Deliverance from Demons 101

When you minister to a person in bondage, you will almost always encounter a

variety of elements that are involved in keeping the person bound. There are often

unresolved hurts, strongholds, legal grounds and unclean spirits that must be dealt

with before the person is able to come into complete healing and restoration in that

area of their life. Balanced deliverance ministering usually involves much more than

simply casting out demons.

involves the meditating on certain Bible passages and verses on a daily bases. Doing

this is vital to the tearing down of strongholds. For example, if a person suffers from

low self esteem, then it would be beneficial for them to study the Bible passages

which speak about the person whom God has made in us, how much He loves us,

and how we were created in His image. If a person has been seeing God has a cruel

and distant taskmaster, then he or she needs to meditate on scriptures which speak

of the loving nature of God, how Jesus loved us even while we were sinners, the

parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15), etc. The devil builds strongholds by

feeding us lies on regular bases, so we must tear down those strongholds (believed

lies) through feeding our minds on God's Word on a regular bases.

I also believe that they should be serious enough about their relationship with Jesus,

that they can set aside a reasonable amount of time to spend with God on a daily

bases. Ministering to individuals who are not established in the Word can be more

time consuming and burdensome. Much of the overall deliverance process involves

the renewing of their minds according to the Word of God, and therefore there needs

to be a continual washing of the Word (see Ephesians 5:26-27) on regular bases. It

is a lot easier to effectively minister to an individual who is built up spiritually

through a continual relationship with Jesus Christ. However, in some cases, having

this luxury is not possible, as by the time many desperate individuals come through

our doors, there is no time to build themselves up and they need immediate

attention.

Understanding the basic elements of bondage

I have broken the common areas of bondage into four basic groups, and when you

are working with individuals in the deliverance ministry, you will often encounter one

or more of these four areas in any given bondage.

1. Strongholds play a vital role in a vast array of bondages. Tearing down

strongholds is essential as demons rely on them to strength and power in that

person's mind. A stronghold is basically an incorrect thinking pattern that has been

burned into the person's mind. The enemy often works to build these in our minds

through continually injecting thoughts into our minds which are not in sync with

God's Word, and therefore gets us to habitually think along those lines. Other

strongholds are often formed in our minds as we are raised up in a certain

environment, such as a child who feels that all father's are mean, because he was

raised by a cruel and cold father. Strongholds, regardless if they are demonically

inspired or naturally learned, they must be torn down through the renewing of our

minds according to the Word of God.

2. Unresolved hurts must be brought out in the open and healed. A person who has

been hurt through abuse for example, must recognize their unresolved hurt feelings,

and be willing to place them in Jesus' hands so that He can heal them. Holding on to

hurt feelings can hinder the Holy Spirit from being able to effectively minister to that

area of their life. They must also realize the provision that God has for their wounds,

such as how part of Jesus' ministry (which is still alive and well today through the

work of the Holy Spirit) was to heal the brokenhearted (see Luke 4:18). The

individual must allow themself to release the hurt in their heart, and allow the Lord

comfort and heal their wounds.

3. Legal grounds must be cleaned up, as demons can use them as an excuse to

remain. If a person has invited a demonic spirit into their life through sin, then that

sin will remain a legal right for the demon to hang around until the person has

repented and turned from their sin. Sometimes breaking up legal grounds involves

more than simple repentance, such as the breaking of soul ties, renouncing vows

made to Satan, and so fourth. It is important to figure out what the legal grounds

are, so they can be broken. Otherwise, the demon can either put up a fight when

you're trying to cast it out, or if you do cast it out, they can freely return at a later

time.

4. Indwelling demons must be driven out in many cases before the person can

experience a breakthrough in their situation. Why did Jesus cast demons out?

Because otherwise they wouldn't have left the person. While it is possible for demons

to leave once their legal grounds are removed, I would not count on it. Some

demons are more stubborn than others, and require the minister to take the

offensive step of casting them out before they will go.

Uncovering the areas of bondage

Uncovering the roots of the person's bondage is perhaps the most important part of

any deliverance session. If you don't address the root of the problem, the chances of

that person experiencing lasting freedom is remote. This is a very important key in

the overall deliverance process and must not be overlooked.

