BOOK PREVIEW
Have you ever asked yourself why you’re not getting delivered? Why are you still struggling with spiritual oppressions, no matter how hard you try to get rid of them? You probably already know the answer to those questions, but did you know that most people think that they don’t get delivered because they don’t pray or fast enough? This is because we think that by praying and fasting more we will be “more holy.” But the scribes and Pharisees thought the same way, and the Lord did not approve of them.
Praying and fasting are two important factors for our deliverance, but most people don’t get delivered because they simply ignore that prayers without the backing of the Holy Spirit are just mere words. This means that it is the backing of the Holy Spirit that will set you free, and that leads us to a profound question: Do you have the backing of the Holy Ghost?
If you have it, then you should already be delivered from your sufferings and oppressions because no evil can stand against the mighty power of the Holy Ghost. If you don’t have it, then you might need to dig deeper behind your prayers, and seek the support of the Holy Spirit in order for you to get delivered. If this is your case, today you’re going to learn how to empower the Spirit in your life before you say another prayer. Remember what the Lord said: “It’s not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4-6)
Prayers are the weapon that the Lord gave us to fight against Satan, but how can we win a war with weapons alone? How can an army be victorious without the knowledge needed in the battlefield? In any battle, we need strategies, and our spiritual battle is no different. Many times we don’t see our prayers answered, and we wonder what we might be doing wrong, ignoring that the strategies are not there to back our prayers.
As Christians, we need to be aware of all these things, so the purpose of this book is to help you empower the Holy Spirit in your life through strategies that will give you the victory over Satan’s spiritual attacks. Each strategy is based on Biblical principles and backed by the teachings of the Lord, so you can be sure that freedom will come to you, if you follow them. These strategies are also based on spiritual research, and more than 15 years dealing with demonic possessions.
Introduction
As Christians, we should know that the only way to be victorious in spiritual warfare is through prayer, but it’s important to understand that prayers without the backing of the Holy Spirit are just empty words. Many of us are looking for a “quick fix” and search for “special” prayers, or sets of words to throw at the devil, but it doesn’t work that way. The problem comes when we try to substitute words for spirit, thinking that our prayers will be heard for what we say, and unfortunately for many of us that’s our war room strategy.
In Matthew 6:7, the Lord said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” As we can see, the Lord taught us that words could be meaningless. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a prayer as a guideline, but we can’t forget that words are spirit, and it’s not the actual words that hold the power.
I could elaborate “the most powerful” warfare prayer for you today, but it wouldn’t do you any good if you don’t understand the Spirit behind it. In the Gospel of John 6:63, the Lord said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” This means that words are alive and have a spirit behind them, the same way that our earthly body does.
But, which spirit is He talking about? Is it ours? To answer those questions, there’s one thing that we need to understand. When we speak, it’s our spirit that comes out through our mouth, and that’s who we are. Our bodies are just a physical representation of our human existence, but that’s not who we are, so it’s our human spirit that manifests itself through our words, but there’s no power in it.
We could say to the fig tree, “Let no man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever,” like Jesus did, but nothing would happen, right? This means that it’s the Holy Spirit of the Lord that holds the power; and that leaves us with a profound question: Is the Holy Ghost backing our prayers? Because if it is, our prayers should be so powerful that we should be able to move the mountains standing between us and our deliverance.
That leaves us with another profound question: Are we moving the mountains standing in our way? Powerful question, isn’t it? And you know the answer to that one. If we’re not moving mountains, it can only mean that the Spirit of the Lord is not backing us up, and that’s not a good thing, is it? My purpose today is not to teach you empty words that you can throw at the devil, but to teach you the real meaning of spiritual warfare.
Praying is the weapon needed to set you free, but that weapon needs ammunition in order to be effective and powerful. I call that ammunition, “Spiritual Disciplines,” but they are actions of wisdom and spiritual discernment that will help you reach your main goal in order for you to get delivered from evil attacks. And that goal is to reach maturity so that the Holy Spirit feels welcome in your life. Once you have the power of the Holy Ghost on your side, you will get delivered!
