An important part of any deliverance is the forgiveness of anyone who has hurt us, or with whom we have had conflict. For space saving purposes, we will use N. to represent the name of a person that we are praying for, and ‘him’ for a male or female person. Fill in the proper name and pronoun as needed.
Slowly picture the following groups of people, reflecting for a moment on them and your relationship with them. Take note of any uneasiness, lack or peace, strain, tension or lack of closure that you may notice regarding any of them. Note any names on a note pad. For family, include parents or grandparents, even if they have passed away.
a. Family of origin and your current family and relatives.
Include past spouses, if any.
b. Co-workers, business or occupational relationships
c. Church and ministry relationships
d. Friends or people that you see with any frequency
If any of these people have hurt you in any way, or there are tensions between you and them, it is time to forgive them, release them and pray a blessing on them.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for revealing unfinished business (or unresolved issues) between me and N. I know that you want me to be totally free. I forgive and release N. for all that has happened between us, and for all hurts that I have undergone in our relationship. Please forgive me for any hurt or trouble that he has suffered because of my words or actions. I forgive and release him completely, and ask you to bless him.
Take some time and see if the Holy Spirit shows you anything or anyone else that should be prayed about.
Depending on the nature of the relationships and history/difficulties, there are certain spirits that are often involved. Consider the following spirits for attention – these spirits are often seen in situation where there has been relational trouble: rejection, fear, hurt, trauma, guilt, shame, anger, addiction, abandonment, jealousy, control, manipulation, performance, competitiveness, hopelessness, depression, bitterness, rebellion, anxiety, worry, nervousness.
The Holy Spirit will guide you on which ones, or others, to cast out. If you are not sure, address a certain spirit anyway, that will do no harm. I often say something like this: “Spirit of fear, get out, and all other spirits that are under you or that work with you. All of you, get out!”
Take time to listen and discern what God might tell you, never be in a rush, the leading of the Holy Spirit is our most important way of seeing what we can do to be free. To be continued…
Hey Brother and Sister:
Thanks for the insights
In looking at that “list” of potential offenders whom may still need to be forgiven, I noticed a missing category…
There are many with wounds from their formative years – whether by family members, school-mates (or school enemies!), hang-out friends, neighbors, etc – who have so buried those wounds as to have frequently convinced themselves that the offenses had not even, ever happened. But the manner in which those wounds have contributed to a person’s personality, manner of relating, reacting to certain stimuli, etc, can continue to be profound and destructive.
Peter, Thanks for your comment, which is very insightful. We totally agree, and we do get into this when we minister to people. Thanks for your input.