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16 Spiritual Deliverance Strategies That Will Set You Free
As Christians, we should know that the only way to be victorious in spiritual warfare is through prayer, but it’s important to understand that prayers without the backing of the Holy Spirit are just empty words. Many of us are looking for a “quick fix” and search for “special” prayers, or sets of words to throw at the devil, but it doesn’t work that way. The problem comes when we try to substitute words for spirit, thinking that our prayers will be heard for what we say, and unfortunately for many of us, that’s our war room strategy.
In Matthew 6:7, the Lord said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” As we can see, the Lord taught us that words could be meaningless. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a prayer as a guideline, but we can’t forget that words are spirit, and it’s not the actual words that hold the power.
I could elaborate “the most powerful” warfare prayer for you today, but it wouldn’t do you any good if you don’t understand the Spirit behind it. In the Gospel of John 6:63, the Lord said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” This means that words are alive and have a spirit behind them, the same way that our earthly body does.
But, which spirit is He talking about? Is it ours? To answer those questions, there’s one thing that we need to understand. When we speak, it’s our spirit that comes out through our mouth, and that’s who we are. Our bodies are just a physical representation of our human existence, but that’s not who we are, so it’s our human spirit that manifests itself through our words, but there’s no power in it.
We could say to the fig tree, “Let no man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever,” like Jesus did, but nothing would happen, right? This means that it’s the Holy Spirit of the Lord that holds the power, and that leaves us with a profound question: Is the Holy Ghost backing our prayers? Because if it is, our prayers should be so powerful that we should be able to move the mountains standing between us and our deliverance.
That leaves us with another profound question: Are we moving the mountains standing in our way? Powerful question, isn’t it? And you know the answer to that one. If we’re not moving mountains, it can only mean that the Spirit of the Lord is not backing us up, and that’s not a good thing, is it? My purpose today is not to teach you empty words that you can throw at the devil but to teach you the real meaning of spiritual warfare.
Praying is the weapon needed to set you free, but that weapon needs ammunition in order to be effective and powerful. I call that ammunition, “Spiritual Strategies,” but they are actions of wisdom and spiritual discernment that will help you reach your main goal in order for you to get delivered from evil attacks. And that goal is to reach maturity so that the Holy Spirit feels welcome in your life. Once you have the power of the Holy Ghost on your side, you will get delivered!
Today you will learn a few spiritual strategies to boost your prayer life. No matter how low you feel right now, you will get delivered, and you will become a threat to Satan and his demonic forces, but you’ll need to be committed to follow-through with this process. You’ll need to get real, or else you’ll be just wasting your time because without commitment there’s no victory.
Remember that no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God. You have probably searched many ways to get delivered from your afflictions, and you haven’t found a solution because you’re not digging deep, but today you will discover the reason as to why prayers get answered. The power of the Spirit can set you free, and it’s that power that we need to seek every single day.
Today I’m going to focus my message on your spiritual deliverance, assuming that this is the reason as to why you’re interested in learning more about spiritual warfare. The aim of this book is to help you find that power in your life, but it will only come until you start making some major changes. This is the part that nobody likes because changes don’t come easy, but don’t worry.
If you follow the spiritual strategies that I’ve prepared for you, changes will come, and the freedom that you long for will be there for you in the end. Just be humble and pay attention to the voice of the Spirit, and don’t feel so alone because we’re all one body in Christ. I feel your pain, and I understand what you might be going through.
After 26 years serving the Lord, I’ve found that nothing comes easy, but the rewards are greater than the sacrifices that we make. In my life, I’ve fought against strong addictions, sexual depravities, demonic influences, and many evil attacks; but I’ve survived, and today I’m free by the grace of God. I cannot stay silent. The Lord gave me back my life and showed me the way, and I want to share this blessing with you today. The same way that I found freedom in my life, I want you to find it and be set free, so don’t give up and let’s fight together for the glory of our Lord.
