Have you ever seen a behavior pattern in your life that you can’t understand?
- · Why do I act like that?
- · Why did I say that . . . again?
- · Why can’t I break this bad habit?
If you notice things like this in you or someone else, you may have taken an inner vow. You probably don’t even remember it.
Inner vows can happen when you are angry and judging someone else for their actions. For example, how many people do you know who declared, “I will never be the kind of parent my father was”, and then they treat their children the exact same way? Happens all the time.
Have you known someone who despaired, “I’m turning into my mother!”? They might have vowed never to be like her.
Inner vows usually seem like a good idea – a noble cause – on the surface. The problem is that they come about as a result of judgment. We judge someone else for their actions or attitudes because they hurt us or someone we love. We decide in our anger that we will NEVER act like that, or we will ALWAYS do the opposite.
Inner vows declare to the spirit world (and to us) that we are determined to rely on our own strength to overcome a problem. They often form soul ties (“Blessed be the (Soul) Ties that Bind . . . or Not“) They bind us to a pattern of self-protection and unforgiveness (“Reduce Rage, Promote Peace; You Can Forgive”).
Not good!
When we make a judgment, even in ignorance, we also make a covenant with the thing we judge. And that links us inextricably to the judged action. Where there is judgment, there is no room for grace, no matter how badly we want (and need) it.
When we enter into a covenant, a chain reaction takes place. The law we’ve made must be enforced, so it is. And, unless the vow is negated and we come out of agreement with the covenant, we live with the consequences of repeated poor behavior – behavior we hate – because of our judgment and the vow. We think we’re in control, but we’re not. 
Just like generational iniquity and generational curses (“It Runs in My Family!“), this isn’t a punishment from God, it’s a law of natural consequences.
Anger → judgment→ vow→ covenant→ law→ repeated bad behavior.
It spirals out of control.
It’s a vicious cycle.
But it isn’t a hopeless one.
You can break not only the vow you made, but its consequences. All you have to do is repent and come out of agreement with the covenant.
Just so we are all on the same page, let’s talk about covenants before we check out the pattern for negating vows.
Part 1 of a 2 part series on inner vows and covenants
Part 2| Covenant, Contract, or Law
all illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net