Requirements for deliverance - Derek Prince

Quote from the booklet, "Expelling Demons."

We may now turn to the case of the one who needs deliverance, who, for convenience, we will call “the patient.” The following are some requirements for deliverance:

(1) Humility. The patient must, in humility, submit himself to God before he can resist the devil (see James 4:6–7).

(2) Honesty. This demands a full and frank acknowledgment both of the patient’s condition and of any sins that may have contributed to that condition (see Psalm 32:1–5).

(3) Confession. The patient must specifically confess to God all known sin (see 1 John 1:9). In addition, he may also have to make confession to the one who is praying with him for deliverance. This is implied by the words of James 5:16:
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another.” This speaks of confession not merely to God, but also to man. The order is first, “confess,” then “pray.”

(4) Renunciation. It is not enough to confess sin without also renouncing it. “He that covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). The sinner must forsake not
only “his way” (his outward acts), but also “his thoughts” (any inward sinful leanings or desires, even though these are not expressed in outward acts). “Forsaking” must come before “mercy” and “pardon.”

(5) Forgiveness. The one who desires forgiveness from God must first forgive his fellow men. Resentment and an unforgiving spirit are two of the commonest hindrances to deliverance. In Hebrews 12:15, we are warned against “any root of bitterness.” Wherever bitterness has poisoned the heart, it must be totally removed, so that not even a root of it is left.

There is special significance in the order of words in the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. First, “forgive us our debts [or trespasses], as we forgive our debtors [or those who trespass against us].” That is to say, our forgiveness from God is in proportion to our forgiveness of our fellow men. Then, “Deliver us from the evil one.” That is to say, forgiveness must come before deliverance. Without forgiveness, we have no right to deliverance.

(6) When the patient has met the above five conditions, he is then in a position to claim the promise of Joel 2:32: “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved [or delivered].” Calling aloud upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ normally
sets in motion the process of deliverance.

It is important to realize that deliverance is normally a process. This process may be brief or long and drawn out, it may be intense and dramatic, or it may be quiet and scarcely perceptible. But whenever a person is delivered from a demon, there is some definite experience or reaction. Where there is no definite experience or reaction, it is questionable whether deliverance has really been effected.