The Prayer of Freedom by Beatty Carmichael [Summary] 

Main Summary: The Prayer of Freedom by Beatty Carmichael reveals how unrepented sin creates “legal rights” that allow spiritual torment, sickness, and recurring life problems. Through biblical evidence and real-life testimonies, the book shows how repentance (the prayer of freedom) breaks these rights, restores freedom, and brings healing to every area of life.

Lessons You’ll Learn From This Post 

• Spiritual Discipline
• Spiritual Insight to God’s Discipline
• How Spirits of Discipline Work
• The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
• Forms of Spiritual Discipline
• Legal Rights
• Sin Is a Cause for Infirmity (Old & New Testament)
• Sin And Infirmity Today
• Types of Legal Rights

Sometimes our issues may be due to spiritual laws of discipline rather than natural laws of cause-and-effect.

Spiritual Discipline 

• Many personal problems have spiritual roots, especially connected to sin that remains unrepented.
• Not all sickness comes from sin, but much of life’s pain, patterns, and bondage can be traced to spiritual discipline.
• God’s discipline is not punishment but loving correction, designed to shape you into the image of His Son.
• Jesus promised an abundant life, but many live far below that because they do not understand the spiritual laws that govern breakthrough.
• God disciplines us because He loves us, and His discipline flows from the spiritual realm, manifesting as physical, emotional, or situational problems.
• Even righteous people can face discipline for sins committed years earlier, because the discipline only stops when repentance occurs.
• To understand your struggles, you must look through “spiritual glasses”—seeing spiritual causes behind natural problems.
• The Prayer of Freedom works even before you fully understand it, because repentance releases you from spiritual consequences.

Also read Winning Invincible Battles by David Oyedepo [Summary]

As soon as we break the rules, they have a legal right to bring discipline into our lives.

Spiritual Insight to God’s Discipline

• Scott, a faithful Christian, suffered 15+ years of financial stagnation despite hard work and obedience—something spiritual was blocking him.
• His father, Dennis, prayed the Prayer of Freedom on Scott’s behalf, repenting for any sins that may have opened the door to spiritual discipline.
• Within weeks, Scott received a major salary increase, bought a home, and experienced national recognition—an instant breakthrough followed repentance.
• Parents have spiritual authority to intercede and repent for their children, even adult ones.
• Many people accept long-term pain or failure as fate, not knowing their issues may have spiritual roots.
• The author explains that life’s battles have a spiritual dimension, based on Ephesians 6:12.
• Using “spiritual glasses,” we would see that our world is filled with spiritual beings—the Holy Spirit, angels, and various spirits influencing human life.
• The Bible describes both holy spirits (wisdom, truth, gentleness, skill) and unholy spirits (fear, lying, anger, jealousy).
• Many chronic sicknesses and emotional struggles are influenced by spirits of infirmity—“persons without bodies.”
• Jesus repeatedly rebuked fevers, crippling spirits, and conditions, proving they were living spiritual entities, not mere symptoms.
• God created all spirits—holy and unholy—and uses the unholy ones as “spirits of discipline” to correct believers.
• Discipline aims to bring us to repentance and form Christlike character.
• Even if someone is living righteously today, they may still experience discipline for sins committed years ago, unless they formally repent.
• Chronic pain, sickness, and mental struggles can be tied to past unrepented sin, even from childhood.
• Discipline is not God “sending” evil; instead, the spiritual laws God established allow unholy spirits to legally act when sin occurs.
• The author uses a tow truck analogy: breaking spiritual laws gives “legal access” to spirits of discipline, just like illegal parking gives tow trucks a legal right to remove a car.
• God is not the one commanding these spirits; the spiritual system functions automatically based on divine laws.

The focus of discipline is to chip away everything that doesn’t conform to his image.

How Spirits of Discipline Work

• God uses the process of discipline to conform us to His image, similar to Michelangelo carving a statue by chipping away unnecessary stone.
• Sin forms a “block of stone” around us from birth, distorting both our relationship with God and our image of God.
• God uses spirits of discipline (unholy spirits) as tools to remove sin piece by piece—some aggressively removing major areas of sin, others addressing fine details.
• When Adam sinned, humanity lost both fellowship with God and God’s image. Jesus restores relationships through faith, but restoring God’s image requires repenting of individual sins.
• Each individual sin must be repented of to remove its corresponding discipline and restore that specific area of God’s image.
• Discipline continues for each sin, even sins committed long ago, until repentance is made for that specific act.
• Repentance and the Prayer of Freedom work for anyone, regardless of religious background.
• God reveals which sins need repentance; one doesn’t need to remember every sin from childhood.