Be Grateful For What You Have
Years ago, when I worked as a salesman for a Toyota dealership in Glendora, California, there was an older gentleman named Mike who taught me a big lesson. We worked on the same sales team. At the time I was in my mid-30s, and he was in his 50s. Being a younger guy, I had a lot more energy than Mike, so I used to hustle to get customers, but he sat in a corner of the showroom with his eyes closed all the time.
The surprising thing was that at the end of each month, Mike always sold more cars than I did. It was always the same story. I had to struggle to make a sale, but all that Mike had to do was sit around and wait for customers to come to him. Obviously, he was more experienced than I was, so one day I decided to follow his every move. I wanted to know what his secret was, so I paid close attention to everything he did, and to my surprise, Mike began his days by filling out thank you cards to send to his customers. He sent Birthday cards to them, and for Christmas, he always made sure that they received a nice Christmas card or a phone call.
Mike had a humble spirit, so every time someone bought a car from him, he made them feel special. As a result of his behavior, customers always brought their referrals to him, and when it was time to trade their old vehicles, they always came back to see him. Apparently, Mike understood one of the fundamental secrets of life, but as for the rest of us, we didn’t care. Most of us were younger and treated our customers like a stepping stone to reach our goals. We only cared about the sale and making good money by the end of the month.
I was already a Christian by then, but there were many things that I didn’t fully understand about life. I spent some time analyzing Mike’s behavior, and I learned many things from him. He wasn’t even a Christian, but he taught me a big lesson. Being grateful shows who you really are, and I have a secret for you: The gratefulness in your heart will unleash blessings and spiritual deliverance, but on the other hand, not being grateful will bring misfortune, chaos, and curses to your life. This is what happened to the Israelites when the Lord delivered them from slavery (See Exodus 12).
The Israelites were serving as slaves in Egypt, but the Lord set them free. On top of that, God promised them a new life in a prosperous land, but instead of being grateful, the Israelites complained, wishing to go back to Egypt, and because of their ungrateful heart, they got what they deserved:
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord. Unto these, the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord swore unto their fathers that He would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Joshua 5:6
Ungratefulness kills the blessings of the Lord because His Spirit cannot have communion with an ungrateful heart, and this is because an ungrateful heart can’t give back what it receives, so it all comes down to the Law of God, which rules the Universe. I’ll talk more about that Law later on. It’s extremely important that you understand this truth because if you’re not giving back what you receive, guess what? You’re not getting delivered! And I’m not talking about simply giving your money to a church or ministry. I’m talking about blessing others with your life.
The children of Israel received freedom and the promise of a stable and prosperous future, but the road to that Promised Land wasn’t going to be easy, so they got anxious, and instead of giving thanks, they complained:
And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting. And the children of Israel also wept again and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; but our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.”
Numbers 11:4-6
I can imagine that it wasn’t an easy thing to walk all day and have nothing else to eat but Manna. Apparently, the Israelites were desperate, and it’s in those desperate situations that we forget to be thankful. As long as everything is going our way, we don’t complain. And who would complain when everything is fine, right? It wouldn’t make any sense. That’s how our evil nature works, and what’s worse, we don’t even give thanks when things are working our way. This is how disgusting our human nature is. We are quick to complain, but we forget to give thanks, isn’t that the way it is?
Well, guess what? God is not interested in people like that. Not that He doesn’t care about them, but His blessings and deliverance are not for them because that’s what they have sown into the Kingdom: Nothing! This is one of the reasons as to why many of us pray and pray, but we never get delivered. We don’t appreciate what we have today, so how can we expect more blessings? I understand that life can be difficult sometimes. Many of us might be living a nightmare today and have nothing to be thankful for, but I’ll tell you a secret: God wants to see your disposition.
