Deliverance Testimonies

Testimony 1

I had been aware of my need for spiritual intervention for over a year before I called for help. The Lord had given me a vision of two ugly, demonic faces along with an old television set from the fifties with a man talking on the screen. I assumed it was just a newscast when I thought about it later. The two ugly faces scared me. Several weeks later the Lord gave me an explanation of the vision he’d shown me. The two ugly faces were specific instances of sins in my thought life. The man on the old television screen was my father, who was turned away from the screen talking to someone else…but not me. I knew what my sins were and exactly when I was guilty of committing them. Satan tried very hard to convince me that there was nothing wrong with me. And most likely the world would not have judged me harshly. But Satan is a liar and a deceiver who wants to rob us of our joy, our families and our testimonies.

The Lord gave me further insight into my family life as a child and the dynamics that led me to be full of distrust, bitterness and jealousy toward my mother, as well as the longing for some kind of relationship with my father.

Counselors treated me as if I was their own child. They allowed God to use their gifts to cast out demonic forces that had been present in my life for many years. Because I had undergone an abortion before I was married they told me that evil spirits of murder, suicide and/or violence could be in waiting to torment me. I was not aware of any such thing because there was no one that I hated and my temper was not a problem. But I had a problem with self-condemnation and self-hatred that I wasn’t aware of. I remember that it got worse before seeing them. I thought of myself as “Stupid”, “Fat and ugly”, “You can’t do anything right!” and “You don’t do anything very well,” on an almost daily basis.

Afterwards, I was warned that these demonic spirits would probably try to influence me again. I was instructed to use the Word of God as warfare against them. I’m still using the Word as warfare against Satan because he doesn’t want me to be effective for the kingdom. That’s why the instructions of Ephesians are so important. The Word tells us to stand firm, even after girding ourselves with our spiritual weapons, and to pray for each other always. I am so thankful for God’s provisions for His children and the kind and gentle way He leads us back to Himself. I know this would not have been possible without a church leadership who accepts the whole Word of God and the responsibilities that go along with that.

Testimony 2

Last Feb/March of 2002, I went through an incredible deliverance experience. God was so gracious because prior to that, I had gone to a Deliverance seminar at Vineyard Church of Columbus where Francis and Judith McNutt, well-known speakers in the Deliverance ministry, spoke. I saw a very balanced approach to deliverance and I believe it prepared me for what I experienced a few weeks later. About a month before the seminar, I came to the point where I recognized that my heart was “dead”. I believe this was the result of poor choices I had made in the past regarding relationships with men. I don’t know why I all of a sudden came to that discovery other than to say that God was on the move to initiate a deeper healing in my heart.

I met with counselors from Heritage and went through the most incredible experience where I was delivered from demonic oppression. I had a visual during my prayer time with them where I felt like green, gnarled talons were gripping my heart and wouldn’t let go. Through deliverance I experienced physical manifestations of coughing and gagging as the talons were released. It was intense, but praise God, He was greater because the oppression was broken. Then I began to speak in tongues! We just started laughing and were so full of joy. It was wonderful.

It was a very sobering experience for me because I became more fully aware of the spiritual realm and the part that I play in allowing Satan to gain a foothold in areas of my life. I made some radical changes in my life and God was gracious and faithful because He continued to reveal areas that I needed to surrender so He could continue to heal and provide wholeness. I stepped back from some relationships and significantly reduced my social activities in order to be still before the Lord. I took the time to read many very excellent books that focused on the restoration of my heart and I reached out to mature, Christian women to develop relationships and to be encouraged in my journey to have my heart restored.

St. Irenaeus in the early church said, “The glory of God is man (and woman) fully alive”. I’m realizing that God wants to fully restore our hearts towards Him so we are fully alive in Him. Praise God that He continues to pursue us to draw us back to Him.
 
Testimony 3

At the age of only five years old, I made the decision to accept the Lord as my Savior and to have him take control of my life. Despite my acknowledgement of God as my Lord and Savior, I allowed a series of events that I experienced in my teenage years to set the foundation for my falling into deep sin and yielding to sinful and evil desires. I succumbed to actions and desires that I knew were wrong. I never openly and honestly sought the help of my Lord in dealing head on with these sins.
Satan took advantage of my distance from the Lord and continued to lure me into doing things that God clearly commanded that I avoid. The sin that I allowed to fester in my life had a significant impact on not only me, but on my wife and children as well.

God is a faithful God and because of his unwavering love for me, He used a series of events to reveal my sinful actions to my wife. Upon being confronted of my sinful ways by my wife, I acknowledged that I needed to repent and turn from the evil things that I was pursuing. Unfortunately, my attempt to restrain from falling back into these sinful patterns was only temporary.

God again revealed my sinful actions to my wife. It was only at this point that I fully realized that I alone could not keep myself from sinning. I had to surrender this sin to my Lord, and pray He would bind the work that Satan and his demons had manifested in my life.

My wife and I met and prayed with another couple and specifically called on the power of God to intercede and deal with Satan and his demons relative to the sinful actions and desires that they produced in my life. Since that time, I have sensed the presence and power of God in a way that I was not sure I would ever be able to experience. He is giving me victory over my previous sinful ways each and every day.

