Deliverance by the Holy Spirit: How to Break Demonic Bondage with Prophetic Accuracy

“The Holy Spirit is a healing spirit. When the Holy Spirit is present, anything is possible.” —Reinhard Bonnke

I led a team of deliverance ministers on an assignment in Georgia several years ago.

The assignment was to train an advanced deliverance school by equipping leaders across the state to begin building deliverance teams in their churches and areas. The school was outstanding, and many people received great freedom. Typically, we would offer a question-and-answer session following each ministry session or lesson. The number-one question we would get asked is, “How do we know what demon, curse, or infirmity we are dealing with if the client does not know?” This question came as the students watched my team flow in ministry and prophetically address demons and infirmities that the client was unaware of, which resonated deeply within their spirits. Our answer was always the same. “You must first rest in the Holy Spirit and always listen to His direction. Anything else is the result of the flesh.”

“It is important to discern the difference between acts of the understanding and those of the will. Understanding with the mind is of little value. The intent of the heart is all important. We should concern ourselves only with loving and delighting ourselves in God.” —Brother Lawrence

Proverbs 4:7 tells us to get wisdom, but at all costs, get understanding. There is great wisdom in praying for people and seeing captives set free. There is great wisdom in forgiveness, inner healing, and breaking generational curses. But all of those practiced without the understanding granted only by the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit are simply good sounding words.

Hosting the glory of His presence establishes the atmosphere for His divine wisdom and understanding. As the Scripture says, there is a cost in gaining understanding. What is the price we pay? The immeasurable time in His presence opens doors, breaks barriers, drives out demons, breaks curses, and sets the captives free.

Have you ever said, “I struggle to find even fifteen minutes for prayer daily”? Or perhaps, “I find it hard to pray for as long as I should.” These are not excuses; they are shining a spotlight on the one deficiency you have in your relationship with Jesus. Try to recall an event where you sat at a table with strangers. You try to have a conversation but realize that because you don’t really know these people, relatability is challenging outside of time spent together. So, generally, small talk wins the moment and saves everyone from the uncomfortable, socially unacceptable awkwardness of public silence.

Now recall an event where you were with a group of your peers or friends. You’ve known these people for a long time and have experienced many good times together. The conversation flows naturally from a place of knowing. Each of you understands the other, and the conversation comes easy because the breadbasket of friendship has been filled. The presence of God operates on this same principle. Those who have not first rested in His presence are the ones who uncomfortably sit in their prayer time with nothing but small talk to get them by.

This entire book is based upon Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Those who have rested in the presence of God have developed the mind of Christ and have, over time, come to truly know the Holy Spirit’s presence, personality, nuances, and even His humor. Perhaps the reason why praying poses a challenge to some individuals is due to the insufficient fostering of their relationship with the Holy Spirit.

If this resonates with you in any way, I urge you to be silent and still. The Lord will speak from that stillness, enabling you to develop a profound relationship with your King. Explore a fresh approach to connecting with God that allows you to let go of the pressure to pray for an extended period. Remove that clock, and give Him your silence. Soon, you will find your relationship blooming with depth and understanding. From that understanding comes the most incredible wisdom direct from the throne room of Heaven.

I was attending a conference of the International Freedom Group in Colorado alongside many prominent deliverance ministers. Pasqual Urrabazo always ministers powerfully and under the great anointing of the Holy Spirit. As is typical during deliverance conferences, space is given for God to move and for deliverance to break out in the meeting. As ministry began to occur among the people, Pasquale could be heard saying, “Take a deep breath, and release it. One of the ways demons come out is by the breath.” As soon as the person he spoke to obeyed, the demon released its grip, and the person was free. While this example is not directly related to meditation per se, this demonstration highlights the principle addressed earlier in this book that in partnership with the Holy Spirit, the Ruach breath of God brings healing.

I Can’t Hear God’s Voice

That was where we were stuck. I will refer to this person as Sally. As we were ministering deliverance over her, it was revealed that she was dealing with a spiritual blockage. She said, “I can’t hear God’s voice anymore.” Having lived her life for the last several years in the quiet, she has been unable to truly connect with the voice of God. It had been was that it brought her closer to her Creator and Father through a restored relationship. Sally now has the freedom and understanding to nurture her rekindled relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Sally’s story does not represent a singular event. I am so confident that the Holy Spirit will speak that I set an expectation with every client that they will experience the voice of the Lord during each session. The Holy Spirit has always been gracious to meet us when we honor Him and faithfully host His presence.

