Can a person deliver himself of demons?

Can a person deliver  himself of demons?

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| PentecostalTheology.com

               
The question is often asked of me, "Can a person deliver 
himself of demons?" My answer is "Yes", and it is my 
conviction that a person cannot really keep himself free 
of demons until he is walking in this dimension of 
deliverance. 

How is it that a person can deliver himself? As a 
believer (and that is our assumption) he has the same 
authority as the believer that is moving in deliverance 
ministry. He has the authority of the name of Jesus! 

And Jesus plainly promised them that believe: "In my 
name shall they cast out devils." (Mark 16:17) 

Usually a person needs only to learn how to go about 
self-deliverance. After a person has experienced an 
initial deliverance at the hands of an experienced 
minister he can begin to practice self-deliverance. 

He must keep in mind that deliverance is a process. It 
would be nice if a person could get all indwelling 
demons out of himself and then forget about them for 
the rest of his life. But how many of us can keep 
ourselves completely free? 

If we never sinned in thought, word, or deed, there 
would never have any need for deliverance. Sin opens 
the door for demons to enter. This is not to say that 



each time a person commits a sin a demon enters. Yet, 
sin is a way by which the door is opened and sometimes 
it does not take much of an opening. 

The biggest problem facing the self-deliveree is that of 
accurately discerning the spirits. Most persons are 
prone to confuse demon activities in their lives as 
merely expressions of human personality. It 
is not uncommon for a person to react to the 
discernment of a certain spirit with, "Oh, I thought that 
was just me." There are those who want to follow the 
do-it-yourself route so no one will know about hidden 
sins in their lives. This is not a good motive with which 
to begin self-deliverance. 

The Word teaches us that there is a place for 
confession: 

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for 
another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 

James 5:16 

A few cases have come to light where a strong deceiving 
spirit controls a person to the point he cannot see 
anything wrong in self. In such cases the person is 
unable to receive true discernment about himself. I 
recall one woman who came on the pretense of 
wanting deliverance. Her true motive soon came to 
light. She had come to propagate a false doctrine 
in which she was caught up. Then she told me that she 
had "the gift of opening her Bible" to answer questions 



for herself and others. Before she had come that day 
she had opened her Bible and placed her finger down 
at random and she received this message: "Daughter, 
thy faith hath made thee whole." She had interpreted 
this to mean that she had no need for deliverance. 
During our conference she had revealed that she had 
lived with a fortune teller for some time during the 
formative years of her life. The influence of this 
association had opened her for a "spirit of divination" 
which operated through her practice of opening the 
Bible for answers. There have been times when a 
Christian has received a word from the Lord in this 
fashion, but when one depends upon this as a primary 
way of hearing from God he is treading on thin ice. 

One does not need to go around thinking demons all of 
the time. We are to keep our minds on Jesus and things 
that are true, honest, pure, lovely and of good report. 
Yet, when there comes a troubling that is from the evil 
one we should not hesitate to recognize it for what it is 
and to deal with it in the authority which our Lord has 
vested in us. The objective in dealing with the devil is to 
remove the hindrances to our spiritual fellowship and 
ministry. 

Self-deliverance is experienced in the same way that 
occurs when a person is ministered to by another. The 
only difference is that the person delivered in his own 
minster. He will, by prayer, make his confession to God 
that he wants no part of the devil and desires the Lord 
to set him free. The demons will be addressed and 
called by name, one by one. 



After he has commanded several times for a specific 
demon to go in the name of Jesus, he will begin to expel 
his breath forcefully a few times or to initiate a cough 
from as deep as possible. 

Since the manifestations vary from person to person no 
simple explanation can be given as to what to expect. 

As in other deliverances, This display that accompanies 
the departure of the demon spirits can vary widely. In 
my own experience, as soon as I would address the 
demon I would feel a pressure in my throat followed by 
coughing and bringing up of phlegm. There would then 
be a perceptible release that the thing was out. Some 
individuals are able to accomplish this with greater 
confidence and aggressiveness than others.

27 Comments

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Casius Leonidas

    Is this article from a Derek Prince book or teaching?

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Neil Steven Lawrence

    The final phrase in the Lords prayer is:
    “deliver us from the evil one.“

    It would seem deliverance would apply in this formulaic prayer. Since each of the lines of the prayer represent a formula, not really an actual prayer (like the Catholics treat it). So deliverance is one aspect of the type of prayer we are to pray.
    Whether we can free ourselves from the clutches of the devil and his control depends on the level to which we descended.

