Prayer for Generational Inheritances to Come Forth

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you had received an inheritance from your ancestors? Or, do you maybe even know for certain that you should have had a specific inheritance, but it was stolen from you? If so, today’s prayer for generational inheritances to come forth is for you!

First, what is a “generational inheritance”?

When I say “generational inheritance,” I am referring to the collective heritage of multiple generations combined. This could be a tangible heritage, such as:

It could also be an intangible heritage, such as:

Basically, a generational inheritance is a blessing that, in an ideal world, should have been passed down to you from the generations before you.

An inheritance like that changes everything. Even if you would only have been entitled to a portion of the inheritance (with the rest of it divided between multiple branches of the family), receiving a valuable inheritance can entirely change the course of your life.

The Lord has been speaking to me about generational inheritances quite a bit lately.

He first began speaking to me about generational inheritances in the context of answered prayers of my forefathers.

For example, one of my ancestors in the 1600s was a pastor here in the USA (which would have been the American colonies at that time). I would imagine that, probably at some time in his life, that pastor prayed for his children, grandchildren, and the generations that would follow. And I have been feeling led to ask the Lord to bring me the answers to those prayers that he would have prayed for me and all of his other descendants.

But more recently, I have been feeling deeply burdened about tangible inheritances too.

My husband is fascinated by family history, and he began researching my family line recently. I already knew my family was from England. (I believe that is why I am SO deeply passionate about the UK; I feel like my heart and spirit are knit to that country.)

But, when my husband began researching, he found out a lot more than I ever knew. Since British historical records are so extensive and detailed, he was able to find out some really fascinating things–things that are not unusual for families in the UK and Europe at all, but which are quite meaningful to me personally.

For example:

• My traceable family line goes back to around the year 800.
• My forefathers were warriors and nobles and knights, fighting for the kings of England going back to the time of William the Conqueror (who invaded England in 1066).
• My ancestors fought (and sometimes died) on battlefields for kings whose history I have actually studied!
• One of them died in Jerusalem in the Crusades (in the Middle Ages).
• Some of them fought in the Wars of the Roses.
• They were castellans of castles that still exist today–two specific castles with which I have been fascinated for many years, and one of which I have actually visited (and it takes my breath away).
• Their primary seat was in Northumberland, a mountainous and rugged region of England. I haven’t visited that castle, but I have longed to for many years! (And I had no idea of the family connection; I just thought it was beautiful!)
• Back in the Middle Ages, my forefathers were actually English nobility! High-ranking nobility, and that for generations! How crazy is that, right? 🙂 #Whodathunkit!
• One of the records listed the nobleman’s net worth at the time of his death (way back in the Middle Ages), and it was huge! (Not sure that happened there, but God can restore.) #Hahaha

I was shocked to learn all of these things.

I know these things aren’t unusual; I have read, anyway, that a large portion of the English population (and people with English roots around the world) are related to kings, queens, dukes, earls, viscounts, and so on … simply because nobles had so many children back then.

So, there’s nothing special about these things, if you define “special” as being unusual or out of the ordinary.

However, there is something very special to me about these things.

The special thing to me is this:

I have read that the life experiences of ancestors can be embedded in people’s actual DNA. I’m no scientist, so I don’t know if that’s true or not. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true–and if I might not be experiencing that, because:

• I’ve always felt like an old soul, born out of place and time. (Although God ordains the moment of our birth, and I acknowledge that. It’s just how I’ve felt.)
• I’ve always been obsessed with history.
• I’ve always been fascinated with knights and armor, swordfights and royalty and battles and lines of succession and things like that. (The things that were important to everyday survival hundreds of years ago.)
• I was made for war also. As an intercessor and a pioneer, I feel like most of my life has been warfare. I get tired of it sometimes, but I was born to take new territory. And even if I rest, after I get rested up then I feel compelled to keep taking territory for Jesus.
• I have dedicated my life to my King (Jesus) as well.
• Even in the political realm, I’m very passionate about patriotism. My country doesn’t have a king, but if it did, I’d probably be one of those “For king and country” types for sure.
• I’ve been literally OBSESSED with castles my whole life that I can remember.
• One of the castles that was in my family line, I have actually VISITED twice (not knowing about the ancestral link), and it resonates in my heart like I can’t even describe. It really does take my breath away. I can feel the history there, and my spirit resonates with it in a deep and personal way.
• I am from the mountains, and to this day I feel like I have to have mountains in order to be whole and sane.
• I have always felt a burden to serve others and make a difference in life. (This is called “leadership.”)

Again, none of these things make me different than anybody else. But, all these things do make me stop and wonder with wide-eyed awe:

Could so much of my life and calling simply be the product of what God has been working in my biological family for over a thousand years?