Also read Fervent by Priscilla Shirer [Summary] 

This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

• Jesus’ Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21–35) is used to teach about forgiveness, debt, and divine discipline.
• The parable contrasts a massive debt (ten thousand bags of gold) forgiven by the king with the servant’s refusal to forgive a much smaller debt from a fellow servant—showing hypocrisy and lack of mercy.
• The king (God) represents mercy and justice; the jailer (torturer) represents spirits of discipline who execute punishment when debt (sin) remains unaddressed.
• Jesus’ point: God WILL discipline (the kingdom’s rule) those who refuse true, heartfelt forgiveness—unforgiveness itself invites discipline.
• Discipline is consequential, not arbitrary: people bring the jailer upon themselves by their wrongdoing.
• The Greek root basanizo (related to the jailer/torturer) is introduced as the technical term describing much of how God’s discipline manifests.
• The author connects the courtroom metaphor: Satan prosecutes (the accuser), God judges, and if found guilty, discipline is issued and remains until repentance occurs.
• Discipline can look severe (torture in the parable) because it is meant to correct and produce repentance, not to punish vindictively.

This feels like a spirit of discipline in my life. Let me think through what I might have done that I would be disciplined for.

Forms of Spiritual Discipline

• Basanizo appears 12 times in the New Testament. Below are the three most common ways this spiritual discipline operates.
• Physical Suffering (Matthew 8:5–6): The paralyzed servant “suffering terribly” shows basanizo as physical malfunction or sickness.
• Mental Suffering (2 Peter 2:7–8): Lot’s “tormented soul” shows basanizo as mental and emotional anguish, such as depression, stress, heaviness, and anxiety.
• Physical Pain (Revelation 12:2): The woman crying out in “agony” shows basanizo as real, tangible physical pain.
• Many forms of suffering—physical, emotional, or relational—may actually be spiritual discipline, not natural causes.
• When discipline is the root, repentance through the Prayer of Freedom stops the suffering instantly and can even reverse long-term physical damage.
• Before full freedom can be understood, one must understand legal rights. 

Also read Love The Way to Victory by Kenneth Hagin [Summary] 

You repent first, then you get breakthrough. You repent first, then you get freedom.

Legal Rights

• The author explains that when a problem persists or worsens unnaturally, it is often basanizo discipline, not simply natural causes.
• God allows spirits of discipline not to punish but to correct, restore holiness, and conform believers to the image of Christ.
• Hebrews 12 teaches that God’s discipline brings righteousness and peace, while a life lacking peace often indicates unrepented sin.
• Jesus’ healing of the man at Bethesda shows the same pattern: Jesus warned, “Sin no more, lest something worse happens”, implying the man’s suffering had spiritual roots.
• The process of freedom always begins with repentance first, then breakthrough follows.
• Unrepented sin creates legal rights in the spirit realm—permission for spirits of discipline to torment.
• The parable of the Unmerciful Servant illustrates that just as the jailer needs a court judgment to act, spirits of discipline need a legal right (unrepented sin) to cause suffering.
• These spirits are unholy, but God uses their destructive tendencies as tools to push people toward repentance.
• Jesus referred to them as “the thief” in John 10:10—whose job is to steal, kill, and destroy whenever legal rights are present.
• Removing legal rights through repentance halts their activity and restores the “abundant life” Jesus promised.
• Every unrepented sin—known, unknown, forgotten, or committed by others against you—can create legal rights.
• Because the spiritual world is vast and complex, breakthrough often requires dealing with specific sins one by one, not just general repentance.
• Again you don’t have to remember every sin; God Himself reveals what needs to be repented of during the Prayer of Freedom.

If anyone among you is sick, confess and repent of your sins so they may be forgiven and you may be healed.

Sin Is a Cause for Infirmity (Old & New Testament)

• Biblical evidence shows a clear connection between sin and infirmity—while not all sickness is caused by sin, Scripture overwhelmingly links disobedience with illness.
• Miriam sinned by challenging Moses’ God-given authority; God disciplined her with leprosy. Her affliction was a direct result of sin. (Numbers 12) 
• Moses warned Israel that disobedience would bring plagues, chronic sickness, diseases that cling, and many other disasters. Sin opens the door to prolonged infirmity. (Deuteronomy 28)
• Gehazi lied to Naaman and exploited God’s work for financial gain. As judgment, Naaman’s leprosy “clung” to Gehazi and his descendants forever. (2 Kings 5)
• These Old Testament examples show sin can: Trigger immediate sickness. Create long-term or generational infirmity. And allow diseases to “cling” until repentance or divine intervention. 
• Christians in Corinth were taking Communion disrespectfully and selfishly, without love, and without honoring the Lord’s body. (1 Corinthians 11:29–32)
• Paul teaches that taking Communion “without discerning the body” is a sin, which caused: Weakness, Sickness, shame, and even death (“fallen asleep”)
• Paul clarifies that this is not a condemnation but loving discipline, preventing believers from being condemned with the world.
• James instructs believers who are sick to seek prayer from church elders. (James 5:14–16)
• He explains that: The prayer of faith will heal the sick. If the person has committed sins, those sins will be forgiven. Confession of sins results in healing.
• The passage makes a direct link: sin can cause sickness, and confessing sin can bring healing.
• Across Scripture—from the Old Testament to the New Testament—there is a consistent principle:
• Sin often lies at the root of infirmity, weakness, chronic disease, depression, anxiety, and even death.
• When the sin behind the infirmity is repented of, healing follows.
• This forms the foundation of the Prayer of Freedom, which targets unrepented sins that give spirits of discipline legal access to torment.

