Twenty years ago my husband lost his job, and we went through a time of great need. We had three children: a two-year-old girl, a one-year-old girl, and a newborn baby boy. I got very depressed, as my children were very active and demanding. In a moment of anger, I cursed my oldest daughter.
Since then I have felt tormented because I think that I can’t ever be forgiven for this and that my daughter will be cursed for her entire life. Please, I need to know what to do!
COUNSEL
Dear Friend,
Your oldest daughter must now be twenty-two, yet you don’t refer to her as an adult. Is she having problems in her life that you think you have caused by cursing her two decades ago? We can only assume that this is what you believe, since you have asked for our help.
It’s important for you to understand that there are different kinds of curses. One type of curse is when people insult one another. Words only have power as the person receives them. For example, if someone insults another, but the other doesn’t speak the same language, then those words have no power. If, on the other hand, the other person does speak the same language, then the words may cause that person to feel hurt or fear.
A second kind of curse is what was common in the biblical times of the Old Testament. That kind of curse was normally equivalent to punishment. When God cursed Adam and Eve’s son Cain for killing his brother Abel, it was the same as saying that God punished Cain for the murder that he had committed. (1)
A third type of curse is also found in the Old Testament. It is a wish for bad things to happen to someone. It can even be a wish stated within a prayer to God. All the prayers that King David prayed against his enemies in the book of Psalms in the Bible were this kind of curse. However, God is not required to make these wishes come true, even though they are asked for in prayer.
A fourth type of curse is one that calls upon the supernatural power of Satan. Religions that get their power from Satan have followers who make a practice of cursing others. In the Bible, these people were often called sorcerers, witches, fortune tellers, and diviners. Those who have dedicated their lives to God do not have to worry about being cursed by these people, since God protects His family from evil supernatural powers.
When you say that you cursed your daughter twenty years ago, were you calling on Satan to curse her supernaturally? Or were you simply overwhelmed with the stress of three small children and your words were an expression of the anger and frustration that you were feeling? God will forgive you for that anger and for the words you said in anger. And unless you called upon Satan, your words have had absolutely no supernatural power over your daughter.
We wish you well,
Linda
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1 Ge 4:10-16