The best way to go about this is to use a good questionnaire, and ask them specific

questions about their background, their bondage, when it started and so fourth. The

goal here is to get an idea of what the entry point might be, what strongholds can be

found, if there are any unresolved wounds that must be healed and what demons

you are up against. I have two questionnaires that I use, and you are welcome to

use these as well. The first is a very brief miniature questionnaire, where the goal is

to take a basic bondage and find the root quickly. The second is an extensive and

detailed questionnaire that does a great job at digging deep into the person's past to

uncover a wide variety of bondages. I am not going to claim that even my extensive

questionnaire is complete and covers every situation you will encounter, but it is a

great place to start. The Holy Spirit is amazing for uncovering areas of bondage that

we don't think about, so it is always a good idea to welcome the Holy Spirit to speak

to you about their bondage and reveal anything that you might be missing or

overlooking.

Click below to access these questionnaires:

When trying to locate the source or root of a bondage, these top ten questions can

be very helpful and save a lot of time. Think of this as a miniature deliverance

questionnaire.

1. What kind of bondage are you facing? (Fears, depression, voices in your mind,

mental illness, physical illness, mental torment, spiritual torment, etc.)

It's always important to clearly identify the problem, so you know exactly what you

are dealing with.

2. Do you remember when the bondage started? What was happening around the

time this bondage started?

Many bondages can be easily traced back to a particular experience in one's life. If

you can get the person to remember when exactly their bondage started, they will

likely remember what happened that 'triggered' the problem in the first place.

3. Can you see any 'open doors' where the bondage may have entered through?

Give the person you are ministering to a chance to see if they can come up with

anything. They may not be able to come up with anything, or they may be

completely wrong, but it's definitely worth a try.

4. Have you or your ancestors been involved in the occult or any false religions?

Including secret societies such as Freemasonry and also seeking occult power or

knowledge from others, such as having a fortune told, etc.

Countless bondages are rooted in some sort of occult involvement, either by the

person or by their ancestors. False religions are a red flag as well. Freemasonry is

well known for bringing people under demonic bondage.

5. Do you have ancestors or family members who have suffered from a similar kind

of bondage?

This is a good way to begin looking into the possibility of a spirit being handed down

through a generational curse or iniquity.

6. How do you see yourself? (Do you feel guilty, low self-esteem, confident, etc.)

This can help reveal problems with guilt, strongholds, rejection, self-rejection, etc.

7. Is there anything in your life that has been or is currently troubling you?

This is a great conversation starter to help them open up about what's on their mind,

and can be a great way to reveal the struggles they are facing mentally and

spiritually.

8. Do you feel truly loved by God for who you are? (Be honest!)

This is a great way to identify a very common stronghold. Many people don't see God

as a loving Father, and it hinders them from feeling God's love in their life, which

gives the devil a lot of room to play havoc.

9. What things have negatively impacted your life? (Traumatic experiences, deeper

sins, bad relationships, etc.)

Finding out what things have negatively affected a person's life can reveal many

doors that the devil has gained into their lives. Bad relationships can cause

bitterness and cause people to become emotionally built up inside. Unforgiveness is

a known way for a person to become defiled, which is an open door to the devil.

Deeper sins may or may not have been put to rest in the person's mind. If the

person still continues to beat themselves up for it, then they would do good to

confess the sin, forsake it, and receive God's forgiveness of it, as well as forgive

themselves for it. A clean conscience is important to a person's spiritual freedom, but

if a person is unwilling to forgive themselves, they hinder their conscience from

being cleansed.

10. What was your relationship with your parents like when you were growing up?

Many bondages begin in childhood, because a child is much more sensitive and easily

damaged than adults. If a person has had a rough upbringing, it can result in a lot of

unresolved problems later on in life. Any hurt feelings towards ones parents must be

brought out into the open, confessed, then forgiven.

Uncovering open doors to the demonic in a Christian's life

This questionnaire is meant to be used by a knowledgeable deliverance pastor or

minister, because the reasons for each of these questions is not explained in this

questionnaire. A knowledgeable deliverance minister should know the reasons behind

each of these questions, and should be able to discern obvious bondages that these

questions will reveal.

Each and every question does not necessarily indicate a bondage, but will help give a

bigger picture to the person ministering deliverance, and can be helpful in locating

obvious bondages in a person's life. These questions can reveal strongholds, demonic

bondages and legal grounds that may need to be addressed.

Part I: The bondage

1. When did this bondage start?

2. Was there any unusual things that took place (or you did) when this bondage

started?

3. If this bondage started when you were a child: Do you have ancestors who have

suffered from a similar kind of bondage?