“Gratitude is not the result of a blessing; a blessing is the result of gratitude.” Remember those words and always treasure them in your heart. You don’t give thanks after the blessing; you give thanks before the blessing comes. Your deliverance will come as a result of your gratitude toward the Lord and toward life, so it’s your disposition to be grateful that counts. When you look around, and you don’t have what you need, but you give thanks for what you have, then, all your needs will be met, but not until then.
Don’t give your money to a church or ministry, thinking that by doing so you will obtain the blessings of the Lord: “Sowing the seed,” as some people call it. That’s not how the Kingdom of the Lord works. In the world, we do things like that, don’t we? We always give because deep inside we know that we will receive something back, but this is an earthly mentality. Give your money because you want to spread the Word of the Lord, or because you want to help the poor, but do it with a grateful heart, not expecting anything back.
I’m telling you all these things because I’ve been a Christian since I was 19 years old, and I’m 47 today. I’ve been in all kinds of churches, and I have served as a missionary, so I’ve had plenty of time to learn and consider the Word of the Lord through the discernment of the Holy Spirit. I understand that many of us have been taught to give in order to receive, but for the wrong reasons, and it doesn’t work that way.
No matter what your current situation might be, you must give thanks because you appreciate what you have without expecting a benefit, and your spiritual deliverance will come automatically. I understand that it’s not easy to be thankful when there’s pain in your heart, or when life is not going your way. There were many times when I wanted to complain about the things that happened to me. Life wasn’t easy. My childhood ended at the age of ten, when the war broke out in my country (El Salvador) back in 1980. From then on, I had to become a man rapidly.
1982 came around. Two years had gone by since the war started. The nights were long and dark. Most of the time, the electricity was cut off. Sometimes we would go three or four weeks without electricity. There was absolutely nothing to do. At least I had my best friend, Carlitos. He was a year younger than me, but we had a lot of fun. Every afternoon, we got together to play soccer on the street. We had to play while keeping our eyes wide-open. Every time a car approached, we had to run and hide in the house or behind a tree.
I was just twelve years old; old enough to be drafted by the Army, or the guerrillas. In those days, children as young as twelve were good to go. Sometimes they even took children as young as ten. That was our greatest fear. Being drafted in those days meant almost certain death. But we were not afraid of dying; we were afraid of being tortured to death. Many children died in a horrendous way, and the world did absolutely nothing.
Even today, most people have no idea what took place there. Maybe because communication was not as advanced as it is today. Carlitos and I became so close that one day we made a pact. If we were to die, we wanted to die together. If one of us was taken, the other one would surrender. It was crazy, but you might not understand. In those situations, your friends become like your brothers. A strong bond develops, perhaps because it's in such situations that we learn to be thankful for what we have; for who we are.
The calendar moved on. Carlitos and I continue living a life of fear, seeing horrendous atrocities committed by the government, or the guerrillas. 1984 came around, and I got my US Visa. Unfortunately, I had to move on and leave Carlitos behind in that living hell. He was a good kid. Humble, I remember. Perhaps that's why we got along fine. He was quiet and kind of goofy, so he always made me laugh with his nonsense.
In those days, communication was terrible. Carlitos didn't even have a phone, so I wrote down his address. One day in August 1984, I took an early fly from San Salvador to Kennedy Airport, in New York, so Carlitos and I had to say goodbye. I left my best friend behind. We wrote to each other for about two years, but in 1987 we lost contact. I moved on with my life, and I had no way to get in touch with him. For many years, he remained on my mind, but I always thought that one day we would see each other again.
In 1992, at the age of 22, I moved back to my country, and as soon as I could, I searched for Carlitos. After about a year or so, I got his mother's address, so I decided to pay her a visit. My hope was to see Carlitos there. It was going to be a precious moment. I didn't think that I would recognize him, though. He was just thirteen the last time I saw him. I was excited, so I took my car and drove to her house. I knocked on the door, and his mother came to see who it was. When she saw me, she didn't know who I was, but after a few seconds, she recognized me.