“When honor is given it unlocks our heavenly Father’s glory. What a beautiful world our honoring words and actions can create.” —Rebecca Greenwood, Glory Warfare

Inner Healing

They all got into a boat and began to cross over to the other side of the lake. And Jesus, exhausted, fell asleep. Suddenly a violent storm developed, with waves so high the boat was about to be swamped. Yet Jesus continued to sleep soundly. The disciples woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We’re going to die!” But Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you gripped with fear? Where is your faith?” Then he stood up and rebuked the storm and said, “Be still!” And instantly it became perfectly calm (Matthew 8:23-26 TPT).

“I am” are the words the Lord spoke to me as I meditated in His presence. I had asked Him for direction concerning the application of meditation to the ministry of inner healing. “I am,” was all He said to me. This is to say He exists everywhere, He is present in all time, and He is the personification of abiding. Then I was given a vision of Jesus sleeping as the boat He was on was caught in the storm. I used to believe that Jesus must have been below deck lying on a comfort- able bed, and the waves may have lulled Him to sleep. But the Bible mentions nothing about the boat having a cabin or room beneath the deck. According to Mark’s account in chapter 4, verse 38, Jesus was on the stern of the boat when He fell asleep. When the disciples approached Him during the storm, we are told that Jesus stood up and rebuked the storm. Jesus was not below deck, aloof to His surroundings. He was in the midst of it, likely being pummeled along with everyone else. Yet He was at peace, resting from His exhaustion. When Jesus rebuked the storm, He said, “Be still,” and the waters were immediately calm from obedience.

What does this tell us about inner healing? First, Jesus is our Anchor, and He is the Foundation on which everything else is built. Jesus’s presence will always calm the storm, bringing healing and restoration to the tumult and trauma of life. Bringing the presence of God into your moments of pain and grief always calms the storm and opens the door for Him to reveal and heal any trauma, wound, or pain.

When the disciples approached Jesus, they were distraught and incredulous toward Jesus. They acted as though the answer to their problem was ignoring the situation. In truth, Jesus taught them and us a valuable lesson that day. In the midst of our storms, He is present. In the midst of our chaos, He is here, and in the midst of our pain, He is waiting for us to come to the place of rest with Him on the stern of the boat and let Him remove the trauma, pain, and chaos from our hearts.

The stern of a boat holds significance as this is the place commonly used for lounging, resting, and sitting. But more importantly, this is the location from which the boat is steered and controlled. Jesus was in the very seat of control He needed to be in at that moment. He was modeling the principle for us that when we rest in Him, He will partner with us to command our storms to “be still” and provide direction through the chaos.

From that lesson comes the practice of inner healing. It is almost too simple and a process that can be done at any time in the privacy of your prayer room. As discussed, the process begins with deep Ruach breaths through the nose. Invite the Holy Spirit and say, “Holy Spirit, thank You for Your presence; You are welcome here. You are welcome in my mind, and my trauma, and my memories. Would You show me an area You would like to heal today?”

Perhaps you already have a moment that you would like the Holy Spirit to heal. Trust Him, and let Him take you to the area He directs. He might directly address the moment on your mind, but be obedient and go with Him wherever He leads. A deeper connection is likely to exist, possibly one of which you are unaware. Do not relive the memory or ask Jesus to join you in the memory. He is already present with you on the stern of the boat.

Ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to reveal about this moment. He will uncover any lies that have crept in and taken residence in your heart. Are there any people involved in this moment that require forgiveness? Now is the time to forgive and unlink yourself from the pain of the moment. Forgiveness allows the Holy Spirit to come in and replace the lies with truth. Once the Holy Spirit has uncovered the lie you believed in the moment of trauma, ask Him, what is the truth? Allow Him to gently reveal the truth as He removes the lie and heals the pain of the wound. Healing begins and concludes with an understanding of I AM. The understanding comes when we partner with Him in the stillness, intentionally quieting our mind and inviting Him into the darkest areas to shine brightly.