Everything is not a demon. Every problem or stronghold is not a demonic issue that needs to be cast out.
As a deliverance minister, I see people hop from ministry to ministry seeking deliverance. I acknowledge that some ministries may not have gone deep enough, and people have merited seeking out another deliverance minister. However, we also have a part to play in our deliverance, and not everything is a demon. By addressing everything as a demonic spirit, I believe we create deliverance junkies hopping around ministries, conferences and online teachings and prayer lines to get their next and latest or strongest demon cast out. It is not just about casting out a demon. It is about cultivating a lifestyle of purity, holiness, love and dedication to the Lord.
When we are more focused on the demon and the problem, we miss the mark. We spend years trying to get free and root out the strongman. We focus so much on the challenge facing us and the self-condemnation of what is wrong with us that we aren’t looking at what we do have.
Stop looking back at the problem for a moment and transition your thinking. Now, take a quick look back at the positive and how far you have come. Look at what you gained so far and not where you ultimately need to go. We get so occupied with discovering what is wrong in searching for our deliverance that we don’t see what is right. We don’t acknowledge the progress we’ve made, the faith we’ve built and the spiritual growth we have achieved.
People stay stuck in a cycle:
— “I need deliverance.”
— “it’s not deep enough.”
— “They didn’t do it right.”
— “I still have ground to gain.”
It is a fact you probably still have freedom to obtain. However, knowing the ground we’ve gained and where we do have faith is freedom. It produces liberation and deliverance. There was a time, even as a deliverance minister, I was so occupied with receiving release over one area of my life that I neglected to see the faith I had in the same place the enemy was occupying me with bondage.
In one moment, in a matter of minutes, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the attack was so severe because it was the place I had radical faith. I could stand and believe in this one area more than anyone else I knew. The enemy and, honestly, my flesh was so focused on what I still needed deliverance from that I couldn’t see all the ground I gained and faith I had. In one moment, with one piece of revelation when I allowed the Spirit to reveal, everything changed. It wasn’t all demonic. I believe I received the deliverance from evil spirits to my problem years ago. The challenge was I wasn’t walking in faith. I wasn’t capturing the thought or changing the way I handled these situations when confronted with them. I had received freedom. I wasn’t focusing on it.
I believe in the world today, many people have received freedom. Still, they are so occupied by a lack of renewal of thoughts or changed behavior patterns that they still blame demonic spirits instead of the discipline of the flesh. We cannot blame everything on a demon. It leaves us waiting for our next fix, our next deliverance conference or online prayer session to receive freedom. While we may receive a release for the moment from a demonic infiltration of the soul, it is not leaving us with the lasting freedom of a lifestyle change.
Instead of looking for the next demon to be cast out, spend some time in the presence of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to convict you of the change that needs to occur within you to manifest your freedom. {eoa}
Receive additional freedom from my book, Unshackled, available wherever books are sold.
Receive training for the ministry of deliverance through my e-course, Ministry of Deliverance, at charismacourses.com.
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and K Advancement LLC. Kathy hosts a podcast show called Prophetic Spiritual Warfare on the Charisma Podcast Network. She is the author of several books: Prophetic Spiritual Warfare, Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan and Unshackled. She is empowering people and setting the captives free through her many eCourses at charismacourses.com. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook at facebook.com/kathydegraw or visit kathydegrawministries.org.
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