4. What kind of bondage are you facing? (Fears, depression, voices in your mind,

mental illness, physical illness, mental torment, spiritual torment, etc.. Please be as

detailed as possible.)

5. What are all the things that have impacted your life? (Parent's death, trauma, a

certain situation that changed your life, anything that 'changed' you.)

Part II: Your ancestor's background

1. Do you have ancestors who have struggled with similar problems or bondages?

2. Did your bondage start as a child and appear to have no reason to be there?

3. Do you have siblings who suffer from similar bondages or oppression?

Part III: Soul ties

1. Have you been involved with extramarital sex? Are you attracted to an ex-lover?

Is he or she a good/godly influence for you?

2. Have you been divorced?

3. Do you feel an unusual attraction to a past boyfriend, girlfriend or lover (who is

obviously not right for you)?

4. Do you let anybody dominate, control, or make your choices you?

5. Have you ever formed a blood covenant with another person? (Blood brothers,

etc.)

6. Have you ever made vows or agreements with somebody in effort to strengthen

the relationship or commit yourself to each other?

7. Do you see any ungodly relationships in your past where gifts were exchanged?

(Are you holding onto something that was given to you from somebody you had an

adultery with, etc.)

8. Have you ever had ungodly relations with an animal?

9. Do you have any pictures in your possession of somebody whom you may have an

ungodly soul tie with? (A picture of you with somebody you had an adultery with,

etc.)

Part IV: Relationship with parents

1. What do you think of your parents?

2. How would you explain your childhood?

3. Where you close to your parents while growing up? If not, why?

4. How would you explain your relationship with your parents? Was it good, bad or

very cold?

5. Did you feel rejection from your parents?

6. Was either of your parents overly passive or controlling?

7. Has either of your parents been divorced? Remarried? Are your parents divorced?

8. How would you describe your relationship with your siblings growing up?

Part V: Rejection and abuse

1. Were your parents married when you were conceived? Were you the right sex?

Did your parents not want you, or want you to be different (gender, etc.) in any

way? If so, explain.

2. Did you feel rejected as a child? As an adult? If so, by whom? Explain.

3. Did you face abuse? What kind (emotional, physical, sexual, etc.) and by whom?

4. Have you faced rejection from your peers, classmates, friends or those around

you?

5. Have you ever been put down, belittled, or made fun of? If so, by whom? Explain.

6. If you have faced rejection or abuse, how did you respond? Do you feel you are

still paying a price for it? If so, how?

7. How do you respond to rejection right now?

8. Do you reject yourself (self-rejection)? If so, why and in what ways?

Part VI: Unforgiveness or bitterness

1. Is there anybody you feel edgy around? (Don't like them, feel anything in your

heart against them, etc.)

2. Do you have anything against anybody? In other words, is there anybody that you

have a hard time demonstrating the love of Christ to?

3. Has anybody wronged you that you haven't forgiven from your heart (thoughts,

feelings, emotions, etc.)?

4. How do your view your siblings, parents, coworkers, etc.? Do you have any hard

feelings against them?

5. Do you make a habit of blaming yourself for everything? Do you obsess over your

mistakes and feel unusually guilty for them?

6. Do you deeply regret things that you've done in your past? Could you kick yourself

over something you've done in your past? If so, explain.

Part VII: Personality

1. Are you a very positive or negative person?

2. Do you feel confident in yourself? If so, why?

3. Do you have a low self esteem? If so, why?

4. Are you domineering or controlling? If so, to whom, and in what ways? Why?

5. Are you an achiever? (A go-getter) If so, in what ways?

6. Do you feel that you are always right and that if everybody did everything your

way, this world would be a better place to live?

7. How do you treat your children? Husband? Are you controlling, passive, etc.?

8. Do you like people to 'look at you' (as in receive attention)?

Part VIII: Emotional health

1. Do you strive to feel accepted? If so, how does this affect your lifestyle? By whom

do you want to feel accepted?

2. Are you always stressed out? If so, why?

3. Do you feel hurt? If so, by whom/what and why?

4. Do you feel good about yourself? If not, why?

5. Do you feel depressed? If so, why? When did it start? Did your parents or

grandparents struggle with depression? If so, then do you know when it started and

why? Do you have siblings who are also struggling? Do you feel your depression is

rational or irrational?

6. Do you struggle with fears? If so, what is it that you fear? (Fear of heights, dying,

being hopeless, failure, never marrying, etc.)