And I believe it could. Of course, I haven’t received an angel appearance, three trumpet blasts, or a visitation from Jesus to confirm this. But it’s plausible, and it makes me wonder, and I believe it potentially could be the case.

Do these things make a difference? Probably not, from a human perspective anyway. I am not particularly hopeful that the steward of any castle is going to call me anytime soon to come get my inheritance, like happens in those romcom movies we all love. (I mean, I’d say yes if they did, though. My mother didn’t raise an idiot.) 😉

But, all these things matters to me, and these things could explain a lot about who I am and who God made me to be, based on the work He has done in my generations past.

This brings us back to the concept of praying for generational inheritances to come forth.

Even though I don’t anticipate receiving a call from a castle steward anytime soon, telling me to come take my seat in Parliament, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the enemy had not devoured those types of inheritances in my family line.

For example:

• Would I still be American and live in the USA, or would I be thoroughly English and still living on English soil?
• What would my life look like if the massive amounts of wealth that my ancestors used to have had been passed down through my family intact, or even growing through the power of investment? (Remember, that one guy’s net worth as of his death was a point of historical record! Crazy!)
• Would I still be a warrior in some way? Would the call of military service run in my veins, as it ran in the veins of my forefathers?

All these questions make me wonder–and thinking about them also makes me feel robbed a little bit.

I know that the inheritance may never have made it to me, since things are usually passed down from eldest son to eldest son, and so on. And it would have been a huge family over the course of those generations.

However, when I think about how “on earth as it is in Heaven” is supposed to be the reality in our lives, then my sense of justice bristles up because of John 10:10:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (- Jesus Christ, John 10:10 NKJV).

In my biological family, when people have passed away in recent history, there either have been no inheritances because people were so poor, or the inheritance was stolen. I have never had a family member leave me an inheritance, and to my knowledge they never will.

Therefore, looking back at my family’s history, I feel like the enemy must have been doing a lot of stealing, devouring, and killing throughout those generations–otherwise there would be something to show for it in this generation. And there’s not.

(Other than what the Lord has blessed me and my husband with, of course–but we started from scratch, and the Lord has built our house.)

So all these things make my Kingdom sense of justice twitch a bit.

Here’s why:

• A generational heritage used to be visible and tangible in the family, and people benefited from it.
• That generational heritage is no more.
• There is no current benefit to anyone in the family from the blessing that used to be.
• If earth were a sinless and perfect place, such would never have happened. Our family would still be blessed.
• So if God’s Kingdom is to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, then on this earth it is His will to undo the enemy’s devouring, and to restore to me whatever inheritance I should have had from my family line all along.

To make a long story short …

I believe we should all be praying about our own generational inheritances … because we all ought to have them.

Think about the possibilities:

• How many dreams could your forefathers have had in their hearts that are yet to be fulfilled?
• How many prayers could your parents, grandparents, and great-great-great (etc.) grandparents have prayed that have not yet been answered?
• How many giftings, talents, callings, and anointings did your forefathers carry–things that perhaps the Lord would give you also, if you wanted to take them up and it was His highest and best will for you?

Those types of inheritances could be from things that your forefathers lived out hundreds of years ago.

You might never have seen them, and you might not even know about them. BUT, they prayed those prayers to our God–who is the Ancient of Days.

Our God, the Ancient of Days, is the same God now as He was then. He’s sitting on the same throne now that He was sitting on then. And the prayers of your forefathers are still being stored up in vials in Heaven like incense before the Lord.

Hear that again: If your parents and other forefathers were Christian, they prayed to the same God you are praying to now. And He remembers their prayers perfectly well; He has never forgotten anything except a sin He’s forgiven.

So He can still deliver to YOU the answers to prayers that they prayed, which are yet unanswered.

He can still give you giftings and mantles and inheritances of all types that used to rest on your family line, but which have been stolen or lost. The whole world belongs to Him anyway, so it’s no trouble for Him to move His own items around into your stewardship if He wills to do so.

I do have one word of warning about this:

When you’re talking about spiritual mantles, it is important to ask the Lord to only give you what is His highest and best for your life.

I say this because one time I asked the Lord for the spiritual mantle of someone who had passed away–someone whose work I really respected and admired. The moment I asked, a heavy depression sat down on me. It was a hopeless sort of sadness, and it came over me all at once.

I knew that sadness was not from the Lord, so I asked Him about it. And He showed me that, although this man’s spiritual work was powerful and good, and his anointing was strong, all was not well in his heart and psyche.

I already knew that his personal life had suffered, and at least one member of his family was estranged from him. And the Lord showed me that the tremendous sadness that had come on me was the sadness that this man carried. It was the product of the consequences he experienced from not paying attention to every aspect of his life. He did a lot of powerful ministry, but he had let his family go.