She threw herself on top of me and hugged me. She invited me to come in, so we went into the living room. I wasted no time. I wanted to see my childhood friend, so I asked her about Carlitos immediately. She looked at me straight in the eyes for a little while, but then she began to cry. I asked her what was going on, so she said, "Didn't you hear about it?"
I said, "No, I didn't." She didn't know how to say it, but at that moment I understood. In between tears, she told me that Carlitos was drafted by the Army back in 1987. He was just 16 years old. He was sent to the front line, and a bullet disintegrated his head. He was killed in action. My jaw dropped immediately. It was a moment that I don't like to remember. Carlitos, my best friend, was gone. He had been dead for many years, and I didn’t even know about it.
I stood up and asked her if I could give her a hug. I needed it at that moment, and deep inside I knew that she needed it as well. We hugged each other for about five minutes or so. I knew that I had brought painful memories to her heart. I had survived the war, but her son didn't. I failed to keep my promise. I told Carlitos that we would die together, but I didn't. I couldn't help but feel guilty inside.
That awful feeling stayed with me for many years, but as I grew in the Spirit, I learned to accept the reality. As Christians, we know that we shouldn't set our sights in this world, but today I'm thankful that my family didn't have to go through the pain of losing me. I'm thankful to have survived the war, and that today I serve the Lord with all my heart. He had a plan for me, and that alone should be enough reason to be thankful.
The cruelty of war left bad memories in me, and life meant nothing at all back then, but the Lord saved me and taught me to appreciate what I had. The Lord delivered me from all my fears and the anxiety that the post-war trauma left in me. My childhood and my teenage years were taken away from me, but today I appreciate what I have because the things that I have today are eternal.
This is what I want to share with you today: No matter what your problem is right now, part of your deliverance process is to appreciate what you have, so the best thing that you can do is to consider the things that the Lord has given you because they might not be there for you tomorrow.
The Lord gave you everything that you have so you can take care of it, but if you don’t appreciate it, the Law established by God will take it away from you tomorrow, and sometimes there’s no turning back. Once you’ve learned to appreciate and be grateful for what you have, your spirit will be set free because your gratitude will be the seed that you sow into the Kingdom, and in return, you will receive deliverance for your soul without you even asking for it.
Set Your Priorities Right
As we move along, keep in mind that the purpose of each spiritual strategy is to promote the Holy Spirit in your life. This is fundamental when it comes to spiritual warfare because prayer alone won’t set you free. In the book of Acts 19:13-17, we read:
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took it upon themselves to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.’ And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and chief of the priests, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?”
And the man in whom the evil spirit dwelt leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling in Ephesus, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Acts 19:13-17
We can clearly see that these men were praying in the name of Jesus, indicating that they were using the right words to fight against the evil spirit, but there was only one little problem: Their words were empty and dry. There was no Spirit in them, so the demon answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?” Apparently, the evil spirit wasn’t deterred by their words, so he leaped on them and overcame them. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
Many times we pray in the name of Jesus, but it seems to be that we get more beat up because instead of getting delivered, we get discouraged. We need to understand that there’s no secret in spiritual warfare; there are no “magic words.” If we did what we were called to do, our prayers would be powerful because they would have the backing of the Holy Ghost.
But, what is it that we were called to do? There are many things that we’re supposed to be doing right, and we’ll talk about those things as we go along, but the main thing that you should be focusing on is a purpose in life, and I’ll tell you why: Your deliverance depends on it! Your purpose is your main goal; it’s what you’re aiming for. There were many men chosen by God who ended up destroyed by the devil because they lost that purpose and set their priorities in the wrong place.
A great example of this is Judas Iscariot. He was chosen to be one of the 12 disciples, and he probably had good intentions in the beginning, but he let the devil deceive him. Judas didn’t set his priority in the Kingdom that the Lord presented to him. Maybe he did at first. The Bible doesn’t talk about that, but we can only assume that when he heard the message of salvation, he accepted it in his heart and followed the Lord.
