Why Deliverance Is Still Necessary Today
A True Story of Spiritual Oppression, Family Patterns, and the Liberating Power of Jesus Christ
Text: Mark 16:17 (KJV)
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.”
Introduction
One of Satan’s greatest victories is convincing Christians that deliverance belongs only to Bible days.
Many believers accept recurring failure as “just life.”
They call spiritual oppression “bad luck.”
They call inherited bondage “family traits.”
They call repeated disappointments “destiny.”
Yet Jesus never taught His disciples to simply tolerate what the devil was doing.
He gave them authority to confront it.
“In my name shall they cast out devils.”
Deliverance is not about creating fear of demons.
Deliverance is about establishing the victory of Jesus Christ over every work of darkness.
The following account is a true testimony shared by a Christian woman. To preserve her privacy, every identifying detail has been removed. Nothing in this account is intended to sensationalise spiritual warfare. Rather, it serves as a sobering reminder that many people carry wounds, burdens, and spiritual histories they never chose for themselves.
A Childhood She Never Understood
Looking back over her childhood, one memory remained vivid.
Her father would sometimes call her to himself.
He would make small incisions on her head and chest.
Into those fresh cuts, substances would be rubbed while words were spoken over her.
As a little girl, she did not understand what was happening.
She simply trusted her father.
Years later she asked him,
“What were you doing?”
His answer was simple.
“It was for your protection.”
At the time, she accepted his explanation.
Only after becoming a Christian did she begin asking questions she had never asked before.
Protection from what?
Who was providing that protection?
What spiritual power was being invoked?
What covenant, if any, accompanied those rituals?
She realised that many cultural practices are accepted without anyone questioning their spiritual origin.
The Bible Warns Against Seeking Spiritual Protection Outside God
Many parents act out of ignorance rather than wickedness.
They genuinely desire to protect their children.
But good intentions do not make an unbiblical practice acceptable.
Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly warned His people not to seek protection, guidance, or power through occult practices, divination, enchantments, charms, or rituals connected with other spiritual powers.
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (KJV)
“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord…”
A Christian’s protection is not found in incisions.
Not in charms.
Not in rituals.
Not in amulets.
Not in ancestral covenants.
Our protection is Christ alone.
Psalm 91:2 (KJV)
“I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
The Struggle Continued
As she grew older, life became increasingly difficult.
Secondary school was a constant battle.
Her father was not consistently present in her life.
The family struggled financially.
Eventually she dropped out of school because there simply was no money to continue.
Instead of pursuing her education, she began working as a sales assistant.
By God’s mercy, about a year later she managed to return and complete her secondary education.
Looking back, she saw God’s hand preserving her even while life seemed determined to pull her backwards.
A Family Pattern That Was Impossible to Ignore
As she matured, she noticed something disturbing.
Most of the girls in her extended family never completed their education.
Many became pregnant before marriage.
Dreams ended almost before they began.
Two of her own older sisters experienced the same painful reality.
She also noticed that many of her father’s older brother’s daughters had followed the same path.
It was no longer an isolated incident.
It had become a pattern.
Generation after generation.
Different names.
Different years.
The same outcome.
Yet by God’s grace, her own story became different.
She became the first girl in her family who did not become pregnant before marriage.
She knew this was not because she was wiser or stronger.
It was the preserving mercy of God.
Dreams That Raised Spiritual Questions
From childhood she loved singing.
She sensed that music ministry was part of God’s purpose for her life.
But there was one recurring dream.
She would find herself standing before a congregation.
She was ready to sing.
The people were waiting.
She opened her mouth.
No sound came.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
She could see herself ministering.
She desired to minister.
But in the dream her voice had been silenced.
The dream repeated itself over many years.
She could never fully understand it.
Another Pattern Emerged
As an adult she began observing the lives of members of her father’s extended family.
She saw hardworking people.
Honest people.
People who genuinely wanted a better life.
Yet major breakthroughs seemed strangely absent.
She repeatedly saw stagnation.
Delay.
Unfulfilled potential.
Financial struggle.
Lives that never seemed to reach their God-given possibilities.
