01/18/2026
Day 8 of 21
Breaking Yokes
Isaiah 58:6 says:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?” (NIV)
According to this verse, yokes are broken through intentional acts of justice, mercy, and liberation—not ritual alone. Here’s how the passage explains it:
1. By loosing the chains of injustice;
This means actively confronting and removing unfair systems, practices, or behaviors that harm others. It includes honesty, repentance, and standing against exploitation or abuse.
2. By untying the cords of the yoke;
A yoke represents bo***ge or heavy control. Untying it implies addressing the specific causes of oppression—legal, economic, relational, or spiritual—that keep people trapped.
3. By setting the oppressed free;
Freedom is practical, not symbolic. It involves advocacy, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and intervention on behalf of those who cannot free themselves.
4. By aligning spiritual devotion with action; In context, God rejects fasting that is merely religious performance. True devotion results in transformed behavior toward others.
5. By restoring dignity and relationship;
The broader passage (Isaiah 58:7–12) connects breaking yokes with feeding the hungry, sheltering the poor, and caring for one’s own community—actions that restore wholeness.
Summary:
According to Isaiah 58:6, yokes are broken when faith is expressed through justice, mercy, and concrete acts that remove oppression and restore freedom—both individually and socially.
Prayer to Break Yokes (Isaiah 58:6)
Heavenly Father,
You are the God who sees oppression and responds with freedom.
You declared that Your chosen fast is
to loose the chains of injustice,
to untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to break every yoke.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I come into agreement with Your Word.
Where there are yokes of injustice, break them now. Where there are burdens placed by sin, fear, trauma, pride, or oppression, untie them by Your power. Where the enemy has bound minds, hearts, bodies, families, or livelihoods, I ask You to set the oppressed free.
Search me, O God,
and remove anything in me that participates in oppression—
attitudes, habits, words, or actions that grieve Your heart. Align my life with true worship, not empty religion, but obedience that brings freedom.
Let Your justice flow through me.
Make me an instrument of release, restoration, and compassion. As You break yokes, restore dignity, heal wounds, and establish righteousness and peace.
I receive Your freedom, and I walk in the light of Your truth. For whom the Son sets free is truly free.
I pray this according to Your Word in Isaiah 58:6, by faith, and in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
Praying for you and your family today and always.
Peace and Blessings
Pastor Lisa