Somehow, he lost that purpose, and eternal life was no longer his priority. He began thinking about his future and the things that he could buy with money, so he made a “pact with the devil:”
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests and said unto them, “What will ye give me if I will deliver Him unto you?” And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 26:14-15
Evil took possession of his thoughts, and he set his sights on his earthly future. The end result was death, but he had plenty of time to think about what he was doing and repent; he had time to set his priorities in the right place, but he didn’t. There was an evil spirit tormenting and deceiving him, but if he would’ve repented, he would’ve gotten delivered.
Judas had a clear purpose, and because his goal was to obtain earthly possessions, the evil spirits that tormented him destroyed him, and do you want to know why? Because the power of the Spirit of the Lord wasn’t in him. I’m not talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That’s another story. I’m talking about the backing of the Lord and His Word of truth. But now, the big question is, do we have the backing of the Lord?
We’ll talk about that in a minute, but first, let me tell you a bit about myself so you can understand what I’m trying to get at. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior back in 1999, at the age of 19. Like everybody else, I came to the Lord when I was wounded. At that young age, I was ready to put a gun to my head and pull the trigger, that’s how bad it was. I was completely alone; thousands of miles away from home; in a strange nation and amongst people that spoke a strange language.
The Lord found me hiding in a dark basement; dead inside, and with a heart full of horrendous memories. I was a war child and a war survivor, and in my early years, I saw what no child should ever see. Unlike other teenagers that had wonderful memories of their childhood, horrendous war crimes and unimaginable tortures were part of my memories. Body parts scattered on the streets, people with mutilated arms, helicopters flying over my head every single day, and the thought of dying was always present on my mind.
When I came to Christ, I quickly learned that God was a problem solver and that He held the key to my “happy future,” and that was my main motivation for following him. Of course, I wanted to end the suffering in my heart and find a solution to all my problems. I did everything I was told to do: Pray, get baptized, fast, etc., and things started to get better for me. Within two years, after getting saved, I got married and started a beautiful family.
Now my life began to improve, but it didn’t last for long. Before our second anniversary, my wife passed away, leaving me empty and devastated inside. For many years, I continued searching for the true purpose in my life, and I kept receiving the same message over, and over again. And this is the message that I heard everywhere I went: “If you surrender your life to God, He will fulfill your desires.” They told me that God was a healer and a provider; they said that the Lord would prosper me and give me everything that I needed.
All this was true, but there was a little problem with that: I felt like a rabbit, and that someone had placed a carrot on top of a ladder so I could climb and get to the top of it. It wasn’t the desire to follow the Lord that motivated me. I was more interested in the benefits I would obtain if I followed him, but that was wrong. My hunger was an earthly hunger, and there was no Spirit in me because my priorities were wrong.
In John 4:34, the Lord said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” In other words, the Lord said, “My PRIORITY is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” His purpose was to do the will of God, and this was the essence of His power, and His power is the key to your deliverance today. Are you beginning to get the picture?
Today, at the age of 47, I look back to my past and to all the awful things that my eyes have seen, and I wonder why a man should set his priorities in this terrible place. You could fight for a lifetime and reach all your goals, but all that could be gone in a split-second. People struggle to reach their earthly goals, and once they reach them, they want more. This is a cycle that will never bring complete happiness because the priority has no eternal foundation.
When you set your priorities in this Earth, your spiritual goals will not be reached because the Holy Spirit, which is your strength, is not interested in this earthly existence. This means that you could be hindering your spiritual deliverance because your motivations are not in tune with the Holy Spirit. This is something that you MUST understand if you’re seeking deliverance from the attacks of the enemy.
