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Soul ties. Some are good, some are bad and some are toxic. 

Do you have a toxic soul tie? I think we all find ourselves in this situation at one point in our life or another, whether it’s a family member, a significant other or a friend. Soul ties don’t always start out toxic. They can grow toxic over time.

What is a soul tie? Well, the Bible doesn’t use the phrase “soul tie” but I assure you this is a biblical concept.

Consider 1 Samuel 18:1, “Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

When something is knitted together, it’s tied together. But the idea is you want to be knitted in a healthy way, not knotted in a tangled relational mess. 

Indeed, Paul prayed in Colossians 2:2 that our hearts would be knitted together in love. But sometimes we the knit becomes a toxic not.

Soul ties are developed in at least four ways:

1. A soul tie happens when people’s souls are knit together in close relationships, like in the case of Jonathan and David.

2. A soul tie can form during sexual relations when two become one flesh.

Ephesians 5:31 tells us, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” That’s why divorces are so hard. You have soul ties.

3. A soul tie can form when you make vows to or covenants with someone (see Num. 30:20). Soul ties can be healthy with family, but they become unhealthy when sin—or evil spirits—are involved.

Much the same, sharing personal information in confidence with a friend can create a soul tie, as can making a covenant with someone or pledging a vow of loyalty to them. Be careful not to enter into a covenant relationship too quickly.

4. You can form soul ties with spirits.

You can even unknowingly make vows with spirits by saying things like, “I’ll never let anyone hurt me like that again” or “I will always protect my back from now on.”

Listen in to my prayer broadcast on breaking toxic soul ties: