A Desperate Plea?

After having heard a testimony of deliverance from one of the ladies, a man called Manuel became very intrigued about it (Manuel has given me permission to reveal his name for the sake of this story). So, Manuel came to meet my husband Rob and I at a Life Group meeting one evening. At the end of the meeting, he told us of the problems he had with his friend, and pleaded for our help. I saw immediately that there was much hurt, unforgiveness, and anger inside him. So we prayed for him, during which time he began to cry. Just then I saw his hands fisting up as the spirit of Anger began to manifest. I knew then that he needed much more than just on-the-spot prayer; he needed deliverance. So, we advised him to set a day for deliverance, to which he gladly agreed.

In the days following, I emailed him all our free slots for a deliverance session, but he seemed to have trouble committing to a date. So I pondered about his plea for help, was he desperate enough for it? More importantly, was he ripe for ministry?

In the weeks following, I would meet Manuel again at Life Group meetings, still with the same anger problems. People would gather round to pray for him as he cried, and he would feel better, if only for a while. But then the problems would resurface again, and he would be back to square one again.

So one day, I urged him again to set a date for deliverance to get to the bottom of all his problems. Eventually, and with some reluctance, he committed to a date -- choosing one of the later dates instead of the immediate ones that were available. Still, at least he had finally committed to a date. In the meantime, many others were delivered before him.

Healing

Several days prior to his deliverance, Manuel began to experience bad dreams which disturbed him somewhat. In addition to this, the arrangement with his best friend (who was planning to attend the deliverance session as well) was also changing. He called me to try to alter the plans. However, I urged him not to deviate from the original plan as typically this would be the evil spirits' efforts to put a spanner in the works. So, he agreed to stick with the original date and time.

Finally, his date of deliverance arrived. There were six of us: four in the attacking team, plus Manuel, and his wife. We began the session with Manuel telling his life story, but we could barely hear him as his head was bowed down low, speaking towards the floor rather than towards us, with tears and sobs masking all the words uttered. Several times, I had to tell him to lift up his head, and to speak up clearly. Eventually, from what I could hear, I could make out that there was much fear, hurt, and regret wrapped up in his childhood; all of which were brought into his adulthood.

One hurtful event was when Manuel's friend came to his house, and shouted abuse at him. Inevitably, Manuel became hurt, and as he tried to defend himself, both men ended up arguing. As tears were flowing from his eyes, I asked Manuel to invite Jesus into the scene. The tears continued to flow as I heard him say,

"Jesus is coming in the middle, between us. The palms of His hands are held up facing each of us. He wants us to stop arguing...".

More tears flowed as Manuel continued,

"Jesus is tapping His hands on my shoulder. He is comforting me..."

As the stories continued, many more things were revealed - bitter root judgments, bitter root expectations, lies and inner vows. Time to break these and render them powerless at the cross of Jesus! After this, we guided Manuel to confess and repent of his sins, including those he committed against his wife. One beautiful, heart-melting moment was when he knelt down before his wife, and asked for her forgiveness. She gladly did so in tears, embracing him all the while - which, in turn, drove us all to tears, including the men in our team! It was for such beautiful moments that we see the love and power of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah to forgiveness and second chances!

During the course of confession, repentance, and forgiving those who had hurt him, Manuel was given a vision by God. He saw Jesus bleeding, and dying on the cross. This vision so distraught him that it made him realise just what his sins did to Jesus, and what Jesus did for him to save him from such sins. Manuel cried now in sober judgment of himself, and a new determination within him rose that he will strive to live a life pleasing to God.

Then a second vision appeared, he saw a bunch of clouds above him with a hole in the middle. He could see through and beyond the hole. As he was describing this vision, an interpretation came to me: The hole in the clouds represented access to God! After having confessed and repented of his sins, Manuel will now have access to God in that there will now be no hindrance in the communication between him and God. The boundaries / blockages that were created by his sins have now been blown away! All communication to and from God will now be "c..loud" and clear :)

After declaring all Manuel's sins forgiven in the authority of Jesus Christ, breaking soul ties to generational sins and curses, and helping Manuel to make a stand for Jesus Christ, it was time for us to conduct the deliverance part of the session.

Deliverance

In the next two and a half hours, the Holy Spirit worked with us and through us, casting out all the evil spirits that were inside Manuel. It took almost 20 minutes for the first evil spirit to come out - the spirit of Fear. It was inadvertently instilled into Manuel at a very young age by his father who was always angry with him, making him very fearful. Stubborn though it was (since it had lived for so long in Manuel's body), it eventually left with the usual vomiting of foam. Others quickly followed, one after another - some with much foam, and some with flecks of blood. With each evil spirit leaving, Manuel felt lighter and lighter; his countenance getting brighter and brighter. A total of 28 evil spirits were finally cast out. Hallelujah, thank you Lord Jesus!

We ended the session with a prayer of thanksgiving to our Triune God for the freedom He has given to Manuel. We also prayed for a baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit, pleading for the blood of Jesus for Manuel's continued protection. After anointing Manuel with oil, we made our way for evening dinner to celebrate his new life of freedom.

A New Life, a New Name

Two weeks passed; Manuel was asked to share his testimony to the Life Group. Manuel spoke gently, but this time with such clarity and perfect English. Unlike before, I could now understand everything he was saying. I could hardly believe it, not a single word escaped my ears! He spoke with his head up, with no crying, and with more confidence than before. It was an amazing change to see!

Manuel shared all the things God had spoken to him in the weeks after his deliverance. He said the Bible has come alive for him like never before. It was clear to me that he now has a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. That hole in the clouds was truly prophetic, and has now become a reality! Manuel said that in his life before, he had Jesus sitting next to him as a passenger, but now he has given Jesus the driver's seat. Before, Jesus was only his Saviour, but now Jesus has become his LORD! Hallelujah!

After the meeting, Manuel also shared with me how much more in love he is with his wife, and how he no longer wants to argue with her. His wife has also testified on how much kinder a person he has become. God is so amazing, so good. He is working lovingly to repair families!

One final thing to share that is just beautiful and powerful...

Manuel has decided to change his name to "Immanuel". He wanted to bury the old sinful Manuel, and rise anew with God "Immanuel". Just as the prefix "Im" is an antonym for the words "(Im)possible", "(Im)probable", so will "Im" also be an antonym for "Manuel". No more Manuel operating his own life in his own strength, but "Immanuel" in the strength of Jesus!

Revelation 3:12

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

And so from now on, all the people, his friends and family... they shall call him Immanuel...

Praise be to God!

© Elma Larsen. All rights reserved.