The Apostle Paul was a man in tune with the Holy Spirit, and he lived a victorious life, free from Satan’s attacks because he understood that he needed to set his priorities in the right place, but don’t take my word for it. Let’s take a look at what he said:
But what things were gain to me, those I counted as loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
Philippians 3:7-8
The blessings and miracles of God are part of the Gospel of salvation, and as we all know, the Lord made many miracles and wonders, and people came to Him and got delivered every single day, but He didn’t make His miracles the main purpose of His message of salvation and repentance; that was not His objective. The benefits that He brought to the people (Healing, deliverance, etc.) were not the reason why He came to this world.
To understand how the Lord sees our priorities, I want you to do a thought experiment with me, but if you could do it physically, it would be even better. I want you to go outside, pick up a grain of sand and come right back. But collect just one single grain of sand. If you don’t want to do it physically, do it mentally, but do it now. Once you’ve collected the grain of sand, I want you to put it in the palm of your hand and hold it there for a minute.
Alright, now let me ask you the following question: How long do you think you will live? 70, 80, 90 years? Maybe more? Think about it and once you have an answer, I want you to take your entire life and think of it as if it was the grain of sand that you’re holding in the palm of your hand. No matter how long you think you’re going to live, that grain of sand is now representing your entire life.
Now, hold the grain of sand there, and I want you to think about the speed of light for a minute. It travels at a constant, finite speed of 186,000 miles per second. Just so you can have a rough idea of how fast that is, if you were to shoot a gun, pointing in a straight direction, and if it was possible that the bullet that came out of the gun barrel could travel at the speed of light and with no interruptions, the bullet would encircle the Earth 7 times, and it would penetrate your body the same amount of times before you drop dead. It’s tremendously fast!
I want you now to think about the Milky Way. Our galaxy is about 100,000 light years in length, and that means that it would take light 100,000 years to travel from one end to the next at that tremendous speed. Now, think about that there are trillions upon trillions of galaxies in the universe, similar to the Milky Way. Could you imagine how big that is? Our brain could not even begin to comprehend that. It is HUGE!
Now that you understand how vast the Universe is, I want you to take the grain of sand that you’re holding in your hand, where your entire life is, and put it next to the universe. Think about how small it is. That’s how small your entire existence is compared to eternity. Now that you have done the experiment with me, let me ask you the following question: Do you think that God is more concerned about that grain of sand than in the entire universe? You know the answer to that question.
Your life is important to the Lord, but He sees it as that grain of sand, and the eternity of your soul, as the vast universe. We were called to walk and think in the Spirit, and the Spirit is eternal, so why are you setting your priorities in this earthly existence—in that grain of sand? It just doesn’t make any sense, does it? It would only make sense if you’re walking in the flesh, like the ungodly men are, but I’m going to tell you this, and I’m going to be very clear about it: If you’re walking in the flesh, you WILL NOT get delivered because you won’t have the backing of the Holy Spirit!
I could write a book on powerful prayers today, but it would be useless to you if you’re setting your priorities in this temporary life. This is why it’s important to understand that before you go fighting Satan with words, you’ll need the backing of the Holy Spirit, or else you’ll be “dead in the water.”
Satan is a spirit, and to fight him, you’ll need to be walking in the Spirit, and the first thing you must do is to set your goals in the right place because once you’re heading in the right direction, your entire life will follow, and it’s not until then that you’ll be set free from your oppression. There’s a strong reason why the Lord said the following words, don’t you think?
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
So your first strategy is to set your goals in the right place and lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth. You must make the Kingdom of the Lord your main priority, so you’ll need to set your goals there, and then your deliverance will follow. I understand that this is easier said than done, but don’t worry. In the next chapters we’ll learn more spiritual strategies, which will strengthen your spirit, and as a result, you’ll get your priorities right. Think of it as a chain reaction: One spiritual strategy empowers the other one, so in the end, it will all come together to give you the freedom that you’re longing for.
Fill Your Life with Praises
We’ve just learned one of the most important spiritual strategies needed for your deliverance. Setting your priorities in the right place is important to promote the Holy Spirit in your life, but now you’ll need to feed it and keep it alive in your heart, and that’s exactly what we’re going to learn next. The first thing that you need to understand is that you have a relationship with the Holy Ghost, and like in any other relationship, you need to keep the fire burning.