Today you will learn a few spiritual disciplines to boost your prayer life. No matter how low you feel right now, you will get delivered, and you will become a threat to Satan and his demonic forces, but you’ll need to be committed to follow-through with this process. You’ll need to get real, or else you’ll be just wasting your time because without commitment there’s no victory.
Remember that no man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God. You have probably searched many ways to get delivered from your afflictions, and you haven’t found a solution because you’re not digging deep, but today you will discover the reason as to why prayers get answered. The power of the Spirit can set you free, and it’s that power that we need to seek every single day.
Today I’m going to focus my message on your spiritual deliverance, assuming that this is the reason as to why you’re interested in learning more about spiritual warfare. The aim of this book is to help you find that power in your life, but it will only come until you start making some major changes. This is the part that nobody likes because changes don’t come easy, but don’t worry.
If you follow the spiritual disciplines that I’ve prepared for you, changes will come, and the freedom that you long for will be there for you in the end. Just be humble and pay attention to the voice of the Spirit, and don’t feel so alone because we’re all one body in Christ. I feel your pain, and I understand what you might be going through.
After 26 years serving the Lord, I’ve found that nothing comes easy, but the rewards are greater than the sacrifices that we make. In my life, I’ve fought against strong addictions, sexual depravities, demonic influences, and many evil attacks; but I’ve survived, and today I’m free by the grace of God. I cannot stay silent. The Lord gave me back my life and showed me the way, and I want to share this blessing with you today. The same way that I found freedom in my life, I want you to find it and be set free, so don’t give up and let’s fight together for the glory of our Lord.
ONE
Be Grateful For What You Have
Years ago, when I worked as a salesman for a Toyota dealership in Glendora, California, there was an older gentleman named Mike who taught me a big lesson. We worked in the same sales team. At the time I was in my mid-30s, and he was in his 50s. Being a younger guy, I had a lot more energy than Mike, so I used to hustle to get customers, but he sat in a corner of the showroom with his eyes closed all the time.
The surprising thing was that at the end of each month, Mike always sold more cars than I did. It was always the same story. I had to struggle to make a sale, but all that Mike had to do was sit around and wait for customers to come to him. Obviously, he was more experienced than I was, so one day I decided to follow his every move. I wanted to know what his secret was, so I paid close attention to everything he did, and to my surprise, Mike began his days by filling out thank you cards to send to his customers. He sent Birthday cards to them, and for Christmas, he always made sure that they received a nice Christmas card or a phone call.
Mike had a humble spirit, so every time someone bought a car from him, he made them feel special. As a result of his behavior, customers always brought their referrals to him, and when it was time to trade their old vehicles, they always came back to see him. Apparently, Mike understood one of the fundamental secrets of life, but as for the rest of us, we didn’t care. Most of us were younger and treated our customers like a stepping stone to reach our goals. We only cared about the sale and making good money by the end of the month.
I was already a Christian by then, but there were many things that I didn’t fully understand about life. I spent some time analyzing Mike’s behavior, and I learned many things from him. He wasn’t even a Christian, but he taught me a big lesson. Being grateful shows who you really are, and I have a secret for you: The gratefulness in your heart will unleash blessings and spiritual deliverance, but on the other hand, not being grateful will bring misfortune, chaos, and curses to your life. This is what happened to the Israelites when the Lord delivered them from slavery (See Exodus 12).
The Israelites were serving as slaves in Egypt, but the Lord set them free. On top of that, God promised them a new life in a prosperous land, but instead of being grateful, the Israelites complained, wishing to go back to Egypt, and because of their ungrateful heart, they got what they deserved:
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord. Unto these the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord swore unto their fathers that He would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Joshua 5:6
Ungratefulness kills the blessings of the Lord because His Spirit cannot have communion with an ungrateful heart, and this is because an ungrateful heart can’t give back what it receives, so it all comes down to the Law of God, which rules the Universe. I’ll talk more about that Law later on. It’s extremely important that you understand this truth because if you’re not giving back what you receive, guess what? You’re not getting delivered!