I recognize that I need to be in His Word daily, and focused on following his commands, in order to avoid setting up a scenario where Satan can torment my life again. Only by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ can I be made whole in the eyes of God. I know that my God loves me and is merciful and I am thankful that He reached out to me and that He has provided complete and total forgiveness for my sin. To God be all glory and honor!


Testimony 4

The perspective I had after accepting the Lord was that nothing really bad was ever going to happen because I had God. Then I had to deal with my grandfather dying, and my fainting in front of everyone. My perspective of the future went very negative. I began living, not expecting good things in my life so I wouldn’t be disappointed when the worst outcome happened.

When God didn’t heal my grandfather after my many prayers, I started to lose trust in Him. After I passed out at a baseball card show, my trust in Him decreased even more. How could He have let this happen? This lack of trust accelerated a downward spiral I experienced for years, characterized by a lot of confusion, fear and lack of peace.

Letting these perspectives run my mind drained hope out of every situation. The end result of these two evil spirits (negativity and hopelessness) was I put my trust in food. In my mind, enough
food would keep me from passing out and not being able to control people and my situations.

During a Heritage church service I was touched deeply by an e-mail that our pastor read. It was about someone coming out of feeling deeply alone, down in the depths and how the Lord brought healing. I couldn’t help but cry because I could relate so much.

Following the service a lady who I had never talked to previously, walked up to me and said there were people who could pray for me in the church. This gave me a shot of hope, that I wasn’t alone. I decided to face whatever I needed to and pursue healing. At M-Life I asked for some help.

I was advised to meet with a couple at their home. I brought a friend along for support to help me drive. Their house was further away than I was comfortable driving alone. It was a step of faith, but I knew the Lord had something there for me.

As I started talking and praying with them, I began to see the lies I had believed. Believing those lies opened the door for the enemy to have a foothold and then a stronghold. The enemy even convinced me that God wouldn’t provide for my needs. When I was in a situation in which I felt inadequate, I panicked because I relied on my own strength. In situations where I had more control, I would take care of it myself not realizing the Lord’s faithfulness to help me.

I was led to pray acknowledging Jesus reigns in me. I rebuked, rejected and renounced the lying spirit and turned from it in my mind as the evil spirit was cast out. Another lie I had believed was “God wasn’t in control.” So we dealt with an evil controlling spirit as well.

As I rebuked the lying evil spirits of negativity and hopelessness, the tight oppressive feeling and headaches I felt lessened. During prayer I experienced God’s love in a tangible way. I felt new and different warmth throughout my body. Since then at different points I have felt it. When I left, I had a clearer mind, almost as though I was above the things that usually would cause me to panic.

There were many obvious and subtle changes after this session of deliverance. Previously, when I stepped out of my comfort zone, I would be bombarded with lies about God and a waterfall of fears would overcome me. After our prayer and deliverance time, the negative thoughts turned into a trickle and no longer overwhelmed me. I no longer believe the lies of my past since I am now able to recognize and resist the enemy. Also, I know I need to continually fill my mind with Biblical truth so that lies won’t gain a stronghold again.

Testimony 5

My story begins when I was a child. At what age I was when the nightmares began I do not know, but they haunted my sleep as a young boy. My mom always said it was quite odd when I would wake her up. I always stood at the side of her bed, not really saying anything, just crying in the dark. When she asked me if I had a bad dream I would only nod my head.

During high school a new terror in the night came to me. What I sensed was a dark evil presence entering into my room. I remember a sudden cold chilling fear running through my body like electricity through a copper wire. My heart begins to race; I’m quite certain I’m awake now, my eyes open, yet seeing nothing and sensing something or someone. I can’t move. I’m pinned to my bed. Paralyzed. Frozen not just from fear but physically. I can’t move my arms or anything. I want to yell but my mouth is sealed shut.

Then almost instinctively, I begin to say one word over and over in my thoughts …”Jesus …pause… Jesus…pause…Jesus”. Again and again I slowly repeat his name in my mind. Gradually the oppression begins to lift. Still unable to move or sit up, I can now speak out loud and so I continue saying “Jesus”…first as a gentle whisper and then growing into a more confident declaration of his powerful name…and then, instantly, I’m free and the darkness leaves as if it were chased away. I sit up in bed and rub my head trying to decide if I’m awake, alive, delirious, or all of the above. I take a deep breath and turn the lights on. “Oh my” I think as I look at my bed…my sheets are soaked with sweat.

In the days following, my mind was primarily occupied and intrigued with how the name of Jesus had brought me relief from the torment. I was also confident that if it happened again, I could call upon him in that moment and I would be rescued…I guess knowing this was enough for me.

During my junior year at college I got involved in a church that threw my faith into confusion and left me with many unanswered questions. The confusion I encountered rattled my faith and confidence in the Lord, and it opened doors for Satan to resume terrorizing me in my dreams.

Halfway through my junior year, I married my beautiful wife and we started coming to Heritage. I remember on the first Sunday I came I saw an older man up front singing in worship with his hands raised up. Immediately, I sensed a strong desire and curiosity to meet this man. I dismissed it at the time.