7. Do you worry about things? What things do you worry about? Why?

8. Do you struggle with anger? Do you have a short temper?

9. Do you have any insecurities? If so, explain.

10. Do you feel any self-pity or feel sorry for yourself? Have you ever felt this? If so,

why?

11. Do you find it easy to hate people? If so, over what kinds of things would a

person have to do to make you hate them?

12. Do you have any irrational feelings? If so, what are they?

13. Do you feel like something is wrong with you?

14. Do you feel excessively guilty over anything? Is this a continual problem?

15. Are you very confused and forgetful? (Beyond the normal)

16. Are you aware of any emotional wounds that have affected you?

17. Have you ever been deeply embarrassed over something? What was it?

18. Have you been in or are currently experiencing very difficult (depressing)

circumstances which may cause you to feel hopeless or depressed?

Part IX: Who are you in Christ? And how do you see God?

1. How do you explain your relationship with God?

2. Do you feel you aren't good enough to meet His standards?

3. Do you see Him as a loving father, or a dictator?

4. Do you believe that it's only by the Blood of Jesus that your sins are forgiven? Or

do you feel you need to earn your forgiveness in any way?

5. Do you feel God's love in your life?

6. Do you feel like your sins are forgiven? Or do you feel guilty?

7. Do you feel excessively guilty in everyday life?

8. Do you feel that doing good things, you earn God's love and acceptance?

9. Do you feel that God is angry or upset with you?

Part X: Spoken curses, vows & oaths

1. Have you ever spoken something negative about yourself that has came to past?

For example: "I'm sick and tired..." or "If I don't quit typing, I'm going to get

arthritis!"

2. Has your parents, or those in authority over you spoken out a curse over you? For

example: "You'll never amount to anything!" or "You'll never get out of debt" or

"You're so dumb"

3. Have you ever made a vow out of anger? If so, what? For example: "I'll never let

anybody push me around again!" or "I'm never going to be hurt again!"

4. Have you ever wished to die? Have you ever said it?

5. If you have made any vows or oaths, what are they?

Part XI: Relationships

1. Do you have many friends? What kind of people are they?

2. Do you have a hard time trying to meet new people or make friends?

3. Are you socially outgoing or shy? If so, why?

4. How would you define your relationship with your spouse?

Part XII: Sexuality

1. Have you ever had unholy sex? What kind? (Fornication, adultery, sodomy,

bestiality, with a child, etc.)

2. Have you struggled with lust, fantasy or unholy sexual thoughts? If so, what kind?

3. Have you been attracted to pornography?

4. Do you have homosexual thoughts and desires? If so, have you acted upon those

feelings?

5. How do you feel about your sexuality? (Do you feel dirty about it, or do you feel

it's a wonderful blessing that God's given you?)

6. Do you withhold sex from your spouse or are you fidgety? Do you enjoy a healthy

relationship with your spouse sexually? How does he or she react?

7. Have you ever been raped or sexually abused?

8. Have you ever woke up and felt a sexual presence with you? There are demons

that imitate male and female functions, and stimulate their host (a person) sexually

(beyond the normal 'wet dream').

9. Do you struggle or have you struggled with masturbation?

10. Do you struggle or have you struggled with any other sexual related thoughts,

desires, or bondages?

11. Is there anything sexually that you are ashamed of?

Part XIII: Addictions

1. Do you have any addictions? If so, what kind? (Drugs, alcohol, smoking, eating,

sex, TV, etc.) When did they start?

2. Did anybody else in your family (siblings, ancestors, etc.) have a struggle with

any addictions? If so, what? Who?

3. Have you ever had, or currently have any sort of obsession over anything? If so,

what?

Part XIV: False religions

Examples of false religions: Buddhism, Hindu, Jehovah Witness, Mormonism,

Christian Scientists, eastern religions, etc.

1. Have you ever been involved with any false religions? If so, why, when and how

long? How do you feel about those beliefs now?

2. Have you ever been involved in any secret societies such as Freemasonry? If so,

how deep were you involved?

Part XV: The occult & Satanism

1. Have you ever shown interest in the occult? If so, in what ways? (Read up on it,

dabbled in it, etc.)

2. Do you still feel drawn or attracted to the occult?

3. Have you had any interest in horror or thriller style movies or novels? Are you still

attracted to these things?

