Jesus Delivers Children
The Gospel of Mark proclaims to us very good news: Jesus delivers children! There are 2 stories demonstrating this; the Syrophonenician Woman with the possessed daughter (Mark 7:24-30), and the story of the father with a deaf, mute, and demon possessed son (Mark 9:14-29). In them, we find both hope and instruction for getting our children delivered from the unclean spirits that torment them, and through them, our families.
After many years of searching for deliverance for my daughter, God’s Spirit spoke to mine:
"When Jesus delivered these children, it was one parent coming to Him asking Him to deliver his/her child. He did. It’s that simple."
The lightbulb came on! This completely revolutionized the way I thought about children’s deliverance. Afterward, it seemed so obvious that I didn’t understand why I (and so many others) hadn’t gotten it before. Deliverance for children is not complicated! As with so many things, we tend to make them complicated and difficult. Before ascending to the Father, Jesus said that His followers would lay hands on the sick and they would recover and would cast out demons in His Name. Simple. He said nothing about studying and training for years, nor about individuals being specifically called to "deliverance ministry." His statement was for ALL of His followers, and He taught and demonstrated it as basic Christianity.
I love that Jesus used the metaphor of bread when He was talking about casting the demon out of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter. Bread is a common, simple, daily staple of life. I believe the metaphor was intentional and teaches us that that’s how deliverance should be - common, simple, and exercised frequently. I’m not talking about making demons the focus of our lives, nor suggesting that everything negative is the result of demonic oppression. However, neither should we ignore the existence of demons and their effects on our lives - thus allowing them to run rampant, especially effecting our vulnerable children.
Please note:
In both of these examples, neither the children nor the parents had to renounce, repent, nor forgive first. Neither did the parent have to figure out where the "open gate" or "ancestral curse" was. The parent (not the child) just had to persistently and humbly pursue and trust Jesus for their child's deliverance. End of story. Boom. How freeing is that???
This website is part of my attempt to encourage Christian parents of hurting children that there is HOPE, and to help them as they minister to and disciple their children. If you’re the parent or guardian of a traumatized, disabled, neurodiverse, or otherwise at-risk child, I pray that you will find help and hope here.
Biblical Examples of Child Deliverance - Part 1
What can we learn about what Jesus did in these deliverances?
As mentioned in the introduction, in the stories of the Syrophoenician Woman with the possessed daughter (Mark 7:24-30), and the father with a deaf, mute, and demon possessed son (Mark 9:14-29), we find both hope and instruction for getting our children delivered from the unclean spirits that torment them, and through them, our families. In part 1, we examine what Jesus did and details about the deliverance itself.
Characteristics of these interactions:
Jesus
Tested parent’s faith/persistence
Spoke with the parent, asked them questions, and gave revelation
Delivered children based on the parents’ authority over them
Responded to parents’ humility and persistence
Affirmed faith - “Anything is possible if a person believes”
Delivered their children completely
With the boy, He identified the specific spirit afflicting him
He then commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him and never enter him again
Told the mother, who had left her daughter at home, “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.”
After the deliverance, He helped the boy up when it appeared he was dead
Taught disciples that some kinds only come out with persistent prayer (some translations say, “and fasting”)
The Deliverance
One was very simple, and as far as we know, quiet and not demonstrative at all
One was violent and messy
One was long distance
One was in person
Both were transactions between Jesus and the parents
Both were by His spoken word, in faith, power, and authority
Deliverance might get ugly. Notice that AFTER Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to leave the boy, it screamed and threw him into a “violent convulsion” before leaving him. The boy appeared to be dead. This shows us that deliverance might not be instant, might involve some violence and screaming, and things can look really bad - even after the deliverance. By the same token, there may be no outward indications of deliverance at all. The mother just went home and saw that her daughter had been delivered. I appreciate that there are 2 examples in the Bible - one showing a very demonstrative and violent deliverance, and the other, a quiet and simple one. In either case, don’t give up and don’t be afraid. Jesus IS doing the work and He IS victorious!
Jesus will complete the healing process. Jesus took the father’s son by the hand and helped him to his feet after the deliverance. Jesus will follow through and help your child to heal, which is I believe, symbolic of the discipleship/inner healing process.
The Body of Christ is called to help parents. These Biblical parents went to Jesus to deliver their children. The church is the Body of Christ, so we can help parents as they seek deliverance for their children. As we know from Scripture, two people praying together are much more powerful than one alone.