By the time my senior year started, the terrorizing dreams had gotten worse and they were happening more often…two, even three nights in a row. I was certain I was engaged in a spiritual battle. It got so bad I didn’t even want to go to bed at night. Desperate to be delivered of this torment, I sought help through the church. I was shocked when help came through the same man I felt led to meet the first time I visited Heritage. Three of us met at his house and I received prayer. On that day those dark demonic spirits that terrorized my sleep for many years were cast out of my life. I felt them leave me as well as that cloud of confusion which darkened my vision. Just as vividly as the evil attacks came at me in the night, that afternoon I sensed a freedom and peace from God like never before.
Now it would be misleading to conclude by saying “and he lived happily ever after.” That might imply the battle ceased to go on. Since then, those spirits of fear and darkness have come back on occasion. I still battle with them. But that’s ok, because there is a big difference now. I’m not afraid anymore. Jesus has destroyed their hold on me. He now fills that area of my life - and so I can resist the devil when he comes. Even recently, I’ve sensed them come in my room at night as I’m drifting off to sleep. I pray and rebuke them and sure enough they leave me alone.

 
Testimony 6

I had surgery on my neck to remove a ruptured disk and insert a bone plug to fill the gap where the disk had been. The bone plug was supposed to fuse with my vertebrae. In November I was diagnosed with pseudoarthrosis which is the medical way of saying it didn’t fuse. By January, three doctors’ opinions later, the only option we were given was to have another surgery, this one riskier than the first. We were told the disk would not fuse on it’s own and that without surgery I would definitely have further problems down the road.

This report was the push my dad needed to approach me with a feeling he had had off and on over many years. Occasionally my dad had an impression in his spirit that perhaps I was under some type of spiritual oppression. He wondered if perhaps this spiritual situation was somehow standing in the way of my neck being healed.

Family members gathered together to pray. It was an awesome time. God used each person to help reveal and confirm the needs so that we could pray effectively. As my dad began to share, the word “Anger” kept coming to me. Then my sister said something and it was confirmed for me. Anger was the issue.

Then I remembered our Pastor’s teaching on strongholds. Strongholds are embedded, entrenched, “dug in” concepts, beliefs, or practices that prevent you from obeying Christ. Some characteristics of behavioral strongholds or life-dominating sins are: you still do it even though you really try to stop, you blame circumstances or others, you try to hide it, you act like it’s not a problem, and you are ineffective in overcoming it.

This definitely described me. My struggles with anger were more than simply a lack of self-discipline. I sought spiritual skills to overcome anger. I found some scriptures that I memorized and quoted “in the moment” to remind myself to pray and to diffuse the anger. Sometimes it worked. I took deep breaths and counted to ten. I took some baby steps. More often than not, however, the anger would build up again and again until I eventually exploded in a rage over something, usually over something completely minor.

My husband and our children took the brunt of these explosions. I did gain a lot of skill in apology. I have had to ask forgiveness for sinning while angry an uncountable number of times. It was so defeating. I felt helpless to change even though I really tried to. My apologies sounded like lies to my own ears because I never changed. I’m convinced that secrecy is a tool our adversary uses to keep us in bondage to sin. We think that everyone else is fine; so we don’t want to admit that we aren’t fine; so we don’t get help.

I was very proud of my accomplishments in high school. I remember the day I got that letter from Notre Dame – it was not to announce my scholarship – it was to tell me I was not accepted. I qualified for and expected a full scholarship and I was not even accepted to attend. Well, I lost it. I went into a complete fit. I ran up to my room and slammed the door and screamed and gave full vent to all of the anger I felt. Why was I so angry? My pride was damaged. Pride opened the door and Anger walked in. My pride gave the devil a foothold in my life that held me in bondage for 17 years.

So my dad led me in a prayer to break this bondage, confessing and repenting of my sin and renouncing the devil’s hold in my life. It was awesome! My upper back was very hot all over and the bones in my neck felt like they were burning. It was an incredible sensation. I told everyone how it felt and we all praised God asking him to heal my neck.

I had been dealing with pain for two years. For a few months, every morning was a battle just to get out of bed. Well, I’m not in pain anymore. But even that’s not the most amazing part. The most amazing part is that I am not angry. I am amazed at the end of each day to realize how “not angry” I am. I am not naïve enough to think that anger is not going to be a challenge for me any longer. Certainly I will get angry again. Sometimes there are righteous reasons to get angry. The Bible says, “In your anger do not sin.” That’s my goal.

Freedom from a foothold is as glorious as anything I have ever experienced! To acknowledge my need was nothing compared to the joy of being free. There is hope in the Lord – nothing is too difficult for Him!

 
Testimony 7

My name is not really important, but how God transformed my life through deliverance is! I grew up as an adopted child and suffered from various forms of abuse. My adopted father left when I was 12 years old. Subsequently, I turned to drugs and alcohol to medicate my feelings.

I got sober a little over 14 years ago, was baptized and really began my walk with God. I got married, had a child and you would think lived happily ever after. However, I was tormented by spirits of suicide, depression, anger, rejection, and the list goes on. I could not seem to break free from these spirits in spite of counseling, medication, acupuncture, etc. nothing seemed to work.

