METHOD OF CONDUCTING DELIVERANCE SESSIONS

My goal. In hopes of equipping Christians for the work of setting the captives free, (Luke 4:18). I have written a practical manual for the novice Christian on how to perform a deliverance from the oppression or possession of evil spirits. I write this manual out of my experiences, experiences of others, leading of the Spirit, and guidance from the bible. 

Evil spirits afflicts many people, Christians and non-Christians. As our world becomes more involved in occult activities, drugs, false religions and more blatant and habitual sins, the more there will be a need for deliverance. For those who do not believe Christians can be afflicted by evil spirits, my experience is quite to the contrary. Sin is no respecter of persons. If you open the door to the devil, he will come in and take residence.  Though there is no scripture stating a Christian cannot have an evil spirit dwelling in or on him, some reason, how can the Holy Spirit and a demon dwell in the same body? This seems to be a logical argument, however it doesn’t help an afflicted brother and it is not my experience or the experience of others in the deliverance ministry. 

4. Can I be used in deliverance? Anyone who belongs to Christ and believes that Jesus gave his followers authority to cast out unclean spirits, can cast out evil spirits.  Jesus gave you authority in Mark 16:16-18. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons.” It doesn’t matter if you are a new or old Christian, man or woman, clergy or regular church member, tall or short, experienced or not, what matters is do you believe in Jesus and in his authority given to you to drive out evil spirits from others. This is simple yet complicated because what you believe will be challenged by the unclean spirits to make you give up before the person is set free (Mat.17:19 & 20).

5. Know your Rights and privileges before doing battle. Part of doing deliverance battle is extinguishing the fiery darts of the enemy (thoughts aimed at your mind). If the demon can get you to agree with their lies, they can stop you from helping the person in need (Eph. 6:11-18, Eph. 6:16).

6. Counteract lies with truth. Memorize scriptures. Write down/ memorize scriptures concerning your authority in Christ, the blood of Jesus, forgiveness, and salvation.

7. If possible, interview the subject before the deliverance. Find out clues as to why they or you think they have demonic problems and what the access point was. Here is an incomplete list of clues and access points.

a. Clues:  Sleepless nights, nightmares  Strange things happen around the house.  Hearing voices (malicious, ect,)  Obsessing about sin can’t turn it off.  Self cutting  Hatred of self or others  Violence toward animals or people  Thoughts of suicide  Depression  Uncontrollable rage  Unfounded fear  Accident prone  Can’t read the bible  Uncomfortable around the church (where the Spirit of God is)  Loosing control of behaviors  Black outs, drinking binges, drug binges  Uncontrollable cursing  Body pains which move around while being prayed for  More than one distinct personality in an individual

b. Access points: How doors are opened for demonic influence.  Habitual sins can lead to demonic infestation, especially when the person would like to change but subsequently feels like they have lost control. (ex. Sexual sins, drugs, alcohol, gambling, violence, lying, stealing, ect.).

 Anything occult. (Satanic rituals, white magic, idol worship, new age, meditation, martial arts, yoga, hypnotism, new age, palm reader, astrology, other religions, astroprojection, eight ball, ouiji board, masonry, etc.).  Curses by others. “A curse without a cause will not alight.” Proverbs  Generational sins and curses.  Unforgiveness. (Mathew 6:9-15 – The Lord’s Prayer, Mathew 18:23-35 - Unforgiving Servant)  Sin perpetrated on others (Example: A young person being raped)

8. Take a pen and paper, interview the individual and write down all the access points you can for the subsequent deliverance. 

9. Prior to performing a deliverance, unless it is a spontaneous deliverance, it is important to examine yourself, repent of all sins, and ask for forgiveness and that He would cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I find it helpful to pray in tongues for half an hour. Pray for protection for all involved. Also, if possible, before deliverance, make sure the person is a Christian, if not lead him to salvation!

10.  Know how to conduct yourself during battle. a. Remember. Remember you are dealing with a person as well as a spirit. Reassure   him, before and during the deliverance, everything will be ok. We are to love one another. b. Do not fear the demons. Trust in God’s authority given to you over the demon, and remember the words of Jesus, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:19) c. Command. Command the demon to be bound, not to hurt the person, and not to speak unless spoken to. d. Don’t yell. It is not necessary to yell at a demon to cast it out, as our authority comes by the name of Jesus (It is a temptation to me to do this out of frustration when I deal with a stubborn demon). e. Work with a team. It’s better to have two or more people ministering for support. Command the spirits to leave in the name of Jesus, praying in the Spirit (tongues), listening for Gods directions, praising Him for His victory, speaking scriptural truth to encourage and break strongholds.

