Deliverance

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

Deliverance is prayer aimed at freeing a person from evil spiritual influence — a demon, an oppressive spirit, or a "bondage" like addiction, fear, or a destructive pattern that the person and those praying believe has a spiritual root. In practice it usually looks like a small group praying over someone, naming what they believe is at work ("we break the spirit of fear in Jesus' name"), and commanding it to leave. Some churches have formal "deliverance ministries" with trained teams; in others it happens informally at the altar.

It's related to exorcism but broader and less formal. Exorcism (in the Catholic sense) is a rare, specific rite for full possession, performed by a priest with a bishop's authorization. Deliverance is everyday, layperson-led, and addresses a wide range of struggles.

Why people say it

Christians in this tradition believe the devil and demons are real and that Jesus' ministry — much of which involved casting out spirits — continues through His followers. Deliverance takes suffering seriously and offers a decisive response: name it, confront it, be free. For people who've felt trapped by something they couldn't explain or shake, a deliverance session can be a turning point they describe for the rest of their lives.

How to respond

If someone tells you they were delivered from something, respond to the freedom, not the framework: "That sounds like a real change — how are you doing now?" If someone offers to pray deliverance over you, you can decline, and a responsible minister will accept that immediately. If a friend is being told their depression or illness is demonic and to stop treatment, that's a moment to speak up — gently, but clearly.

If you hear it in different churches

Pentecostal and charismatic churches, some evangelical churches, and a significant part of Christianity in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where deliverance is mainstream. Catholic charismatics practice it within limits set by the church. Reformed, Lutheran, mainline, and most non-charismatic evangelical churches don't have deliverance ministries and are often skeptical of them. Orthodox Christians would point to their prayers of exorcism and confession instead.

Where does “Deliverance” come from?

The Gospels describe Jesus casting out demons repeatedly, and He commissions His disciples to do the same (Luke 10:17, Mark 16:17); Paul casts a spirit out of a slave girl in Acts 16. Early Christian baptism included renouncing the devil, and exorcists were a formal church office by the third century. The modern deliverance movement grew out of Pentecostalism and especially the charismatic renewal of the 1960s and 70s; teachers like Derek Prince, and later the "third wave" associated with John Wimber and the Vineyard churches, made it a widespread practice. Neil Anderson's The Bondage Breaker (1990) brought a gentler, evangelical form to a large audience.

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