I moved to Columbus a little over a year ago and began attending Heritage Christian Church. I started going up for prayer during services and then became comfortable enough to seek help through the deliverance ministry. I first read the recommended book “Spiritual Warfare.” I still didn’t totally understand the process, but at this point was willing to try anything to be set free from these demons. I shared my past. Then prayer and the work of deliverance began. Feelings were stirred within in me to the point of almost puking. I was crying, coughing and even burping up what felt like stuff that had been lodged inside of me for years.

When we were done I felt exhausted, yet relieved and light. Since that time about 9 months ago, I no longer have suicidal thoughts or suffer feelings of depression. Anger has subsided to a normal level. I want to thank Jesus Christ for setting me free from the bondage that existed in me for years. Through His deliverance ministry I can live happy, joyous and free. Praise God!

 
Testimony 8

I have been a believer since the age of 15. I have supported the church, been a leader in the church, raised my children in the church… lived my whole life sincerely devoted to serving God in the church. But at the age of 41, disillusioned, disappointed, disheartened and discouraged – I became deceived. It can happen to anyone. Even the most devoted and sincere among us can fall into the enemy’s trap of deception.

Satan relentlessly works to isolate us and wear us down. In my case his plan took years to develop, but he was patient and waited until just the right set of circumstances were in place to spring his trap. Even then, he didn’t spring it overnight. Oh no…. the deceiver was much too subtle for that. He was absolutely ruthless in the way that he planted lies into my mind and then slithered into the circumstances of my life to convince me that those lies were true. All along, I was gradually sliding deeper and deeper into sin – first in my thought life, and then as I became comfortable, even addicted to that, I began to act on those thoughts until finally, I was completely fallen from grace.

Once Satan had me in his grip, I was powerless in my own strength to break free. I was hopeless, convinced that my life was ruined and my future destroyed. I couldn’t see any way out of the sin I had fallen into - and right there is the biggest lie of all. You see, we can never, ever fall so low that God’s grace cannot lift us up and restore what Satan has stolen. I know this first hand.

For me, it was truth that finally cut through the thick darkness that had covered my heart. Not accusations or anger, not pleading or tears, not coercing or pressure - however deserved, however called for. All of these I had heard in abundance and they had fallen on deaf ears and a hard heart. But God’s Word is a sharp, two-edged sword. It is able to divide asunder the spirit, soul and body. When Pastor Jim spoke the truth to me from God’s Word regarding sin and deception, I heard his words. They penetrated my heart. They were simple, concise, even dispassionate… somewhat detached. But they were words of truth, and they pierced my soul to that deepest part of me that had never stopped longing to be free and right with God. They opened my eyes to see the way out of the sin that held me in bondage. They brought me to the place where I was ready to renounce my sin and the one who held me in bondage to it.

My hands held firmly by my Pastor and another dear one, I trembled as I spoke the words that opened my heart and released me from captivity. I confessed my sin, renounced it and it’s right to hold me in bondage. I acknowledged each area of deception in this way. I did not experience fits of coughing or vomiting as others sometimes do. Instead, my release was through tears – wave after wave of gut wrenching tears.

I am not one given to weeping, so this was quite unusual for me. I was utterly broken in the realization of how the enemy had stolen from my life for so many years and in so many ways. The more real this became to me, the more I wept. I knew I was free when my tears turned to laughter. Laughter, because suddenly for the first time in months, I felt clean and lifted up. And then I couldn’t stop laughing or crying…but my tears were no longer tears of brokenness, they were tears of joy. Never before or since have I sensed the presence of God more closely, more clearly, more powerfully. Never before or since have I known more deeply that I am wholly and completely loved by my Father God.

It has been almost two years since that wonderful night of deliverance. God has indeed been faithful to restore to me what Satan had stolen. I shudder to think of where my life would be, were it not for this powerful, supernatural ministry. But there is also a human, natural side of sin. My sin, though forgiven by God, had natural consequences to be reckoned with. Even so, His grace has carried me through each step of the way. Since my deliverance, God has taken me on a journey of healing that has been both painful and glorious. Hard? Yes. Seemingly unending? Painfully so. Worth it? Absolutely!! I am so very, very grateful to the Lord for His mercy and His unfailing love, which are truly new every morning, and for His grace which will always be sufficient for me.


Testimony 9

What does deliverance mean to me? The answer is not what I used to think. I used to think it was like the crazy man in the cemetery from which Jesus cast the demons. This thought process began to change as God began to show me this is for everyone, not just crazy men. Isaiah prophecies that Jesus has been sent to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. (Isaiah: 61:1-2). Jesus references this in Luke 4:19-20 and says it is fulfilled. I now believe most Christians have some type of darkness. The Blood of Christ needs to set us free from that darkness, and when we are set free, that is the vengeance of our God.

This transformation in my thinking began about three years ago. Around that time my wife approached me saying that her dad suggested she might be helped by deliverance. Well, my first thought went to the guy in the cemetery. I thought there is no way the devil was affecting my wife like that. With this picture in my mind, I turned to scriptures. As I read, I realized that Jesus, Paul, and some of the other Apostles cast out demons. These demons took many forms and each person was affected differently. So, after reading the truth in scripture, I agreed to schedule a meeting for deliverance. The evening we met, my wife was set free, Praise God, but the rest is her story.

