How do you know if someone is ready to receive deliverance? People often just want their problems to go away, but they are not yet ready to live for Christ and put away the things that give demons legal entrance into their life. It is a waste of time trying to deliver someone that isn't ready to make a commitment to living a different lifestyle. You must first figure out if the person has given demonic spirits a legal right to be there.
1. Are they a Christian? Have they received God's forgiveness for their sin?
2. Is unforgiveness or bitterness an issue that has given demonic spirits legal grounds to stay? Demons always look for legal loopholes and they know when a person has given them permission. You must deal with that first before you can resolve other issues.
3. Are they willing to part with sin and live for Christ, spending time in prayer, the word and worship in order to maintain their healing and deliverance?
4. Are they willing to be open and honest about their life? Far too often people only want an immediate problem resolved but they are still holding out and not telling about other areas of their life that affects their ability to receive real healing and restoration.
5. Are they willing to confront the strongholds in their own belief system? This means the person must be willing to confront the lies and misconceptions that they have been protecting and holding on to. No more self pity and blame shifting. They must be willing to deal honestly with their own sin and failures and surrender them to God.
These are all important things to find out, for your own personal growth as well as those you minister to. You must remove the demon's legal rights to stay before you can expect to make much progress in healing, otherwise they will just come back, and then you'll have a much bigger problem to deal with, because they can come back 7 times stronger. Always remember that just because you can see a problem, or just because someone else wants relief from their problems, doesn't always mean they are ready to receive their deliverance. Sometimes we want people healed more than they want it for themselves! Know when to resist the temptation to 'help' and when to act. God will wait until He knows they are ready to correct some things in their life and get desperate enough to embrace real change. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't pray for others. There are times when people cannot get free because demons are controlling their behaviors. Don't condemn or judge others for having problems, but do show them the benefits of living for Christ and encourage them to pursue good, godly passions that will help them stay free once they do receive their healing.
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