f. Asking for a name. You may ask the spirit its name (function) in order to command it out but do not engage in conversation with it. Many people ask the Holy Spirit for the names of the demons instead of asking the demons. g. Repentance. Verbal and sincere repentance by the person being delivered is a key to being and staying delivered. (I repent of this activity, I turn away from it, Lord Jesus please forgive me, and I receive your forgiveness and deliver me from all unclean spirits that have attached to me because of my former sin). h. Worship. Praise music softly playing in the background can be helpful, but not necessary (1 Samuel 16:14-23). i. Forgiveness. Forgiveness of others and yourself is another key to deliverance. Jesus said in the Lords Prayer, if we refuse to forgive, we would not be forgiven. If we are not forgiven, the devil indeed has legal access to torment us. j. Check in with the person. Ask the person being delivered from time to time, what is going on in their mind and body. This will give you clues how to pray. (Ex. If the person has a new physical pain, it’s probably demonic in nature. Also if the person is being told a lie by a spirit, you can speak truth and break the lie.)  k. Looking a person in the eye. I find it is helpful to command the demon to look as you before commanding it to leave. Nothing in the bible says to do this, but it helps me. Also when the person can look at you with out problems, it is a sign that all demons are gone. l. Are you done? Finally, when the person appears to be in their right mind and all the spirits seem to be gone, pray and ask God if there is anything left or hiding. Sometimes you will find some more in some cases. m. Prayer and Fasting. Prayer and fasting is absolutely necessary for some types of deliverances, but in many cases it is not necessary (Mark 9:14-28). n. Beware of pride. Do not get proud and slander the devil or you can get in trouble (2 peter 2:10-11& Jude 1:8-10).  

11.  Post Deliverance. 

a. After you think all the demons have left, read Mathew 12:43-45. “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other

spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. 

b. Tell the person it is very important for their house to be filled and occupied with the Holy Spirit. Pray with them and ask them to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit.  

Then tell them it is important to walk out their healing by not falling into old patterns of sin. “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. John 5:14"  

c. Follow up. Immediately pray a prayer of protection for all involved. When ever possible, call the next day to see how the person is feeling and if everything is ok. Sometimes subsequent secessions are required and short term discipleship is needed. 

12.  Quick 5 step overview. • Pre-deliverance prayer, praying in Spirit, repentance • Pre-deliverance interview, write down possible access point • Pre-deliverance counseling on salvation, repentance, forgiveness • Deliverance: Commanding evil spirits out, listening for direction from Holy Spirit, asking the individual what is happening, discerning when all the demons have gone. • Follow up: check up next day, disciple as needed

13.  Personal notes. a. Demonic manifestations. Certain manifestation occur when demons leaving a persons body. This may consist of such things as yawning, coughing, burping, sighing, throwing up, a bad smell, a pain leaving the body, a scream, or have very few outward manifestations and last for only a few minutes. On the other hand, deliverance may be severe, with voices and many strong demonic manifestations and last many hours. b. Your own manifestations. Stomping, clapping hands, yelling, clicking fingers, in my opinion is only the flesh and does not add or subtract from the deliverance, as it is the authority of the name of Jesus and the Spirit of God which drives out demons. (Manifestations of the Spirit and/or Spirit directed actions are different than a religious habit and are welcome).

c. Growing in understanding. Read a lot of books on deliverance, as there is much to learn. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you. d. Discernment. Pray for the gift of discernment of spirits and/or ask for impartation from other with the gift of discernment. Some people with the gift of discernment see or physically feel the presence of spirits and other just have a knowing of the presence of spirits and what they are. e. Where to send demons. Some people, fearing an exorcized demon will possess another person, command demons to the pit, to go to Jesus for instructions, or somewhere else. Other than the incident where Jesus commanded demons into the pigs, there is no indication in the bible as to where to send them, or our authority to send them anywhere except out of the person. In my opinion, just commanding them out is sufficient, but if you want to tell them where to go, it’s ok with me. Some Ideas I like, are commanding demons to go to the dry places (that’s where Jesus said they go), or to go where Jesus wants them to go.   f. Self-deliverance. For minor deliverances, a believer on himself can do self-deliverance.  g. No deliverance. There are times when people can not get delivered for various reasons i. Some people ask to be delivered but don’t want to repent of their sins. ii. Some people have a love/hate relationship with their demons. They feel lost without them and believe some of the demons are actually their friend. iii. Some people have no desire to be delivered. They just want attention, someone to hear about their problems and complaints.  iv. Some just need prayer, fasting and persistence to be delivered. h. Obsessing over evil. Finally, if you’re the type of person that becomes obsessed with evil spirits you probably shouldn’t be doing deliverance ministry. Jesus told us to rejoice that our names were written in the book of life not because we have authority over demons.