    The three simple levels that I have heard before are:
    1. Depression
    2. Oppression
    3. Possession

    The type of strongholds that a believer may be controlled by, it would seem, only fall into the first two categories. The third category I don’t think the Holy Spirit could tolerate and therefore would mean the person is not yet a believer.

    So if the believer is depressed or oppressed or controlled by a stronghold, these are the types of things we can ask the Lord to “deliver us from.“

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Isara Mo

    Yes.

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Isara Mo

    But he or she has to have someone around lest he or she goes bersek…or screaming and people come in and lock him up thinking he or she has gone nuts…
    But God is such a wise God that the demons cal leave quietly without a fuss…and you only feel release or relief..

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    how can they do that Isara Mo Joe Absher

    • Reply July 18, 2019

      Isara Mo

      Troy Day
      Let me answer you later.

    • Reply July 18, 2019

      Isara Mo

      But basically one has to confess and repent of any known/ unknown personal, parental and ancestral sins.
      Use 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:1-10, Psalm 32:1-4, Leviticus 26:40-42..
      Indwelling Demons (evil spirits) in a person might have come in thru personal , parental or ancestral sins..
      The confession and repentance breaks their hold..
      After the confession and repentance you verbally renounce the sins…then you rebuke the demons…
      But before you do all that have a piece of paper and write down what you think are areas in your life that might need deliverance…
      It is also important to have scriptures in hand that are relevant to the problems when you rebuke the demons…
      A detection/ discernment approach to the problem(problems) is important.A glimpse of family history will show what familiar problems are prevalent in the family in areas of health, marriage, finance, sprituality etc and if the same is troubling you…Prayer will give you discernment….
      But if you don’t have a problem you don’t need all these..thank and praise the Lord for His grace..
      So essentially Troy the procedure for self self deliverance(for me) is confess and repent, renounce and rebuke(cast out .) If need be…

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    Joe Absher

    There is a balm in Gilead

    https://youtu.be/z2s0J7OUsME

  • Reply July 18, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    YES by believing in Jesus as personal Savior to receive guaranteed eternal life; filled and sealed by Holy Spirit; so no demon can exist in the same body as Holy Spirit for eternity, guaranteed 🙂

  • Reply July 19, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    Isara Mo RichardAnna Boyce Evidence of evil spirits is voluminous and comes from many cultures, both ancient and modern. Cases from China, India, and the United States are examined and evaluated. The actual experience of spirit victims, the universality of spirit oppression, the superhuman phe-nomena associated with ‘‘possession,’’ and the comparative success of deliverance and exorcism vs. psychiatry are considered. Potential arguments against the spirit hypothesis center on the ante-cedent improbability of spirits, multiple personality disorder, and the effectiveness of medication; but these can be countered. Psychiatrists should question their materialist assumption that mental illness is strictly a matter of an aberrant brain, carefully examine the literature of pos-session, experiment to determine why exorcists and deliverance ministers often succeed where psychiatry fails, and develop a more complete inventory of techniques for healing the complete person.

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Neil Steven Lawrence

      Troy Day The denial of the spiritual world is a recently developed historical phenomenon and localized in the West. The biblical worldview more accurately agrees with the view throughout world history. Just because the west is in denial does not mean their view is true.

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Neil Steven Lawrence yes Weve discussed with Isara Mo that the ones denying jezebel are under its oppression BUT how can a person deliver themselves from evil when they are evil? Deliverance denotes a Savior

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Isara Mo

      Troy Day
      I was under the impression that we are talking about self deliverance for a believer not unbeliever..
      //Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
      Zechariah 2:7 KJV/
      //Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
      Proverbs 6:5 KJV//
      Deliver thyself…
      To the unsaved it is NOT POSSIBLE to deliver themselves..
      Most believers ” deliver themselves” unknowingly when they pray “deliverance and warfare prayers…”

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Isara Mo

      Troy Day
      It is true anytime you see a so called believer urging against Jezebel it is very likely he or she is under the control and influence of the spirit…

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Varnel Watson

      Isara Mo yeah they aint NO self deliverance JESUS has to deliver IF the Son has set you free

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Isara Mo

      Troy Day
      Good observation:
      How can evil person deliver himself when he is evil?
      Lest I’m misunderstood, when I say a person can deliver themselves am not talking about self effort . Or by own strength .
      What I mean is a person who has accepted the Saviour can deliver themselves using the name of the Saviour .not by own strength..

