Ministering Deliverance

1. It is always best to minister in groups to encourage each other; to allow some to minister whilst others pray or sing praises and still others listen to God.

2. It is possible to minister quietly but firmly at all times.

3. It is helpful to sit in a circle with the leader of the group facing the afflicted person.

4. It is better to minister in a private place - preferably in some room in the church building, where non-interruption may be ensured.

5. In the course of ministry some secret or sin may come to light. Those ministering must avoid any appearance of shock or disgust if such is mentioned.

6. The afflicted person needs to feel secure in the love and confidentiality of the group.

7. A prayer may be offered for protection through the blood of Jesus Christ over all who are present and the members of their families just where they are.

8. It may help for someone in the group to lay one hand lovingly on the person's shoulder to give him/her a sense of assurance. The dignity of the person being ministered to should be preserved, though this may not always be possible.

9. The ministry may begin with a brief dialogue covering the following areas:

(a) Personal occult involvement.

(b) Family history - especially of those who died immediately prior to the onset of the symptoms.

(c) Any false religion, cult involvement or Masonic links.

(d) Any sexual liaison with another demonised person or one with occult involvement.

(e) General case history.

10. The afflicted person will need to repent and renounce all work of the occult and of the flesh (Galatians 5:14-21 and Colossians 3:5-10). If these are not dealt with, they can become demonic strongholds - areas of resistance to the Holy Spirit's ministry of deliverance.

11. One of the group will call down the Holy Spirit upon the one seeking help. The afflicted person will be encouraged to invite the Holy Spirit to come into his/her life, welcome him, and think God for his coming.

12. Sometimes by the infusion of the Holy Spirit (a power-encounter may be manifest), demons are driven out by the same operation.

13. It is possible to exercise a degree of deliverance ministry without any mention of demons at all. The writer has sometimes simply addressed the 'darkness' in a person and commanded it to leave. The affliction may be commanded to go or its power broken in Christ's name. It is important to remember this when any mention of demonic activity would be counter-productive.

14. The afflicted person should co-operate and share the nature of the spirit's activity as far as he/she can recognise it, where it is and what it does. The ministry group will need to keep their eyes open - even in pray - to see what God is doing to the person or may be saying to the others in the group.

15. When ministering, we may address the afflicted person or the evil spirit and it is necessary to specify to whom we are speaking.

16. The voice should be clear and commanding, but to speak too loudly or excitedly is undesirable and is often counter-productive.

17. In addressing the evil spirit, it is good to look straight into the afflicted person's eyes, (Matt 6:22) through sometimes the eyes will roll upwards, hiding the pupils.

18. The spirit may speak aloud through the afflicted's own voice or within the afflicted's own mind, especially to maintain 'a lie', such as 'I don't have to go', 'Don't believe him', etc. The writer has heard a demon clearly say he was not a demon!.

19. When the spirit speaks, the afflicted person's own mind is often somehow 'blanked' out.

20. It is important to sense God's leading before beginning any deliverance ministry. To minister to someone who is unwilling to continue in obedience to Christ is to risk the last state being worse than the first (Luke 11:26).

21. Demons may try every delaying device or tactic, pretending they will not come out right up to the list minute-but they have to yield to Christ's name, the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, and prayer.

22. In the case of a spirit manifestly resisting the command to come out in the name of Jesus, it may be better to stop the proceedings and ask the Lord to reveal what foothold the enemy still has in the afflicted person's life.

23. Spirits get weary and very fearful (this sometimes manifests itself in the afflicted person).

24. Experience in this ministry will help in discerning when the spirit has left the afflicted person. This could be manifest in a variety of ways. When Jesus delivered the deaf and dumb boy, 'The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead"' (Mark 9:26). But the act of deliverance may simply produce an immediate sense of peace.

25. In ordering an evil spirit to leave, it is wise, for some people's peace of mind (though not essential), to command the spirit to go to the place God has prepared for it.

26. The afflicted person should put his own will to his deliverance and should him/herself verbally renounce the spirit, telling it to go. 'Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you' (James 4:7).

27. Experience would indicate that there are sometimes more than one spirit to cast out. (Mark 5:9-10; Luke 8:2).

28. Forgiveness and repentance are normally a prerequisite, but not necessarily so.