7 Steps on How to Reclaim Your Inheritance

I recently shared a word the Lord spoke to me on how can to reclaim our inheritance. He said, “It’s Time to Plunder the Enemy’s  Camp!”  But how do we do that? How can we reclaim that which has been stolen?

How to Reclaim Your Inheritance

Someone emailed me shortly after the first article to ask that very question. He made the comment, “We are not allowed to go and take back like David did cause its illegal today. Can you imagine the lawyers and legal red tape that would be involved if you actually tried to go back into Ziklag today and take back your stuff? You’d be in jail!”

Good point!  So how do we reclaim our inheritance or what has been stolen from us when there has been theft? There are seven important steps and I will share how they have worked in my life, because they do work!

1 – Get a Divine Strategy

No matter what the situation, if we have had something stolen then we need to first deal with our heart and attitude.

Theft creates pain.

For some that results in tears and others anger, nevertheless we cannot operate out of our emotions as we move ahead.

If we are going to retrieve something that has been taken, we are going into the enemy’s camp.

This is not a time to “rush in where angels fear to tread” and pursue out of anger or fear. It is time to go to the Lord to calm our hearts and give us a divine strategy.

David did this after he and his men returned to their camp at Ziklag to find it had been overrun. Everything and everyone had been taken captive.  How did David respond?

David was greatly distressed, for the people talked of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in spirit, each over his sons and daughters. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Please bring the ephod to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David inquired at the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue after this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

 And He answered him, “Pursue them, for you will surely overtake them and will surely recover all” (I Samuel 30:6-8 MEV).

SEE ALSO: Ziklag Moments–You Can Recover All!

2 – Take it to the Judge

If we have something stolen, what do we do? Usually we file a police report. If it involves litigation, we will have to go before a judge or jury to state our case and then the judge will decide the case.

That is our next step in the spirit realm.

If you have experienced a theft or injustice, it is time to appeal to God as the righteous Judge.

To do this it is important that we realize that at His core, God is about justice.

If we don’t realize this, then we may not understand the power of this action. God cannot deny Himself. He hates injustice.

For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; and I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them (Isaiah 61:8, MEV).

God always operates out of Who He is. He never changes. He will always be consistent with Himself.

If there has been an injustice, you can trust that God can and wants to turn it around.

3 – Make sure the Enemy has no claim!

Standing before a judge in the natural can be an intimidating. They are up on their high bench as we stand below them. And that judge isn’t messing around. In a courtroom, feelings, emotions and subjection aren’t allowed—only the facts.

In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examine (Proverbs 18:17, NIV).

We want to make sure as we approach the Judge that we have not given entrance to the enemy that has allowed the theft.

Open doors can come through sin, unforgiveness, and sometimes, let’s be honest, just stupidity.

We’ve all done stupid things that in retrospect we realize left us open to the theft.

But, it doesn’t matter. We can still reclaim what’s been lost!

We can reclaim ALL that has been stolen, but we must first make sure that we repent for any action, sin or unforgiveness on our part that may have allowed the theft to take place.

It’s not always the case, but if the theft came through an open door and you don’t get it shut, even if your stuff comes back, it will get taken again.

We must repent and forgive and deal with any issues that would give satan claim as a part of this legal transaction which gives us the authority to come before the Judge.

 SEE ALSO: It’s Time to Plunder the Enemy’s Camp

4 – Demand Back What has been Stolen

A demand has to be made and a claim filed before you can get your stuff back. That is usually true in the natural realm. But it is also true in the spiritual realm. We do this through prayer and declaration of His Word as we boldly go into the enemy’s camp with a demand to return what has been taken.

Put Me in remembrance; let us plead together; state your cause, that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:26).

We are invited and required to make our case before the Judge.

And what if you realize that is was by your own foolishness or wrong decisions?

Thank God, we can still make our claim!

Let us then come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

It’s time to reclaim what has been stolen!

Several years ago my husband and I had purchased a piece of property from a man who had agreed to make several improvements on it as part of the contract and sale price. After the contract was completed, he started the improvements, but then stopped after just two days.