4. Have you ever made a vow with the devil? If so, what?

5. Married Satan?

6. Worshipped a demon or Satan?

7. Have you ever put a curse or spell on somebody?

8. Are you aware of any curses or spells placed on you? If so, what? Who did it?

9. Dabbled with an Ouija board? If so, why?

10. Ever been a member of a coven (group of 13 witches)? Explain.

11. Communicated with the dead? Explain.

12. Told somebody's fortune or went to see a fortune teller? Explain.

13. Ever read your horoscope?

14. Watched or been involved in a séance? Explain.

15. Been involved or a victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA)? Explain.

16. Been baptized into a false religion or any other evil baptism? If so, what were

you baptized into? When?

17. Have you ever had a spirit guide?

18. Have you ever been involved with meditation, yoga, karate, or related activities?

19. Were you or anybody in your family superstitious? If so, who?

20. Ever been involved in astral travel? (Out of body)

21. If you have made any vows or oaths, what are they? Were there any sacrifices or

rituals that was accompanied with them?

22. Have you ever made a blood pact before? If so, with whom (including persons,

demons and Satan) and for what purpose?

23. Have you ever partaken in automatic writing, automatic drawing or automatic

painting?

24. Have you ever been involved in Yoga, transcendental meditation, or similar

activities?

25. Have you ever sought healing from a spiritual source other than Jesus Christ?

(New age healing, energy healing, etc.)

26. Any other involvement in the occult? Explain.

Part XVI: Un-confessed sins

1. Are there any un-confessed sins that you have not repented of? (Usually

something you've done, that you know is wrong, but won't admit to it. An abortion,

stealing, etc. are some examples.)

2. Is there anything you've been hiding inside that you haven't confessed?

3. Do you feel excessively guilty over some thing(s) you've done in the past? If so,

what?

Part XVII: Cursed objects

1. Do you have any idols, occult rings, or anything that could hold evil spiritual value

in your home? If so, what? Any objects that hold evil spiritual value must be

destroyed.

2. Do you have any gifts saved from sinful relationships? If so, explain. For example,

if a man gives a woman a personal gift during an adultery, that needs to be sold or

destroyed.

Part XVIII: Severe trauma, abuse & disassociation

1. Have you ever been exposed to extreme abuse or a traumatic experience? Did it

have a drastic effect on your emotional or mental system? If so, what happen? How

did it affect you?

2. Have you ever disassociated or been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder

(DID) or Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)?

3. Are you aware of any alters (other personalities) that you may have? (If so, tell

me about them)

4. Do you have a memory gap where you cannot remember a certain time of your

life?

5. Do you have false memories of things that really didn't take place?

6. Have you ever been in a car accident or other traumatic situation? Have you ever

witnessed a tragedy in real life?

Part XIX: Weaknesses

1. Do you struggle with any habitual sins? If so, what? Do you want to break those

bad habits?

2. Do you struggle with any weaknesses such as lust, anger, hate, etc.? If so, what?

Do you know where they came from or how they got started? Do you want to break

free from those weaknesses?

Part XX: Pregnancy issues

1. Have you ever said something along the lines of, "I will never have children"?

2. Have you ever had an abortion or attempted one?

3. Have you ever had incest or ungodly sexual relations with somebody related to

you? (See Leviticus 20:19-21, as this can cause a curse to land upon you which

needs to be broken)

Part XXI: Other things to look for

1. Have you ever tried drugs? If so, how much, and how did it affect you? Why did

you try drugs?

2. Have you ever thought about or attempted suicide?

3. Do you have any physical or mental disabilities, diseases or illnesses? Explain.

4. Do you want, and are willing to be delivered? Are you willing to give up those

demon spirits and maybe make some lifestyle changes in order to keep your

deliverance?

5. Do you experience unusual confusion settle upon you as you try to pray and read

the Bible?

6. What kind of music do you like? (Please list all styles of music you currently enjoy,

and give examples in each category you list, such as some names of artists and

songs)

7. Have you previously enjoyed hard rock, metal, acid, alternative, rap, new age, or

any other kind of worldly music? (Please provide some examples of artists and songs

from each genre (type/style) of music you list)

8. Have you had any nightmares or weird experiences at night while supposedly

sleeping?

9. Have you ever been in a trance or had an out of body experience?

10. Have you ever noticed time slipped right out from under you? For example, you

look at your watch and it's 7:00pm, then you look again what seemed like 15

minutes later and it's 2:00am. This is a sign of a trance.