Retaining the Holy Spirit is vital for our deliverance, and that’s one of the main problems that I see in believers today. We go to church on Sundays and praise the Lord there, but the rest of the week we’re so caught up in our daily routine that we forget to praise Him, quenching the fire of the Holy Ghost in us. How can we, then, get delivered? It’s impossible because we need the communion with the Holy Spirit, and there’s no relationship that can survive without expressing love.
We can’t forget that we are spiritual beings, and God created us in His own image. Animals, for example, don’t have the need to praise. They don’t understand that concept, and the notion of praising is not in them because it requires a spirit. Birds sing, but those are not praises. Praising requires deep feelings and emotions; it requires wisdom and structure, and only we, the human race, possess those qualities on earth, but there’s a mystery behind it: The Lord dwells in our praises.
But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.
Psalm 22:3-4
When we fill our lives with praises to the Lord, amazing things begin to happen. His Spirit rejoices and manifests in our lives. Miracles and deliverance take place because there’s no demon that can withstand the Holy Spirit of our Lord, but we must praise Him sincerely and with gratitude, no matter what we’re going through today. The Lord will never turn His back on us if our hearts are filled with praises. Let’s take a look at a clear example of the power of God manifested in our praises:
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.
Acts 16:25-26
We can clearly see that Paul and Silas were in big trouble, in fact, they were supposed to be executed the following day, but apparently, they were not worried about that. They were singing and praising the Lord, and His power was manifested that night. This was clearly a miracle, and we can only imagine what took place in the spirit realm. The spirit of death was lurking around Paul and Silas at that moment. He was like a vulture waiting for its prey to die.
But the angels of the Lord showed up and put up a fight. It was so powerful that the earth began to tremble, and freedom came for Paul and Silas. This is exactly what takes place when you praise the Lord God Almighty in your heart. You’ll get delivered, and if you still don’t believe me, let’s take a look at another example. This is a bit long, but it’s powerful, so bear with me:
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.”
And Saul said unto his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” Then answered one of the servants and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.”
Therefore, Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, “Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle of wine and a kid and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul and stood before him, and he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found favor in my sight.” And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
1 Samuel 16: 14-23
As we can clearly see, when David played the harp, the spirit that tormented Saul departed from him. There was a strong force making the evil spirit flee, and that force was hidden in the melody produced by David’s harp. I think that you get the point. Praising the Lord is powerful, and things will start to happen when you play that “harp” for Him. I don’t care what your problem is today; if you praise the Lord sincerely, you’re getting delivered and all chains will be broken, but only if you understand this mystery and begin to fill your life with praises.
There’s no deliverance without praises to the Lord, and if you are a Christian, you’ve probably experienced that great feeling when you hear your favorite worship song. It transports you in the Spirit and makes you feel alive; your body vibrates to the sound of the music, and the sensation of love in the air overwhelms you. This amazing feeling has the power to deliver your soul, in fact, many people have gotten saved because they felt moved when they heard a worship song.
Let me tell you something, and I’m going to be very clear about this: Your praises to the Lord are like a tank on the battlefield. Satan hates them with a passion because he wants all praises to himself. You can pray and fast all you want, but if your heart is not filled with praises to the Lord, your prayers and all your efforts will be useless because the Holy Spirit won’t move in your heart.
Did you know that many Christians have fallen in the grip of Satan because they stopped praising the Lord in their hearts? Their love relationship with the Lord grew cold because they substituted their praises with worldly feelings, and this is something that you need to be aware of because the devil could trick you with earthly desires and pull you away from your first love. Satan is a military strategist, and he will use strategies to make you fall. I talk more about this in my book: Spiritual Warfare Manual for Beginners.