Weeks and then months passed and income we should have been able to make on the property was not only lost, but the property was draining our finances because it was not able to be fully utilized without the improvements.

What was even more distressing and confusing in this scenario was the man we had purchased the property from was a fellow believer.

Have you ever experienced that disappointment as well?

Our initial phone calls to him to get the improvements completed were at first met with the response that he would do the work “soon.”  But soon never came.

As weeks turned to months, he eventually refused to respond to our calls or letters. His refusal to fulfill his part of the agreement was not only frustrating, but now over a year later, we were teetering on bankruptcy due to the unresolved situation and the inability to receive the full income on the property, but still paying the high mortgage.

We prayed. We fasted. We sought the Lord.

We entreated the man who was not holding up his part of the deal, but nothing seemed to change. I couldn’t understand.

Where was God? Didn’t He care? Didn’t He see how unjust the situation was?

Have you ever thought that? Have you wondered if God saw your situation? Does He even care? If so, surely He would intervene on your behalf.

Let me encourage you, He will!

Finally, I began to go before the Lord as a Righteous Judge to make a claim. Jesus reveals this side of the Father in Luke 8, He said:

“In a city there was a judge who did not fear God or regard man. And a widow was in that city. She came to him, saying, ‘Avenge me against my adversary.’

“He would not for a while. Yet afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I do not fear God or respect man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she will weary me.’ ”

And the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge says. And shall not God avenge His own elect and be patient with them, who cry day and night to Him?  I tell you, He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 8:1-8 MEV).

There were some days that all I could do was pray, “Father, even the unjust judge gave the widow woman justice, how much more will our Father in Heaven give justice to His children.”

I remember one morning as I sat before the Lord I repeated that verse over and over. My heart was so overwhelmed with our unresolved situation.

I had nothing more to pray. I had already said it all.

Tears rolled down my face as I considered how this injustice was going to possibly cause us to lose everything.

It was time to get the kids up for school, but I had no energy or desire to move. Have you ever been there?

Then I heard in my spirit, “Turn on the television.”

OK, but to what? I flipped on the television as I continued to pray. I saw Joyce Meyer on one of the stations and stopped for a moment to listen. She was at the end of her message and said only one more statement, “Even the unjust judge gave the widow woman justice. How much more will your Father in Heaven give justice to His children!”

That was it and her message was over.

I was stunned. I was elated. God had just confirmed His word to me. I didn’t know how He was going to do it. But I knew He WAS going to do it.

It’s time to Reclaim our Inheritance

For the record, and I know this may be hard for some because the other person involved was also a believer, but I want to share the steps we walked out for breakthrough.

After more than a year of trying to negotiate with the man to do what he had agreed to do, he finally told us to never call him again. He was done.  

His final words were, “If you don’t like it, sue me.”

We reached out to another mediator–a pastor–to help. He also told us, “If he told you to sue him, you should sue him.”

So, we engaged a lawyer to take the case before a Christian mediator.

We had already pursued legal counsel in the months previous, but had hesitated to take further action instead hoping against hope that he would do what he had promised.

We need to remember that disagreements will happen in life.  And sometimes they will become legal issues if a resolution cannot be found. What does the Bible say about those instances?

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to the law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (I Corinthians 6:1-2).

It’s important to recognize that this verse doesn’t give license for a Christian to be able to get away with defrauding a fellow believer.

It is a directive on how we should settle disputes.

This really begins with Matthew 18. We are to go to the individual first. Then if not resolved, we take someone with us to hear the situation. And then if there is still an area of conflict, we are to take it before the church.

In our situation with the property, we did try to take it before his pastor to see if someone in leadership would serve as a mediator and help us reach a solution. He refused.

In fact, His pastor Didn’t want to assist and told us to sue him!

It’s a confusing day in which we live when we try to act out biblical principles and church leadership isn’t willing to give input or assist.

The Church needs to recognize that we do have a role to play in mediation of relationships and issues according to the word. In this case, however, the Church defaulted and so we took it to Christian legal counsel and mediation.

We had gone before the Judge spiritually to reclaim what had been stolen.

