I (Brad Long) just experienced an incredible move of God equipping the members of Mandarin and Taiwanese-speaking congregations in New York. John Chang and I did the teaching. Mary Ellen Conners was also there, nurturing the intercessory and prayer ministry teams.
These five days of teaching were focused around the 6 phases that take place in a successful deliverance. These are: 1) Preparation of the person, 2) Discerning the actual existence of evil spirits, 3) Discerning why they are present (we call this the “ground”), 4) Removing the ground of entry, 5) Casting out the demonic entities, and 6) Restoration of the person. Rarely do these steps fall in a neat sequence but they are an essential part of the process of healing the person who is afflicted by evil spirits.
The first several days we spent time laying foundations with a theological basis for healing and deliverance ministry and reviewing the phases of deliverance ministry. These were interspersed with times spent in prayer in prayers of inner healing as well as seeking to discern why demons were present. There was an enormous amount of inner wounding and hurt from the past, often from family members. This inner healing and discernment is all part of removing the ground that evil spirits use to first get in, and then to retain a hold in the person’s life.
Worship Team at Advanced Healing & Deliverance Teaching in Flushing, New York