From the beginning of creation, God created man to have fellowship with Him and one another (Genesis 2-3). After man’s fall, due to disobedience, God continued to desire that man seek fellowship with Him. From Genesis to Revelation, we see God orchestrating His plan so that His people are set free from bondage to worship and serve Him and bring glory to Him.
God sent His Son Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins and through His death, burial, and resurrection we are empowered by Holy Spirit with the confidence and victory we need to live for Jesus Christ. Jesus came not only to die for our sins, but to also preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 14:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2). Through the power of the Cross and our belief in Christ Jesus, we receive forgiveness of sin, eternal life, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, deliverance, healing, etc., that He may be glorified (Isaiah 61:3; John 3:16; Matthew 28; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:48).
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He was seen transacting in the lives of people to bring deliverance and healing. It seems very symbolic in Matthew 21:1-4 and Luke 19:28-31 that Jesus sent His disciples to untie a colt because He had need of it. On this fresh unused colt, Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the people hailed, “Hosanna, save us.” Deliverance and Inner Healing is likened to the colt being untied in that it addresses the areas of our lives that have us tied (bondage), which has rendered us unusable or only partially available for use. Jesus has need that each of us be untied, healed, delivered, and set free that He may use our lives so that God, the Father may be glorified.
Deliverance allows us to be set free from spiritual bondages and barriers (demonic activity; strongholds; things that allow Satan access into our lives – also referred to as Legal Ground – such as disobedience, unforgiveness, inner vows and judgments, traumas, curses, etc.). These bondages and barriers hold us back from walking in the victory that Jesus won on the Cross for us. Deliverance uproots demonic strongholds and drives out evil spirits by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and helps to activate the process of Inner Healing.
Inner Healing is prayer and spiritual counsel for sanctification and transformation, which enables us to pick up our Cross daily, die to ourselves, and walk in the fullness of life in Christ Jesus. Deliverance and inner healing work hand in hand in that it involves going through the process of confessing our sins, repenting/turning from our sins, forgiving those who have wronged us and forgiving ourselves, then receiving cleansing, restoration, healing, and transformation, which frees us to more effectively apply the Word of God to our lives (Matthew 16:24-26).
Prayer: “Search me, O’ God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). In Jesus’ Name. Amen.