My story about deliverance begins right after my son died. After he died, I turned to some ugly habits that led to depression. I felt there was no hope. To cope, I tried a number of anti depressants; some helped, but I usually had physical side affects. Finally, after a number of years suffering through and seeing my wife helped, I decided to seek a meeting for deliverance. When we met, it was a difficult evening. We had to work through the sin and bad habits of mine, but by the end of that night I was free from many demons that haunted me.

The thing that made it so real and exciting happened in church the next day. That day the pastor asked if any one wanted to give their life to Christ. Usually after such a request I would have voices in my head saying that I wasn’t saved. This time those voices were gone. I had a feeling of joy and love that I could not give words.

A way I like to explain what happened is that the battle went from inside me to out in front of me. The last thing I wanted to say is this was a process for me. The story above was over a number of years, but God freed me that one night when I was a captive to darkness.


Testimony 10

Two years ago I sought council to deal with my past and how it was affecting my marriage and ultimately my walk with God. I knew that my attitude toward my husband wasn’t right. I knew that I did not honor him the way that God wanted me to. I began uncovering many reasons for this, none having to do with my husband. It began with a cold relationship with my father, a distant relationship with my brothers, a date rape at 16, and an extremely abusive relationship, both physical and mental, as a young adult. I did not trust men, so why should I trust my husband. I began a long road of forgiveness and I don’t have the time to go through each individual case, but I can tell you that each was a miracle of its own. Including the forgiveness of myself.

I was set free one step at a time but my relationship and attitude toward my husband was still not where it should be. I would cry out desperately for God to please help me. I dealt with depression and extreme mood changes and it seemed that my feelings toward him were getting worse. I felt as if I were treading water to get through each day. God would bless one day and I would feel pulled down the next. I wanted to obey, I wanted to honor him the way Christ intended me to, but I knew I was failing.

Early one morning I woke up at 4:00 after having a vivid dream. I dreamt I was in a room face down on the floor. There were people around me and a woman had her hand on my back. My body felt paralyzed but my mind knew everything that was happening. The woman was speaking truths and casting out evil. She was speaking of things that she would not have known because I did not know her. I was dreaming of deliverance. I was startled when I woke up. I journaled immediately and asked God to please help me know what this means.

I shared my dream with counselors from Heritage. We talked about sin in my past. I confessed to the Lord that I did not trust Him. That I wanted to love but I didn’t. We talked about the lack of trust I have had towards men even though I had forgiven them all. I also shared that since the dream I have been under major attack. For the first time I was able to see the battle for what it was. It wasn’t about me anymore. It wasn’t about me doing something wrong or feeling guilty about anything. There was a battle raging inside of me. When I feel the battle rage, I am angry and I take it out on my husband.

Hands were laid upon me as we prayed. I was asked to reject, rebuke and renounce the evil spirits and to proclaim, “I belong to God and you evil spirits no longer have a right to torment me.” The demons were cast out one at a time, in the name of Jesus. Many spirits left me that day. PRAISE BE TO GOD! I have never felt God’s power like I did during those two hours. I felt like I had been saved all over again. I am redeemed, I am justified, I am sanctified, I am continually cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb.

The deliverance ministry at Heritage Christian Church is being used in a powerful way. Their sweet, kind, loving approach made me feel comfortable. I knew right away I was in the right place. I was desperately ready for transformation to take place. God honored our prayers and showed up in a big way. There was such a release and peace in my heart when we were finished. Things are so much clearer now. I don’t know what God has for me next but I cannot wait to serve where He wants me.

I want to close by thanking our Pastor for his commitment and willingness to be open and allow the Lord to do a mighty work through this beautiful body of believers called Heritage Christian Church. Thank you for leading us down a life-changing path and always pointing us to Christ. I am so grateful to be a part of a church that is ready to move with God.

 
Testimony 11

In July of 2002 I had an episode of severe abdominal pain that sent me to the doctor and then to the emergency room. We were there for hours as the doctors performed a broad spectrum of tests. During that time I had the experience of thinking I might die. The pain was so severe; I could not imagine that I would survive it. After many hours I was sent home with a strong painkiller and no idea of the cause of the pain. After a few days the pain was gone.

Over the next 10 months I experienced several more painful episodes. Already familiar with the deliverance ministry of the Lord Jesus, we fought these episodes as attacks from the enemy and prayed for God’s intervention and victory. We also pursued more tests with more doctors. The results were inconclusive, and the doctors disagreed with each other. We fell into a cycle of pain management. The episode would begin, I would use prescription painkillers for a few days, and the episode would end. The pain was exhausting and the medicine disorienting, putting strain on all the family nearly all the time. It was extremely discouraging.


Sunday night, May 25, 2003, was God’s appointed time to bring freedom. I woke up around 1:30 in the morning; at first thinking I was hungry and then realizing I was in pain. I tossed and turned for a while, then got up to try to use the bathroom. It was then that I realized how incredibly severe this episode was. I considered going to the kitchen for a pain pill. Then I felt like I had a clear vision of Satan himself standing outside on our deck looking in the patio door at the kitchen. I tried to pray and realized I was in the middle of a huge battle.