The children of Israel received freedom and the promise of a stable and prosperous future, but the road to that Promised Land wasn’t going to be easy, so they got anxious, and instead of giving thanks, they complained:
And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting. And the children of Israel also wept again and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; but our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.”
Numbers 11:4-6
I can imagine that it wasn’t an easy thing to walk all day and have nothing else to eat but Manna. Apparently, the Israelites were desperate, and it’s in those desperate situations that we forget to be thankful. As long as everything is going our way, we don’t complain. And who would complain when everything is fine, right? It wouldn’t make any sense. That’s how our evil nature works, and what’s worse, we don’t even give thanks when things are working our way. This is how disgusting our human nature is. We are quick to complain, but we forget to give thanks, isn’t that the way it is?
Well, guess what? God is not interested in people like that. Not that He doesn’t care about them, but His blessings and deliverance are not for them because that’s what they have sown into the Kingdom: Nothing! This is one of the reasons as to why many of us pray, and pray, but we never get delivered. We don’t appreciate what we have today, so how can we expect more blessings? I understand that life can be difficult sometimes. Many of us might be living a nightmare today and have nothing to be thankful for, but I’ll tell you a secret: God wants to see your disposition.
“Gratitude is not the result of a blessing; a blessing is the result of gratitude.” Remember those words and always treasure them in your heart. You don’t give thanks after the blessing; you give thanks before the blessing comes. Your deliverance will come as a result of your gratitude toward the Lord and toward life, so it’s your disposition to be grateful that counts. When you look around, and you don’t have what you need, but you give thanks for what you have, then, all your needs will be met, but not until then.
Don’t give your money to a church or ministry, thinking that by doing so you will obtain the blessings of the Lord: “Sowing the seed,” as some people call it. That’s not how the Kingdom of the Lord works. In the world, we do things like that, don’t we? We always give because deep inside we know that we will receive something back, but this is an earthly mentality. Give your money because you want to spread the Word of the Lord, or because you want to help the poor, but do it with a grateful heart, not expecting anything back.
I’m telling you all these things because I’ve been a Christian since I was 19 years old, and I’m 47 today. I’ve been in all kinds of churches, and I have served as a missionary, so I’ve had plenty of time to learn and consider the Word of the Lord through the discernment of the Holy Spirit. I understand that many of us have been taught to give in order to receive, but for the wrong reasons, and it doesn’t work that way.
No matter what your current situation might be, you must give thanks because you appreciate what you have, without expecting a benefit, and your spiritual deliverance will come automatically. I understand that it’s not easy to be thankful when there’s pain in your heart, or when life is not going your way. There were many times when I wanted to complain about the things that happened to me. Life wasn’t easy. My childhood ended at the age of ten, when the war broke out in my country (El Salvador) back in 1980. From then on, I had to become a man rapidly.
1982 came around. Two years had gone by since the war started. The nights were long and dark. Most of the time, the electricity was cut off. Sometimes we would go three or four weeks without electricity. There was absolutely nothing to do. At least I had my best friend, Carlitos. He was a year younger than me, but we had a lot of fun. Every afternoon, we got together to play soccer on the street. We had to play while keeping our eyes wide-open. Every time a car approached, we had to run and hide in the house, or behind a tree.
I was just twelve years old; old enough to be drafted by the Army, or the guerrillas. In those days, children as young as twelve were good to go. Sometimes they even took children as young as ten. That was our greatest fear. Being drafted in those days meant almost certain death. But we were not afraid of dying; we were afraid of being tortured to death. Many children died in a horrendous way, and the world did absolutely nothing.