In that book, I teach you how to counterattack Satan with prayer strategies, so go read it when you get a chance. For now, I must tell you that the devil is sneaky and plays dirty. I’ve known people who have gotten delivered from an addiction, and then begin to serve the Lord and fill their hearts with praises, but then Satan sends them a different temptation, such as an ungodly relationship. Soon enough, they stop praising the Lord, and as a result, go right back to their addiction.
This happens because we turn our backs on the Lord and stop praising Him every single day. Instead of worshiping him, we listen to worldly music and fill our lives with junk, so little by little the love of our spirit starts to diminish, and we fall for the lies of the devil. Like I always say: When the spark is out, the fire is out, and if the fire of the Holy Ghost is no longer there for you, the devil and his evil influences will feel welcome in your heart.
I don’t know what your situation is today, but let me tell you that we all struggle in the spirit. I don’t think that there’s anybody that has ever accepted the Lord and not come under fire. Nobody can say that they have a smooth Christian life. There’s a time when we reach maturity, but the struggles are still there; maybe not as intense as before, but anybody could fall for the lies of the devil, regardless of how mature they are in Christ.
Having said all that, here is the strategy that you should follow if you want to reinforce the deliverance process in your heart and be victorious in your spiritual war against Satan: Each morning, before you start your day, turn on the music and let your heart be filled with the Holy Spirit. I understand that you might be a busy person, but try to dedicate a few minutes to worship the Lord. Especially before you begin your day.
By doing this, you will be inviting the Holy Spirit into your heart, and His power will free you from evil influences, but don’t just dedicate a few minutes to worship the Lord. If you can, worship Him in your commute to work. If you take a train or a bus to work, put on your earphones and close your eyes. If you drive, turn on the radio and praise Him in your heart.
With this, I don’t mean that you should jump up and down on your seat. What I mean is for you to set your mind in tune with the Holy Spirit and quietly feel His presence in your life. If you want to jump up and down, go ahead, if that’s how you express the joy in your heart. We’re all different, so praise the Lord the way that you feel comfortable with. Although I have a tough personality, I’m a quiet worshiper, but I don’t expect everybody to be like me, so praise Him as the Spirit leads you.
There’s another important aspect that we, as Christians, must understand. Praising the Lord is a lifestyle. Rappers are Rappers, and Rockers are Rockers, and they live according to the feeling that the music produces in them. These are earthly feelings, and they seem to be on fire for what they believe, but the children of the Lord (That means us) don’t show that fire for our faith. This should bother us because we should be the ones setting the example and leading the way for the new generations, but that’s another story. This tells me how far away we are from the fire of the Holy Spirit, and this means that we need a revival in our hearts, but the revival won’t come until we fill our hearts with praises.
Worshiping the Lord only when you go to church on Sunday mornings is not going to cut it. If you’re the type of believer that goes to church on Sundays and lift your hands in the air to worship God but then go home and turn off your praises, your spiritual life is at risk. The devil is lurking around 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and that means that your heart has to be on fire at all times so you can disintegrate the attacks that he throws at you. Your praises to the Lord are that fire that you need in your heart to fight Satan effectively, so keep it going nonstop.
Music will help you keep that fire burning because music is a spirit that comes from inspiration, and that inspiration has to come from somewhere. The ungodly man thinks that man invented music, but that’s not the case at all. Music is and has always been a power created to worship the Lord. Music is alive, and it has the power to free your body and soul. This is why when we’ll go to Heaven, we will praise the Lord because we will reach our final victory, and we will be delivered from all evil attacks for good:
And after these things I heard a great voice of a multitude of people in Heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power, unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are His judgments: He hath judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.”
And again they said, “Alleluia!” And her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!” And a voice came out of the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great.”
Revelation 19:1-5
Praising the Lord is declaring victory, and declaring victory is a sign of deliverance and freedom, so if you want to be set free from all those evil influences that are tormenting you today, YOU MUST fill your life with praises 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your heart has to be on fire for the Lord, and then you will find the victory and the freedom that you’re searching for.
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