When the Lord showed me that, I immediately renounced asking for that mantle. And I asked God to take it off me.

I asked the Lord to only give me the giftings that He had for me–not what He had for anyone else. And the moment I prayed that prayer, that sadness lifted. It was as if it had never been.

Moral of the story: Ask the Lord to give you only the inheritances He has for YOU–those things that are God’s highest and best will for your life.

So, let’s recap before we pray:

• Generational inheritances can be tangible things, such as property and heirlooms.
• They can also be intangible things, such as anointings and answers to prayers that have been stored up in Heaven for years.
• If we lived in a perfect world, these good inheritances would be passed down safely from generation to generation. Nothing would be lost or stolen.
• But because we live in an imperfect, sinful world, sometimes the thief (the devil) steals, kills, and destroys–and thus we might not receive the inheritances we should have received.
• I believe God wants to restore to you any good inheritances that have been lost or stolen from you.

Of course, we don’t want any negative or sinful inheritances. We only want the good things that should have been passed down to us, and weren’t. But we can pray specifically about these things, and I believe the Lord wants to do something in this area in your life.

Are you ready to pray?

Pray this prayer for generational inheritances to come forth:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name. Abba Father, thank You for hearing and answering my prayers. Thank You for caring about everything that is on my heart.

I praise You, Father, for You alone are the Ancient of Days. You alone are the only true God, and You alone sit above the circle of the earth. You are God all by Yourself, and Your throne is the governmental center of the universe. Thank You for allowing me to pray to You, for You alone have the ability to answer me.

Father, for many years You have sustained me. You have also sustained my parents, grandparents, and innumerable generations of my family, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. I thank You for that, and for allowing me to live on this earth at such a time as this, to do Your work and Your will here.

However, Abba Father, I feel like some things have been stolen.

My forefathers had inheritances, possessions, and belongings that should have been passed down to me–and were not. They had positions and talents and businesses and anointings and giftings. And while some of those things have been passed down to me, not all of them have.

Father, I feel the lack of these things that have been stolen keenly. The injustice of it grieves me, for we live in a sinful world–but sin is never Your will. Your Son Jesus instructed us to pray that Your Kingdom would come, and Your will would be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. And in Heaven, none of the good things You give Your children can ever be lost or stolen.

Abba Father, Jesus shed His blood to bring me back into Your perfect will in every area of my life.

I have no way to reclaim the good generational inheritances that my forefathers walked in, but which have been lost or stolen or have otherwise disappeared and been devoured:

• I can’t go back in time.
• I do not have the earthly power or wealth it would take to claim these things for myself even if I could.
• I am utterly powerless to reclaim the inheritances I should have received from the prior generations of my family.

However, Abba Father, You are not powerless. All power in Heaven and earth is Yours. Even time itself trembles under Your hand, for You are ruler of even that. You are God who is, and who was, and who is to come. You exist in past, present, and future simultaneously, and everything that is in Heaven and earth belongs to You.

Therefore, Abba Father …

In Jesus’ name, I humbly ask You today to bring me the good and holy generational inheritances that You desire me to receive.

Look upon my family line, past, present, and future, O my Father; and move with Your mighty hand and outstretched arm:

• Send me the blessings that my ancestors prayed to receive, but did not receive.
• Send me the fulfillment of the promises that they longed for in past generations of my family line.
• Look upon the things that were stolen, lost, or devoured away from my family, and RESTORE those things to my possession as much as it is Your will.
• Work miracles on my behalf in all these things, I pray, in Jesus’ name.

Abba Father, I ask only for those generational inheritances that are good and holy.

Please deliver me from any mantles of sin, grief, sadness, unholy brokenness, or despair. Bring me only those things upon which Your blessing rests and abides. I claim Your promise in Proverbs 10:22, that “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”

Therefore, Father, please cover any bad mantles with the blood of Jesus and let them lay dissolved in the dust, for I reject any sinful thing over myself and my family line, and I break it off us in the name of Jesus right now.

Father in Heaven, I thank You for the heritage You have already given me.

I thank You for the blessing that is already on my life. But Father, I do believe that it is Your will to restore to me the years the locusts have eaten. It is Your will, when the thief is discovered, to force him to repay me many times over for what he has stolen.

Therefore, Abba, I humbly ask in Jesus’ name today that You would do that, and that You would restore every positive and holy generational inheritance that is Your will for me to receive.

Thank You, Abba Father. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, amen and amen.”

Beloved, does this word resonate with you? Did the Lord lead you to pray for the restoration of generational inheritances today? Do you believe He will answer your prayer? If so, please leave a comment below!