11. Have you ever touched or kissed a dead body? If so, explain whom and why and

what happened afterwards.

12. Do you feel that you somehow have to earn your forgiveness? Do you 'wonder' if

your sins are truly forgiven -- all of them? Are you aware of any signs of legalism or

religious spirits operating in your mind?

13. Do you have any physical infirmities, sickness or diseases? If so, please list

them.

14. Are you on any medications? If so, please explain.

15. Have you ever had any other kind of weird encounter with the spiritual realm?

Addressing strongholds

First of all, what exactly is a stronghold? A stronghold is not demonic (although

demons are often found actively trying to build them), but rather an incorrect

thinking pattern in our mind. The subject of where strongholds comes from is beyond

the scope of this teaching, but let's try to group the various sources into two

categories:

1. Natural development based on circumstances and lack of knowledge. An example

of this type of stronghold is when a person grows up having a cruel father, then as a

result, they view all other fathers the same way. This thinking pattern is often

transferred to the way which they perceive their heavenly Father, which is a very

destructive stronghold.

2. Demonically inspired and developed strongholds. These are usually found along

side demonic bondages. What happens is that the person has an unclean spirit which

is actively whispering in their thought life (injecting thoughts into their mind), and

eventually the person begins to believe what the enemy is telling them. Once a

person begins to believe what the enemy is telling them, they begin to imagine it in

their mind (vain imagination) and a stronghold is formed.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the

flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the

pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that

exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every

thought to the obedience of Christ."

We are never told to cast out strongholds, but we are told to tear them down, be

transformed by the renewing of our mind and cast down vain imaginations. This is

how we deal with strongholds. If the enemy builds them through continually

reminding us of his lies, then we need to go in the opposite direction to un-do his

web of bondage. We need to start meditating on God's Word on a daily bases, so

that the truth will sink into our minds and begin to change he way we think.

Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the

renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and

perfect, will of God."

Another factor to keep in mind is that if there is a spirit which is actively working to

build strongholds in a person's mind, not only is it important for them to tear down

that stronghold(s), but it is equally important to cast out the spirit that is at work

here... otherwise, they will spend the rest of their lives waging war against that

stronghold as the demon continues to work on them to rebuild it. The minute they

give up, the stronghold is quickly rebuild. That is why you really cannot separate the

work of casting out demons and tearing down strongholds... they often go hand in

hand.

The bottom line is that strongholds are based on incorrect information that has been

programmed into our minds, so naturally the cure is to re-program our minds with

the truth in God's Word. Meditating on specific scriptures that come up against the

stronghold we are facing is an important step to tearing down that stronghold. We

must also make a choice to cast down the vain imaginations that the enemy has

planted in our minds, and then accept what God's Word has to say instead.

Additional reading:

- How to tear down strongholds

- Identifying strongholds

- Dealing with guilt

- The power of your thoughts

- Strongholds

- Spiritual warfare and strongholds

- Most popular strongholds (Part 1 of 2)

- Most popular strongholds (Part 2 of 2)

- Defeating guilt and shame

Healing unresolved wounds

In this type of ministry, you will encounter individuals who have been wounded or

hurt in the past, yet their wounds have never been healed. When we have a physical

wound, one of the best things we can do to speed up the healing process is to clean

out the wound, then let the air get to it. This same principal is true with emotional

wounds; one of the biggest mistakes we can make is to keep a wound from being

healed by keeping it to ourselves and hold on to our pain. That is a sure-fire way to

prevent healing from taking place. It's as if we treasure our wound when we hold it

close to us and refuse to let it go! Don't be fooled, it is simply the devil's trick to

keep our wounds from healing. Why? Because a wounded spirit is vulnerable to

infection if it does not receive proper healing!

We are never to suppress or even try to forget about our wounds, we are to seek

healing for them. Unresolved hurts must be brought out in the open and healing

must be received. Jesus is waiting to heal the wounds, but the person must be ready

to receive (or allow) that healing to take place. A person who has been hurt through

abuse for example, must recognize their unresolved hurt feelings, and be willing to

place them in Jesus' hands so that He can heal them. Holding on to hurt feelings can

hinder the Holy Spirit from being able to effectively minister to that area of their life.

They must also realize the provision that God has for their emotional healing, such

as how part of Jesus' ministry (which is still alive and well today through the work of

the Holy Spirit) was to heal the brokenhearted (see Luke 4:18). The individual must

release the hurt in their heart, and allow the Lord to comfort and heal their wounds.