Unrepented sin gives spirits of discipline a legal right to attack you. If you want them to stop… repent.

Sin And Infirmity Today

• The author emphasizes that the link between sin and infirmity is not only a biblical principle but a present-day reality.
• Spirits of discipline don’t just cause sickness—they affect every dimension of life: relationships, careers, emotions, mental health, addictions, and more.
• The author provides multiple modern testimonies demonstrating that repentance removes the legal right of tormenting spirits, often leading to immediate healing.
• Even incurable diseases may reverse when the sin behind them is repented.
• Sin-based torment can masquerade as permanent mental illness—but repentance cuts off the spirit behind it.
• Many issues we consider “normal,” “incurable,” or “just life” may actually stem from unrepented sin.
• While not every sickness is sin-based, the author reiterates that most of the ones he encounters have spiritual roots.
• Unrepented sin gives spirits of discipline a legal right to bring torment.
• To stop the torment: Identify the sin, Repent of it, and Break the legal right.

Also read 25 Truths About Demons and Spiritual Warfare by David Diga Hernandez [Summary] Pt1

Unholy soul ties remain legal rights for as long as you live—even if the other person has died.

Types of Legal Rights

• Unrepented sin creates “legal rights” that allow spirits of discipline to torment a person.
• The three types are below, and each must be broken differently.:
  • Activity Sins
  • Unholy Soul Ties
  • Agreement Sins
• Activity Sin: These are sins you personally commit—acts of disobedience or rebellion. E.g., sexual sin, unforgiveness, anger, occult activities.
• The discipline continues for life until you repent. Once repented, the legal right is removed.
• Unholy Soul Ties: Created when sin happens between two people—either consensual or not.
• This spiritual connection allows a spirit tormenting one person to legally torment the other.
• Examples: Premarital sex, Doing drugs with someone, Being abused (even involuntarily—sin occurred between people)
• Repenting of the sin does not remove the soul tie—you must also break the soul tie.
• Unholy soul ties can persist even after the other person dies.
• Agreement Sin: These are false agreements or covenants made that contradict God’s standards.
• They are sins of iniquity—a twisting of God’s holy design.
• Agreement sins can: Affect you, Affect your children and grandchildren. Also, create generational patterns (what many call “generational curses”)
• Examples are: Secret oaths (e.g., Freemasons, Eastern Star, Rainbow Girls). Swearing loyalty to spiritual beings other than God. Sexual perversion, Witchcraft, Abortion, and Ancestral sins that passed down the family line
• Why agreement sins are dangerous
  • They often involve verbal consent: oaths, chants, covenants.
  • Many include hidden clauses invoking curses, punishment, or allegiance.
  • Even if ancestors made these agreements 100+ years ago, the spiritual consequences can still appear today.
• From the Bible, God distinguishes three wrongs (Exodus 34:7): 
  • Sin – accidental wrongdoing
  • Transgression – intentional rebellion
  • Iniquity – perversion or twisting of God’s standards. Iniquity is the type passed down generationally.
• These are patterns that reveal an agreement sin. Look for repeated patterns in a family line:

• Addiction, Abuse, Divorce, Anxiety, Asthma, Cancer, Early death, Suicide
• These patterns often indicate a spirit of discipline attached to ancestral iniquity.
• To remove torment, you must identify what type of legal right is operating:
  • Activity sin → repent
  • Unholy soul tie → repent + break the tie
  • Agreement sin → repent + renounce the agreement (especially ancestral)
• The Prayer of Freedom includes all these steps.

A Quick Note

The part of the book I reviewed here is only the Review Copy, which stops before Section Two: “Breaking Free.”

Just so you know, the full book actually has 8 additional chapters in that section that weren’t included in this review.

If you’d like to read the rest of the book and get the complete teachings, where the prayers of freedom are adequately described, you can check it out directly on the author’s website:

👉 Click here to access the full book on the author’s site.

Finally, after reading this post, take a moment to reflect on your life, identify unresolved patterns, and invite God to reveal any hidden roots. Then visit the author’s site to get the full book and begin your own journey toward complete spiritual freedom.

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God bless you