Even among her own siblings she recognised similar limitations playing out in different ways.
She was thankful that God had helped her.
She knew her life had progressed further than many around her.
Yet deep inside she sensed there was still more.
She longed to experience complete liberty.
A Happy Marriage But A Personal Battle
Today she enjoys a peaceful marriage.
She describes her husband as loving, caring and supportive.
The struggle is not inside her home.
It is within her own heart.
She remembers watching her mother struggle through life.
She remembers the hardship.
The disappointments.
The limitations.
She now cries before God,
“I do not want those same experiences repeated in my own life.”
She wants to fulfil destiny.
She wants to maximise every gift God has placed within her.
She wants every invisible limitation broken.
Was Everything Demonic?
This is an important question.
Certainly not.
Poverty is real.
Absent fathers create real wounds.
Poor educational opportunities have real consequences.
Personal choices matter.
Social circumstances matter.
Yet the Bible also teaches that there is another dimension many people ignore.
Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The Christian worldview recognises both the natural and the spiritual.
Not every struggle is caused by demons.
But neither is every struggle merely natural.
When destructive patterns repeat themselves across generations, when lives seem trapped in recurring cycles despite sincere effort, and when there is a history of involvement in spiritual practices outside God’s will, believers should not dismiss the possibility of spiritual oppression. Instead, they should seek the Lord in repentance, prayer, wise pastoral counsel, and, where appropriate, biblical deliverance ministry.
Why Deliverance Matters
Jesus never ignored the spiritual dimension.
He healed.
He preached.
He forgave.
And He delivered.
Luke 4:18 (KJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives…”
Notice.
Deliverance is not a side ministry.
It is part of the Gospel ministry.
Christ Is Greater Than Every Former Covenant
Perhaps the most beautiful part of this testimony is this:
Despite everything she experienced…
God preserved her.
He kept her from the destructive pattern that trapped many others.
He enabled her to finish school.
He gave her a stable Christian marriage.
He kept alive her desire to serve Him.
Grace was working all along.
Yet God’s grace also moved her to seek complete freedom from anything contrary to His will.
The Bible declares:
Colossians 2:14–15 (KJV)
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Whatever covenants may have been made in ignorance…
Whatever rituals may have been performed in childhood…
Whatever spiritual influences may have sought to shape a life…
The cross of Jesus Christ is greater.
His blood speaks a better word.
His authority is supreme.
The Church Must Not Be Silent
Many believers today still participate in traditional rituals “just to be safe.”
Some allow marks to be made on their children.
Some wear charms beneath their clothing.
Some combine Christianity with ancestral spiritual practices.
Scripture calls believers to exclusive trust in Christ. Any practice that seeks spiritual protection, power, or guidance from sources other than God should be rejected. Parents should dedicate their children to the Lord, not to rituals rooted in fear or other spiritual allegiances.
The Church must lovingly but courageously teach these truths so that people are anchored in Christ alone.
The Believer’s Authority
Jesus did not leave His Church helpless.
He gave us His Name.
Mark 16:17 (KJV)
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…”
Not in our strength.
Not in our experience.
Not in our traditions.
But in His Name.
Conclusion
This woman’s testimony is not ultimately about darkness.
It is about the preserving and delivering power of Jesus Christ.
What the enemy intended to use to define her life, God interrupted by His mercy.
Her story is a reminder that no childhood ritual, no family history, no recurring pattern, and no spiritual oppression is greater than the victory won by Christ at Calvary.
Where there has been involvement in practices contrary to God’s Word—whether by personal choice or through actions taken on one’s behalf in childhood—the answer is not fear but faith in Christ. Through repentance, renunciation of every ungodly spiritual allegiance, discipleship, and, where needed, biblical deliverance ministry, believers can walk in the freedom Christ has secured.
The commission of Jesus still stands:
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…” (Mark 16:17, KJV).
The Name of Jesus still breaks chains.
The blood of Jesus still speaks.
The power of the Holy Spirit still delivers.
And every believer who stands in Christ can declare with confidence:
“Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” (John 8:36)
The Message Bearer, Cornelius Bella
corneliusbella 