God's Word tells us to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us:

1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

God's Word is also clear that one of the things that Jesus did for us was carry our

sorrows, which literally translates to afflictions, meaning grief, pain and sorrow. To

be afflicted basically means that you have been injured and have pain, and since the

literal translation here also includes grief and sorrow, this is clearly speaking of

emotional damage. Just think about it, if Jesus shed His blood just for our physical

healing (Isaiah 53:5), would He not also make provision for our emotional healing as

well? Of course He did!

Isaiah 53:4, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows (affliction -

grief, pain & sorrow): yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."

Throughout the healing process, it is very beneficial for the person receiving

emotional healing to seek intimacy with God. If they have a hard time drawing close

to God, for example, if they are afraid of Him, then there may be strongholds

present that need to be torn down. Many are afraid of God to the point where they

are unable to draw near to Him, and this serves as a wall of division to keep them

from knowing their Father's love intimately.

Additional reading:

- How to forgive even the worse offenses

- Keys to a thankful heart (3 part series)

- A love relationship with Jesus

Addressing legal grounds

Properly breaking up legal ground also plays a vital role in this type of ministry.

Sometimes, even if a demon is present, they can leave once their legal grounds have

been broken up. However, I would never count on it... while it happens every now

and then, if it happened all the time, there would be no point in casting out demons!

A legal ground is something in our lives that has given an unclean spirit the

permission or right to involve itself in our life, body or mind (soul). A good example

of how a legal grounds works is found in Matthew 18:23-35, where Jesus talks about

unforgiveness. Jesus wraps up the story by saying that if we are unforgiving,

tormenters are allowed access to us:

Matthew 18:34-35, "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till

he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do

also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their

trespasses."

Unforgiveness, which gives birth to bitterness, is known in the Bible to spiritually

defile a person:

Hebrews 12:15, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any

root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."

Things such as unforgiveness, unrepented sin, ungodly soul ties, foolish spoken

vows, curses, and so fourth can give unclean spirits the right to hang around and

influence us. These things must be cleaned up in order for the person to experience

lasting genuine freedom. Legal grounds can be cleaned up through repentance,

renunciation, breaking soul ties, etc. Even physical possessions can give demons

rights into our homes (Deuteronomy 7:26), so it is also important to destroy and

remove any cursed or ungodly items from our homes as well. Here is a brief look at

some of the most common means for spiritual defilement and how to break the legal

grounds:

1. Unrepented sins must be repented of and turned from. No if's and's or but's about

it. Trying to minister freedom to somebody who is not ready to give up that sin in

their life is not ready to be delivered.

2. Ungodly soul ties are formed when a person has an ungodly relationship with

another person or makes a foolish covenant with them. Becoming a blood brother

with somebody will create a strong soul tie that must be renounced and broken.

Ungodly sexual relationships will surely create soul ties that must be broken. The key

to breaking an ungodly soul tie is to first repent of any sins committed in the

development of that soul tie, and then the soul tie must be renounced by the person

receiving ministry, and then broken in Jesus' name. If gifts or physical items were

involved in that relationship, then it may be necessary to destroy, give away or

throw them out as well. Gifts between a man and woman involved in an adultery

should be sold, given away or thrown out as they can symbolize that relationship.

3. Foolish vows are known to bind the soul, and must be repented of, verbally taken

back (renounced) and broken in Jesus' name.

4. Cursed possessions, such as occult books, Satanic symbols, etc. must be thrown

out. For God's Word is clear that bringing a cursed item into your home can bring a

curse upon yourself: Deuteronomy 7:26, "Neither shalt thou bring an abomination

into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it,

and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing."

5. Spoken curses, such as, "I'll never get out of debt!" must be renounced (taken

back verbally) and broken in Jesus' name.

These are a few examples of how you would go about breaking up legal grounds. It

is often helpful to stop and ask the demon if it has a right to be there, as they may

reveal something to you that the person either forgot about, or has not told you.

Additional reading:

- Demonic legal rights

- The root of bitterness

- Breaking our hedge (Defilement explained)

- Soul ties

- Generational curses

- How to break ungodly soul ties

Casting out demons

Casting out demons is a very simple process. It is a matter of knowing and

exercising your authority through Christ in faith, and commanding the demons to

come out of the person. You may command them by name, or more generally such

as, "I command the demonic spirit behind this bondage to come out in Jesus' name!"

