Guidelines for Ministering Deliverance, Part 1
Praying for deliverance is something that must be done with encouragement, acceptance and love.
To deliver someone, demons must be driven away and access doors closed to prevent the return of the evil spirits. Access doors can be opened by hurts, sins and unforgiveness and will remain open if these feelings are not dealt with in a hopeful, loving way.
The Person Is The Priority
When we minister deliverance, we are ministering to a person, not a demon. As you minister, counsel the person in order to bring forth the truth. Minister quietly, avoiding flamboyant demonstrations of warfare. Satan loves to make a scene and will try to humiliate and torment in the midst of deliverance. We want to rob him of every opportunity to do so. Bottari teaches: “Deliverance is not about shouting! It is focused on discovering what it is that is giving the enemy authority to remain in a person’s life.”
Always give the individual priority. Recognize and be sensitive to the fact that the person you are praying for may have lost hope of being set free after having spent years in bondage. Remain faithful, steady and comforting. Provide a loving, quiet environment for deliverance. Deliverance can be a long process. Do not try to rush through it.
Taking Authority Over Manifestations
The next step in ministering deliverance involves recognition of manifesting spirits. If a spirit manifests, command it to be quiet and submit to you “in the name of Jesus.” You take authority over a spirit when you order it to submit in Jesus’ name. If the person you are praying for does not seem to understand the circumstances, reassure them that you are speaking to the spirit that is manifesting.
The spirit may manifest by causing the person you are praying for to growl, whine, argue, threaten or contort. Do not speak to the spirit unless it is to command it to submit in the name of Jesus. Ministry should be done in a quiet place where there is little distraction. Maintain authority and communicate clearly.
Determining Sincerity
When you have quieted any manifesting spirits and established communication with the person, it is time to ask them if they want to be free and to determine if they are sincere in their request to be set free. They must be sincere or the bondage can and will likely return. If you find that the person does not want deliverance and wants to continue with the lifestyle holding them in bondage, do not pray for deliverance. Provide love and encouragement and end the session until they truly wish to be set free.
Accepting Jesus as Lord And Savior
If the person is sincere and earnestly desires to be set free, then it is time to ask them if they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is important because if they are a believer, the Holy Spirit will help them stay free. If they are not a believer, bondage can and likely will return. If they are not a believer, offer to lead them to Christ. If you cannot, then bless them instead and encourage them to continue to consider accepting Jesus as Lord.
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The Interview Phase
Begin the interview process with questions about relationships, specifically about the person’s mother and father, and continue from there. Look for areas where forgiveness may be necessary, where repentance may help break bondage. Look for hurts, sins, feelings of rejection or fear. Seek to learn more about what the person’s parents were like. Ask questions such as, “How did they treat each other?”
Any hurts that are revealed will need to be acknowledged and forgiven. Consider whether a curse is involved if the person has persistent difficulty in an area of life. Also, remember that fear is an entry point for many different spirits and an underlying problem in many illnesses. Do not stir up demons. Keep them quiet.
Closing the Doors
When you feel that the Holy Spirit has revealed everything, you are ready to begin closing the open doors. If possible during the interview process, have someone keep notes of all the doors that need to be closed. Remember, only one person should minister deliverance. All other team members should pray silently.
The process of closing doors always begins with forgiveness. Rather than asking the person whom they need to forgive, ask them what hurts they have. Start by having the person forgive all those who have hurt them. It is important to be specific. Because it can often be painful to relive past hurts, provide comfort, hope, protection and love. When every hurt has been forgiven, ask the person you are praying for to open their mind to any other hurts the Holy Spirit may still want to show them.
After all hurts have been revealed and forgiven, have the person release to God each and every person who has hurt them. If the person you are praying for is unable to forgive, do not proceed with deliverance; forgiveness must be given in order to be received. Bondage can be broken only when forgiveness is given. {eoa}
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