    • Reply July 19, 2019

      Isara Mo

      Troy Day
      If I have given you use of my credit card to purchase provisions from the supermarket it is symbolic I have handed you authority in my name..
      Equally a believer has been given authority to trample snakes, scorpions and to overcome ALL THE POWER of the evil one….
      If I feel confused and I command ” You evil spirit of confusion out in the name of Jesus..” I have done a self deliverance..
      When you Troy Day commands the spirit of confusion in me to go out in the name of Jesus you have delivered me..
      When the Son sets you free you are free indeed is true…
      He does that through delegated power(authority)..thru believers..
      Let’s clear the cloud of misunderstandingthat there is no such thing as self deliverance by own effort..

    • Reply July 20, 2019

      Neil Steven Lawrence

      A book I read 30 years ago (which I can’t remember the name of) written by a former Catholic priest exorcist details his experiences. He said the most powerful demon that was difficult to cast out was a demon of homosexuality.

      My interpretation of why, is that it (homosexual perversion) strikes right at the heart of the image of God in man.

  • Reply July 19, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    i repeat YES!!!!!!!!!!!! YES by believing in Jesus as personal Savior to receive guaranteed eternal life; filled and sealed by Holy Spirit; so no demon can exist in the same body as Holy Spirit for eternity, guaranteed 🙂

  • Reply July 19, 2019

    RichardAnna Boyce

    Probably deliverance of an unbeliever may be necessary, for an unbeliever to believe in Jesus to receive guaranteed eternal life, where their mind has been taken over.

  • Reply July 20, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    some call it departure other displacement – As in other deliverances, This display that accompanies
    the departure of the demon spirits can vary widely. In
    my own experience, as soon as I would address the
    demon I would feel a pressure in my throat followed by
    coughing and bringing up of phlegm. There would then
    be a perceptible release that the thing was out. Some
    individuals are able to accomplish this with greater
    confidence and aggressiveness than others.

  • Reply July 20, 2019

    Steve Losee

    Of course, simply by resisting.

  • Reply July 20, 2019

    Varnel Watson

    Steve Losee by resisting what? the demon is already in them

    • Reply July 21, 2019

      Steve Losee

      resisting the driving to express the “unclean” activities it’s in there to perform. Otherwise, “casting out” of self” will have to happen frequently.

  • Reply July 9, 2023

    Anonymous

    The question is often asked of me, “Can a person deliver himself of demons?” My answer is “Yes”, and it is my conviction that a person cannot really keep himself free of demons until he is walking in this dimension of deliverance. How is it that a person can deliver himself? As a believer (and that is our assumption) he has the same authority as the believer that is moving in deliverance ministry. He has the authority of the name of Jesus! And Jesus plainly promised them that believe: “In my name shall they cast out devils.” (Mark 16:17) Usually a person needs only to learn how to go about self-deliverance. After a person has experienced an initial deliverance at the hands of an experienced minister he can begin to practice self-deliverance.

    • Reply October 17, 2024

      william

      I received the Holy Spirit in 1975 one night. I never went to church, read the bible, and walked into sin for 50 years without thinking what I was doing was wrong. Last summer, I had a blackout from drugs and then at home I realized something was terribly wrong. It was if I was under attack from my whole life of sins, plus all pains suffered in youth. I never really got to know Jesus in my life until a year ago. The attacks are indwelling, plus outside oppression. I just found out I developed a schizophrenia spirit in my childhood with 2 spirit groups of rejection and rebellion. My challenge isn’t faith, or my belief in Jesus. Its realizing that I have lived with 2 spirit groups for most of my life. They are the majority of who I present (my own observations). Alot of times they manifest themselves and I’ve destroyed 95 percent of my relationships because they are such a big manifestation in my life. My question is ” because there are 2 opposing spirit groups which are a major part of who I am, I never realize whose actually speaking, me or them. I have been under horrendous attacks for 16 months, and a life time of repentance and forgiveness done. I’m lost. I been to a few deliverances with a pastor who recently told me he’s not sure about the entirety of what he is applying. Can a person with a schizophrenic spirit actually deliver oneself? I give glory to the Lord for finding me worthy, yet 14 months later its difficult. I have had a few days of no attacks but knew they were still there and they always come back. Last week at bible study I had the first true sense of peace from the Holy Spirit for a couple hours, then back to the attacks If you have any ideas I would be forever thankful……………William

  • Reply July 9, 2023

    Anonymous

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