If you know the demon's name, then I would recommend using it as they seem to

respond and take instructions better than if you address them by name. Jesus cast

out demons both by name, and by simply calling out the unclean spirit:

Mark 9:25, "When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the

foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of

him, and enter no more into him."

Mark 5:8, "For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit."

And then there was a time when a demon was manifesting and Jesus commanded it

to come out, without even referring to it as an unclean spirit... Jesus simply talked to

it just as one person would talk to another:

Luke 4:33-35, "And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an

unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to

do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who

thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and

come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of

him, and hurt him not."

The actual principal of casting out demons is very simple and strait forward. The

basic requirement is that you are a Christian, you know the authority you have in

Christ over those spirits, and that you are prepared to exercise your authority

through faith. It's that simple!

Demon groupings are also something to keep an eye out for, as in most cases of

deliverance there are more than one spirit that must be addressed. For example, a

person may have a spirit of anger, but also spirits of hate and rage that are also in

that person. Be on guard for the doorkeeper, or the spirit that may have let the

other ones in. For example, a person may have been angered one time, which

opened them up to a spirit of anger, then that spirit worked the person up to hate

somebody (which welcomed a spirit of hate), then the person began to think of how

they can get revenge on that person (thus welcoming a spirit of rage). It is

important to be on guard for related spirits when doing deliverance. For example, if I

found a spirit of murder, I would also keep an eye out for spirits of anger, hate and

rage.

Additional reading:

- Casting out demons

- Why cast out demons?

- Who can cast out demons?

- Using Jesus' name

- Keys to Biblical faith

- Symbolic Representations (Powerful Biblical tools!)

- Your spiritual authority

- Binding and loosing

- Preaching the FULL gospel

Maintaining their deliverance

After a person has received deliverance and freedom from various bondages in their

life, it is important for them to take precautionary steps to ensure that they maintain

or hold their freedom. I am not fearful of demons coming back every time we turn

around, but it is always a good idea to be on guard in case they try to make an

attempt to re-enter.

One of the ways a demon may attempt to re-enter is to re-gain it's legal grounds in

that person's life. In such as case, the spirit may work at tempting the person to reopen

the door to them again, which will allow them to freely take up residence again.

This is where the person needs to be firmly rooted and grounded in God's Word and

have a daily relationship with Him so that they will recognize this tactic and be on

guard for it. It is important for a person not to receive deliverance only to turn

around and go back to the way they were living before (fall right back into their old

sins). When this happens, they can basically re-open that door all over again, and

you can bet that the demons would love to take advantage of this opportunity to reenter

that person.

Another way which they may try to re-enter is through fear. Let's say a woman is

delivered from a spirit of infirmity, which caused some sort of physical discomfort...

then after her deliverance (where she is completely healed), suddenly that pain

seems to have come back. While it is possible that she wasn't truly delivered in the

first place, usually the case is that the demon is attempting to make her believe that

either it's simply returned, or that she was never delivered in the first place. Once

the person accepts this lie, the demon makes himself to home... all based on the fact

that he deceived the person into believing that it just came back on them. So how do

we prevent this? First, we educate the person on their authority as a believer, and

instruct them to rebuke the demon and command it to depart from them the minute

it tries to re-appear. If the legal grounds have been broken, then there's no need to

go back through that process all over again, so now the goal is simply to exercise our

authority against it and command it to leave. It's a shame for a believer to just let

the demon back in without standing against it, after all that Jesus went through so

that we could be set free and have authority over them!

One important key is to look back at how the demon entered the person in the first

place. Was it through emotional wounds or pain? Was it through anger? Then it is

important to be on guard for that demon to attempt to tempt them in these same

areas again after their deliverance. The demon may setup a circumstance for that

person to become angry again, so that their door is re-opened all over again. The

demon may try to get the person to think about how so and so abused them, and

remind them of the old wound (which was supposed to be given over to Jesus). It is

important that we be on guard especially in the areas which originally opened the

doors in the first place.

Perhaps one of the most vital things a person can do once they are delivered, is to

cultivate a daily relationship with the Holy Spirit, for this will fill up the gap or

emptiness that those demons left in them. I also recommend getting the person

baptized in the Holy Spirit once they are delivered, which will set them ablaze for

Jesus!

Reverend Father Martin McGuire

1104 Jackson St

West Plains, MO

65775