The last one is, what possible heart bondages are there, because this I have learned over the years, I used to just confront the demons and deal with the legal rights, but we need to not only deal with the legal rights. We need to look at the issues of the heart, where demons are attached, because when I used to go to Asia in my initial days, I found that we had a tremendous number of people delivered of spirits because of idolatry and generational curses, and the whole immersion of the culture in idolatrous roots. But what I've observed in the last 10 years, is an increasing number of people with major problems that come out of relationships in the family, and so I've realised that it's not just the legal rights issues around generational spirits, and so on. It's also the things that have gone on in the heart, in terms of reacting to how people are being treated, and so I identified a little while ago some of these bondages of the heart, which you need to be aware of, and need to address.
We've just gone and prayed for a few people, so you can actually see that it is real, that there is freedom comes afterwards, that there's deliverance involved in it, and there's also some kind of bondage you have to break. So there it is - what is the problem? How long have you had this problem? How is it affecting you? Then what possible doors of entry, and we begin to explore their background and so on, then what possible heart bondages? So you'd keep a piece of paper and identify those things. I don't always pray for people after the first time I've met with them. I say well look, I've observed a few things here, and these are the things I've observed. Won't it be good for you to just go away and pray and prepare your heart for ministry, so in other words, give God room, now that we've talked about the things, to work on the person's heart and life. So I've found it very helpful to do that. Sometimes I pray straight away, but often I don't. Often I say: why don't you just have a little bit of time to pray and ask the Lord and prepare your heart, because maybe there's people to forgive, maybe there's some issues of grieving, so I give them a bit of homework, to go and spend some time before the Lord every day, and maybe do some journaling, and ask them to prepare themselves for ministry. Then when they come, then we're ready to go.
Now when the person arrives, probably one of the first things I will ask is: what has God been saying to you? What is in your mind? What is it that's on the top of your mind at the moment? Often the very thing that they will talk about, is the key to get into their life. It's quite extraordinary, the one thing that's just at the top of their mind, the Holy Spirit has put there, so always we depend on the Holy Spirit. How would we do the ministry session? I would just usually explain to them look - I want to explain to them how to co-operate; I need you to co-operate with me. This is not about just me setting you free. This is about us working with the Holy Spirit, so we'd talk to them about how you can co-operate, and what their part is in it. I say the first thing is, you have to take ownership, this is your problem, and even if there are demons, it is your issue to bring to the Lord, with faith in your heart, believing for Him to help you. It's Jesus that can set you free.
We'd explain the grounds to be set free, that there's got to be repentance, you've got to bring sin - sin creates the legal grounds, so I'd explain to them you need to confess sin to the Lord. It has to come to the cross, otherwise the legal grounds remain there. I'd tell them about the need to release forgiveness, that unforgiveness will keep the person in bondage; the need to renounce or speak words, to cancel bondages or agreements with demons, and then to be quite proactive in resisting, quite proactive in resisting. So I'll tell them then, as we begin our ministry time, I'm going to lead you in a prayer, to acknowledge who Christ is, what He's done for you, and to dismantle the demonic legal rights. Afterwards I will pray for you. At that point stop praying, centre your thoughts on the Lord, and just co-operate in the process of deliverance. I've found it quite helpful if people cough, often just the act of [exhales sharply/coughs] it often can trigger off deliverance. Coughing does not deliver you. Many people cough, and they're not delivered - but coughing can mean act of faith in that kind of environment, that I'm resisting this spirit. So I tell them just to co-operate, not be passive, waiting, and letting me do something to them.