying because of the feeling, “I can’t do it.” Cowardice makes us believe we are always a victim and allows predators to take advantage of us.

Can’t Recognize Suffering of Others

This symptom is relatively straightforward. Because of an ungodly soul tie or soul ties, we’ve already become indifferent, callous, and numb to other people’s sufferings. 

How to Break Ungodly Soul Ties

Now that we’ve recognized some of the symptoms, let’s dive in to see how we can break the ungodly soul ties should it happen to us or someone we know. 

Identify the Influence

Sometimes, someone’s influence on our lives is so strong that we don’t realize it because they have already become a part of us. Often, they are the people who are or have become such an integral part of our lives that we cannot imagine life without them. These relationships distract us from our love for God and threaten our souls.

If we are unsure if we have formed ungodly soul ties with other people, we can ask God to show us who they are. It is so He can restore our souls and lead us back to His righteous path (Psalm 23:3). 

Repent of Ungodly Soul Ties

We must repent whenever we make anything or anyone more important to us than God. It is because such attachment may lead us to unhealthy submission or ungodly emotional ties, such as with our spouses, parents, friends, pastors, teachers, etc. 

Sex outside marriage also forms ungodly soul ties. People with this kind of relationship need to repent before breaking the bond with their partners. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body.”

Forgive

Next, it is a must that we examine and check our hearts for people that we need to forgive. Some of the hardest to make peace with and most challenging to let go of are those with whom we’ve formed ungodly ties. 

Break Off Ungodly Soul Ties

Breaking unhealthy soul ties can be a vital part of moving on when we’ve experienced an end of a friendship, a divorce, grieving the loss of a relationship, or leaving a workplace. Once we recognize an ungodly soul tie in our life, it’s time for us to pray!

Remove Ungodly Soul Tie Objects

Another critical step is to eliminate anything that reminds you of past ungodly relationships based on sexual immorality, witchcraft, or idolatry. We should not hold on to these items. 

If we struggle to let these things go, it’s a sign that we are putting more value on them than on our relationship with God. It’s a manifestation we have not fully broken off from our ungodly soul ties. We must let these things go as a sign of surrender to God’s lordship over our lives and our love and obedience to Him.

Prayer to Break Ungodly Soul Ties

Cutting off and breaking away from ungodly soul ties is not an easy feat. But God, rich in mercy and grace, will not leave us to our demise. He is ready to help us out once we let go of our unhealthy relationships and finally focus on obeying and living for Him. 

Here is a prayer that we could utter as a sign of our surrender to the Lord:

“Dear God, I humbly come before You today asking for Your help in revealing the names of the people I have ungodly soul ties with. 

I confess that there are people and things in my life with whom I have unhealthy attachments. I repent, Lord, for offending You and abusing the boundaries You’ve set in relationships. May You shower me with Your love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Purify my heart Lord, and make me clean again. 

I now renounce, cut loose, and break myself from the enemy’s chains in these ungodly soul ties and unhealthy bonds, in the mighty name of Jesus! 

I pray and ask Lord for You to do whatever You have to, to cut me off and rid me of my tendency to return to these ties. Help me walk straight in Your path of righteousness and never return to these relationships and attachments. 

I declare and claim, God, that You have broken all chains and every hold of the enemy that had resulted from these ungodly soul ties. I have been set free by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I claim this and stand on my identity as a child of God. Thank you, Jesus! In Your sweetest name, I pray. Amen.”

In Conclusion

We have to be careful of what we allow to influence us. We all have a right to live freely, but we must be cautious of forming relationships with people who don’t follow the same godly standards. We hope and pray that this article was encouraging, and helpful and had given you a better understanding of what ungodly soul ties are and how to break them. 

If you feel that you have relationships or situations in your life that need healing or deliverance, you can always go to the Lord for help. If you are willing, He will set you free and restore you because He cares for you.