I went back to our bedroom, told my husband what was happening, and what my impressions were in the spirit. We cried out to God for help. As we prayed I had another clear vision of this evil spirit floating up and looking in our bedroom window. We prayed and prayed and I felt prompted to call and seek help from another couple, but we hesitated since it was 2 am. I made a confession of my trust in Christ and perfect love and sacrifice for me. My husband was kneeling beside me and laying hands on me and praying. I confessed known sin. At one point I had a sense that the evil spirit had left, but it felt wrong. I believe the enemy was trying to deceive us into giving up the fight before the victory was secure.

Finally, my husband called and amazingly they were still awake and perfectly alert, watching a tape of the OSU National Championship Game! They each got on an extension and my husband got another phone and his Bible so we could all four pray together. Discernment of spirits revealed we were dealing with an officer such as a lieutenant or a general in Satan’s chain of command. I had the immediate name of confident commander – this was a mocking, confident commander bringing a full-scale attack.

We called upon the mighty forces of heaven to come and do battle. The armor of God was mentioned and my husband read Eph 6:10-18. I asked him to repeat vs. 12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We continued to pray and cry out and pray in the Spirit for a time.

I felt led to stand up, reminded of the exhortation in Ephesians to stand. Normally I cannot stand at all once the pain had reached this level. My husband supported me as Scriptures concerning the power of the blood of Christ were read (Eph 1:7, 1 John 1:7, Rom 5:9, Heb 10:19 & 13:12, Rev 12:11). I felt the beginning of a breakthrough. I asked for the Scriptures to be read it again. The pain began to subside and I began to have extremely foul gas! I got pen and paper and had the Scriptures read one more time so I could write them down. We continued to pray and then the pain was gone! I had a vision of that evil spirit running away screaming and we called on the Blood of Jesus to wash down over our whole house. It was absolutely, powerfully, incredibly amazing – the pain was gone!! Such a miracle! We rejoiced in the Lord together. My husband was instructed to lay hands on me, pray over me and to do the same with our children in their beds. We got off the phone and he did.

Now, in January 2004, I continue to be free from pain. Recently, the enemy tried to bring this attack back. On the way home from church I began to feel uncomfortable. By the time we got home I was doubled over in pain and realized it was the exact same pain. My husband and I prayed together and took authority over the attack and reminded the devil that our victory was secure in the Blood of Jesus and that he could not reclaim this ground. The pain left, Glory to God!

As I review my journal between July 2002 and May 2003 I see a pattern of the Lord drawing me closer, revealing an area of sin, leading me to repentance by His kindness, teaching me to walk in freedom from the sin, growing my faith, drawing me closer, revealing an area of sin… This is working out my salvation with fear and trembling.

As long as I remain on this side of eternity, I will struggle with this body of flesh that wants to master me, that causes me to do what I do not want to do as Paul so clearly describes in Romans 7. But the Lord is the potter and I am the clay, and I need to be continually molded by His hand.

I realize that gaining victory in spiritual battles depends completely on the Lord. We had months of prayer before the Lord chose His perfect timing and His perfect method for bringing complete victory. Living in this freedom depends on continually yielding to His Spirit, cooperating and trusting in Him to win each battle.


Testimony 12

The following is my story of God’s gracious deliverance and healing in my life. First and foremost you must understand that this is an act of obedience and love because writing about my deepest sin and hurt is not something that I want to recount, let alone, share with others. I am hoping that through my story, you too will understand that you can go to Jesus and his people to experience deliverance and healing, just as I have.

My approach will not be theological but personal. In John 9:1-41, Jesus heals a man who was blind at birth. The apostles thought the man was blind because he or his parents sinned. His neighbors said he wasn’t really the healed man, “He only looked like him.” The Pharisees insisted that Jesus could not have done such a miracle because he did not keep the Sabbath, which made Jesus a sinner in their eyes.

The man’s parents were brought in and questioned about whether or not the man was their son. The parents responded, “Who knows how this happened? Ask him!” They were afraid of being kicked out of the synagogue. Then the Pharisees, wanting to prove the whole miracle a fraud, went to the alleged healed man and said, “We know that Jesus is a sinner!”

In the midst of all this confusion and accusation, the only thing the healed man could do was tell his story and declare, “Whether Jesus is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.” This is my story. I still don’t understand exactly what happened or how it happened. I have been delivered and set free through prayer and the power of the risen Christ. This is my story of how Satan blinded me and how Jesus made me see. Praise His holy name!

My story begins when I was about eleven. I was a normal little boy who liked sports, riding bikes, and playing with friends. I knew I was loved and had a good and relatively fun childhood. But one thing was terribly wrong. An adult male friend of the family began molesting me over the course of about a year and a half. To make matters worse he forced pornography in to my life. I can hardly express how dirty I felt. The shame was suffocating, and I hated myself for years for not being able to tell someone or stop this horror. This situation stopped when this man went into the army. He was gone, but the effects of pornography and the knowledge of sexual things lived on in me.

As an adult I have struggled to break free from the pull of pornography but had little success. I learned as a child that I was dirty and no one would listen to or help me. I could only trust myself. Like Adam I hid from everyone, everyone except God. He was the only one who knew, and I asked for his help and forgiveness often. No, I didn’t look at pornography every day. Sometimes I would go for months, but the hook was always there. Like a radio playing in the background, sexual preoccupation and pornography played in the background of my mind. It was always on.