But then in this matter we also went before a Christian mediator in which each side retained a lawyer to help wade through the issue and determine the case.

5 – Do Not Lose Heart or Faith

Jesus states that the story of the unjust judge in Luke 8,  which revealed the Father as our Righteous Judge, was given to “to illustrate that it is necessary always to pray and not lose heart.”

When we lose heart we lose hope. Hope is the anchor of our faith. When we lose hope then we lose faith and faith is a sweet fragrance before the Lord. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6, MEV).

Our situation did not turn around overnight.

It still took several months of back and forth before we could come before the mediator to present the case. It would have been easy to give up, and there were plenty of opportunities. But I had a word from the Lord. It only takes one. Get your word from the Lord and don’t lose heart!

6 – Praise Before You See the Answer

This goes without saying and yet it is still one of the hardest things to do isn’t it? When we are required to praise and rejoice in the midst of hard, unjust and impossible situations.

When everything around us seems to be crumbling and falling apart, these are the times that we have to take our eyes off the situation and trust God.

We have to trust that He will do what He said He will do.

We have to take our eyes off the situation and trust that He is a just God who does see and will intervene.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I was helped; therefore my heart rejoices, and with my song I will thank Him (Psalm 28:7, MEV).

It reminds me of the mighty deliverance the Israelites received as three armies came to destroy them. It was a no-win scenario and so the people turned to God.

And he said, “Pay attention all Judah, and those dwelling in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, go down against them.

They will travel up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the back of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel. It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict.

Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Tomorrow, go out before them, and the Lord will be with you.”

Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship Him. And the Levites rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice  (II Chronicles 20:15-19).

God will always vindicate us, when we walk out injustice His way! Here’s how…

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7 – Refuse to Back Down

Once you have done all of these steps and you have your word from the Lord, then just as they did in II Chronicles 20, then take your position and stand and refuse to back down or back off spiritually regarding your deliverance.

Continue to bring your case before the Righteous Judge.

Come in confidence that He loves you. He sees you and He is for you.  He has said He will turn this situation for your good.

I have seen this work in many scenarios in my life as we have come before the Lord in areas of not only financial theft, but when we have experienced injustice in a job, a relationship, an area of our health…it works because the Word works! These are His principles.

The legal issue regarding the property did resolve about a year later.

After a Christian mediator was secured, the unjust situation completely turned around! God restored just as He said He would!

No matter where you are in your process remember that with God NOTHING is impossible. We refused to give up as we stood on His word. We weren’t complacent about it, we were persistent and declared what His Word said of our situation, not what we saw in the situation.

Do you think God doesn’t see your situation? I assure you He does AND He cares:

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my justice escapes the notice of my God”?  Have you not known? Have you not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint, nor is He weary?

His understanding is inscrutable. He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:27-31)

If you are standing now to see a breakthrough in an area of theft or injustice, here is one of the prayers I stood on during that hard season.

We have seen this happen in our lives time and time again. God is FAITHFUL and He will always fulfill His word as we walk in it!

Prophecy and declare over your situation:

Plead my cause, O Lord, with my adversaries; fight those who fight me. Take hold of the large shield and small shield, and rise up for my help. Draw the spear and javelin against those who pursue me.

I declare that you are my salvation. May those who seek my life be ashamed and humiliated;

may those who plan my injury be turned back and put to shame. May they be as chaff before the wind, and may the angel of the Lord cast them down. May their way be dark and slippery, and may the angel of the Lord pursue them. For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my soul.

Let destruction come on them without warning, and let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall into it, to their own destruction.

But my soul will be joyful in the Lord; I will rejoice in His salvation. All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You, who delivers the poor from a stronger one, the poor and the needy from the one who robs them?” (Psalm 35:1-10, MEV).

I declare today that the cycle of theft is broken off of me and my family line. I declare that ALL that has been stolen, past or present, be restored, seven-fold. No longer can satan steal from me or shame me over past situations. I thank you Lord that you are turning all things for my good and that you give justice to your children.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

If you would like a list of scriptural prayer declarations to reclaim your inheritance and any place you have experienced theft, please click here and let me know.