Even today, most people have no idea what took place there. Maybe because communication was not as advanced as it is today. Carlitos and I became so close that one day we made a pact. If we were to die, we wanted to die together. If one of us was taken, the other one would surrender. It was crazy, but you might not understand. In those situations, your friends become like your brothers. A strong bond develops, perhaps because it's in such situations that we learn to be thankful for what we have; for who we are.
The calendar moved on. Carlitos and I continue living a life in fear, seeing horrendous atrocities that were committed by the government, or the guerrillas. 1984 came around, and I got my US Visa. Unfortunately, I had to move on and leave Carlitos behind in that living hell. He was a good kid. Humbled at heart, I remember. Perhaps that's why we got along fine. He was quiet and kind of goofy, so he always made me laugh with his nonsense.
In those days, communication was terrible. Carlitos didn't even have a phone, so I wrote down his address. One day in August of 1984, I took an early fly from San Salvador to Kennedy Airport, in New York, so Carlitos and I had to say goodbye. I left my best friend behind. We wrote to each other for about two years, but in 1987 we lost contact. I moved on with my life, and I had no way to get in touch with him. For many years, he remained on my mind, but I always thought that one day we would see each other again.
In 1992, at the age of 22, I moved back to my country, and as soon as I could, I searched for Carlitos. After about a year or so, I got his mother's address, so I decided to pay her a visit. My hope was to see Carlitos there. It was going to be a precious moment. I didn't think that I would recognize him, though. He was just thirteen the last time that I saw him. I was excited, so I took my car and drove to her house. I knocked on the door, and his mother came to see who it was. When she saw me, she didn't know who I was, but after a few seconds she recognized me.
She threw herself on top of me and hugged me. She invited me to come in, so we went into the living room. I wasted no time. I wanted to see my childhood friend, so I asked her about Carlitos immediately. She looked at me straight in the eyes for a little while, but then she began to cry. I asked her what was going on, so she said, "Didn't you hear about it?"
I said, "No, I didn't." She didn't know how to say it, but at that moment I understood. In between tears she told me that Carlitos was drafted by the Army back in 1987. He was just 16 years old. He was sent to the front line, and a bullet disintegrated his head. He was killed in action. My jaw dropped immediately. It was a moment that I don't like to remember. Carlitos, my best friend, was gone. He had been dead for many years, and I didn’t even know about it.
I stood up and asked her if I could give her a hug. I needed it at that moment, and deep inside I knew that she needed it as well. We hugged each other for about five minutes or so. I knew that I had brought painful memories to her heart. I survived the war, but her son didn't. I failed to keep my promise. I told Carlitos that we would die together, but I didn't. I couldn't help but to feel guilty inside.
That awful feeling stayed with me for many years, but as I grew in the Spirit, I learned to accept the reality. As Christians, we know that we shouldn't set our sights in this world, but today I'm thankful that my family didn't have to go through the pain of losing me. I'm thankful to have survived the war, and that today I serve the Lord with all my heart. He had a plan for me, and that alone should be enough reason to be thankful.
The cruelty of war left bad memories in me, and life meant nothing at all back then, but the Lord saved me and taught me to appreciate what I had. The Lord delivered me from all my fears and the anxiety that the post-war trauma left in me. My childhood and my teenage years were taken away from me, but today I appreciate what I have because the things that I have today are eternal.
This is what I want to share with you today: No matter what your problem is today, part of your deliverance process is to appreciate what you have, so the best thing that you can do is to consider the things that the Lord has given you because they might not be there for you tomorrow.
The Lord gave you everything that you have so you can take care of it, but if you don’t appreciate it, the Law established by God will take it away from you tomorrow, and sometimes there’s no turning back. Once you’ve learned to appreciate and be grateful for what you have, your spirit will be set free because your gratitude will be the seed that you sow into the Kingdom, and in return you will receive deliverance for your soul without you even asking for it.