Needless to say this has had its painful and trust crushing effects on my wife and our marriage. When I was discovered for the second time, my wife was hurt beyond words. I was the man who promised to love, honor, and cherish her, but I was being unfaithful and hiding my sin. It was at this point that God went to work to deliver and heal me. It was a blessing that I was found out.

I called an elder at HCC and a Christian counselor to seek council. They both suggested that I call a couple used in spiritual warfare and make an appointment with them for prayer. I called and confessed my sin and the hurt I had caused my wife. I felt like a drowning man, and I needed help. I was gently told, “You are in a good place. Jesus wants to heal you.” These were comforting words; however, I could not begin to understand how this could be a good place. All I could see was my besetting sin and its devastating mark on my wife and our marriage, but he was looking at Jesus.

I was instructed to read a book on spiritual warfare before coming on Friday for prayer. I read the book and sought God’s help during the next few days before our meeting. I was not sure that my wife would come with me for this time of prayer, but I strongly felt that she should be a part of this if we were to ever be whole again. I was not going to hide again, especially from my wife!

Friday evening came and we drove to their home for prayer. After we drove into their driveway, I asked my wife to pray. I so appreciated her prayer. I could sense her love and God’s presence. We were warmly greeted at the door and invited in. This was crunch time. We were looking for God’s direction on how to proceed. Should we leave the women in the kitchen or should we include them. As I said, I was not going to hide any longer. I said, “It is alright. We can all meet together.”

We sat down at the kitchen table and prayed for God’s presence and leading. After prayer I confessed and told my story. I was so embarrassed for my sin and saddened for the hurt I caused my wife. I was told I needed to forgive the people that had hurt me, the molester and even my parents. I was in no position to debate or argue. You see, I had tried everything and was at the end of my rope. I then prayed and forgave, to the best of my ability, everyone who had hurt me whether it was done directly or indirectly.

After that I was shown a prayer that renounced the generational sins of a family. It was at that time that my wife said, “I don’t think that anyone in your family has ever been faithful.” Wow, what a discovery and it was true. I read the prayer and wept as the words of this prayer carried me into a blessing by delivering me from the besetting sins of my family. I could sense a holy presence at work deep inside me.

Finally, it was time to lay hands on me and pray. My wife participated as well, and they began to speak out things for which they prayed against. Things like anger, rage, pride, pornography, selfishness, and confusion. There must have been 15-20 things that they prayed against. Each time they would name something, I would almost immediately begin crying and would then feel a peaceful release. It was like a weight was being taken off of me each time they would pray against something.

At one point during this prayer I shared how I had an encounter with a witch and how I felt cursed. They prayed against that. Each time something definitely physical would happen. I would mostly cry, but at this point I started coughing each time they prayed against something. I didn’t have a cough when I came to their home, nor was I sick. I would just cough when they prayed against something.

I was asked if I could think of anything else, and immediately I started crying and said, “lonely! I am so lonely!” They prayed and I sensed a release. This prayer session went on for almost an hour. When it was felt the work was finished we all thanked the Lord for what he had done.

I am profoundly aware that this is hard for the modern scientific mind to understand. I was skeptical before and during this experience. I can’t fully explain what happened; however, I can’t deny it. When my wife and I left the deliverance session, I was a different man. I was set free and released from things that I had no idea had such a cancerous grip on me. And now I live in a newfound freedom.

God did not place me in a protective bubble, and real life continues to happen to my wife and me. I have to continually seek the Lord and the Holy Spirit’s power to live a life that honors him and blesses my family. But there is a difference in me because of deliverance prayer. I was bound and hurt by many things, but I am now free. I was blind, but now I see! Thank you Lord Jesus!


Testimony 13

Growing up, I lived with a father that was an alcoholic and abusive to my mother. My mother is Catholic and sent my four brothers and me to Parochial schools. Although I had a “religion”, Jesus Christ was not a part of my life. I learned to hide my feelings, running from the issues, and trying to be very independent to the point of serving myself. This led to pornography (dirty magazines and movies) and stealing to survive on the streets.

I met my wife when I was eighteen years old. We married after dating for only four months. We had many struggles - mainly financially and physically. I had my first affair three years into our marriage. My wife delivered a premature baby that died soon after birth and she also suffered a miscarriage two years later.

After things began to look up a little, we began attending the Baptist Church where my wife attended as a child. Our first set of twins was born and ten months later, another set of twins was born. My wife and I began attending a new church with some friends. The church was very rigid and legalistic which caused me to hide my feelings even deeper. Several years later, we left the church injured and beaten down. We found yet another church and I immediately became involved in church leadership.

Never feeling like I measured up, I pushed my feelings even farther down. Pride and ego soon took hold and this opened the door for Satan. The past seven years I was on a downward spiral that took me into the depravity of sin to the point that I thought I was bigger than my sin. I rationalized that whatever I wanted to do - I did. I was caught in Satan’s web of lies, deceit, greed, and lust. I didn’t care what I did to others. I was living a lie. I was satisfying my flesh, and I was allowing my ego to be fed by another woman who continually told me how great I was.

Soon, I was caught up in another affair. I was teaching a Bible class, teaching and baptizing new Christians and serving as an elder. It was not long before God exposed me for the fraud I was. My family was devastated, and the church pretty much threw me out. I lost my friends; my reputation and I almost lost my wife. Through it all, still my heart was hard. All I could think about was how I was being mistreated and that the punishment from the church was too harsh.

The more I fought, the deeper I sunk into the garbage. I was revengeful to the other woman and her husband. I was mad that I took the brunt of the punishment, and that she was still in good standing with the church. This ate at me like a cancer. Satan had me buried under hatred. I was still trying to do things on my own - to clear my name (so to speak), which only kept me in bondage.

I needed a Savior! A friend convinced me to seek medical help for my depression and delusion. I was heavily medicated, but still suffering with anxiety attacks and irrational behavior. My wife was on the brink of a nervous breakdown, but all I could think about was myself. I kept sinking deeper and deeper. I could not let go of the past, even though I would acknowledge that I had a problem. I became bitter toward the church, the minister and the leadership.

I stalked the other woman, believing all the time, that my behavior was justified. This behavior just kept escalating, and the doctor just kept increasing my medication. Meanwhile my wife was dying spiritually. She didn’t have time to nurture her relationship with God because she was too busy fighting with me and my demons. We were both dying a spiritual death.

In August of last summer, my wife visited Heritage, and I went with her the next week. My wife called for help. The day came for our appointment, but Satan had been working hard on me and I backed out. My wife kept the appointment and shared our terrible story. She related how at times she felt an evil presence in our home. It was suggested that I needed to be delivered of the strongholds that were keeping me in bondage. We were given a book to read on Spiritual Warfare and asked to read the book of Mark, making note of all the instances of demonic possession.

A counseling session regarding possible help through deliverance was scheduled for two days later. We were scared and didn’t know what to expect, but knew that we desperately needed help. What you are about to read has many different meanings in people’s minds because it just isn’t taught in most churches. I was delivered from the sins that had me all tangled up in a web of self-indulgence and on the road to hell.

But thanks be to God who delivered this wretched man! We started with my entire life, beginning with my childhood and all the sins I carried into my marriage. Sin reigned everywhere - lust, ego, pride, hatred, unforgiveness, and on and on. I needed to be delivered from all of these strongholds and I couldn’t do it by myself. I didn’t know how. I was consumed. One by one I rebuked the demons in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of his blood. This was very intense and quite honestly I don’t remember a lot of it. I was emotionally and physically drained.

As the presence of evil began to leave my body and mind, I prayed that the Spirit of God would come and fill all those empty spaces. The first thing I noticed was an absence of pain in my shoulders and neck which I had become accustomed to. God’s faithfulness, mercy, justice, and forgiveness have restored my hope of a real life here and eternally.
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I have shared my story with family and friends. Some have cried, some don’t know what to think, others praise God because of what He has done. He is real and His will is still the same as it was in the beginning starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden.

God is all about saving mankind from himself and the sin which leads to death. God loves me and He loves you. Thank you God Almighty - King of Glory. Psalm 24:10


Testimony 14

I am a 13 year old boy. About a year before I came to see Mr. And Mrs. Luchtenberg, I had viewed some pornography on the internet two times. My parents forgot to put the filter back on my mom’s computer after it got fixed. I confessed that to my parents at the time. Mr. Luchtenberg said that might have allowed Satan to get a foothold in my life.

During the past Spring Break trip, my family went to Playa del Carma in Mexico for a week. On Thursday, we took a side trip to the Mayan ruins and I got scared when we climbed to the top of one of the temples – it was really tall. We saw the places where the Mayans used to worship their gods and sacrifice humans. Later in the afternoon, we watched a Mayan purification ceremony in one of the ceynote caves with a Mayan priest.

Saturday night I was sleeping when I was suddenly woken up and a voice said to me, “Fake like you have a parasite.” I assumed it was God speaking to me but I didn’t know why He would say that to me. We left very early the next morning to drive in a bus to the airport. I got a migraine headache and threw up on the bus. The night we arrived home, I got another migraine headache and threw up again. That really scared me and I thought I better pretend that I have a parasite or I might really get sick.

I went to school for a couple of days and then started pretending I was sick. I missed nearly the entire last 9 weeks of school. I saw a lot of doctors and had many medical tests over the next five months. My parents were really worried about me but I never told them about the voice. Finally I told my mom about the voice in the middle of the summer. I was really nervous. She thought it might be a demon.

I met with the Luchtenbergs and my parents within a week. I was nervous but they were very nice and asked me a lot of questions. My parents had to pray and ask for forgiveness for bringing me to the Mayan ruins. Then, Mr. Luchtenberg helped me to pray and cast out the demons that had come in. I had to pray twice for the lying demons. During our prayer, my head felt like it was going to explode and then suddenly it was fine. My hands and feet felt numb. I was so relieved when it was all over. I finally felt normal after 5 months of not feeling like myself. Even later that afternoon, I pooped green poop and I hadn’t even eaten anything that was green. My mom told me that was probably a demon because Mr. Luchtenberg told me that the demons could come out of any part of our body.

Now I’m working on reading the Bible more and my mom is working with me on praying and listening to God. Now I know that it wasn’t God’s voice because He would have never asked me to lie to my parents. Now I know the questions to ask when I hear a voice. Thank you God and Mr. And Mrs. Luchtenberg for helping me be myself again!