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 2
What can we learn about the parents and the children in the deliverance stories?
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 2, we look closely at the parents and the children in these experiences.
Characteristics of these interactions:
The Parents
Only 1 parent was involved in the deliverance of their child. One parent is enough!
Parents were desperate, and therefore persistent.
Parents knew Jesus could deliver their children.
Parents were not perfect, and maybe not even socially acceptable. The father was weary and his faith was waning. The mom was not Jewish and not even welcome there where Jesus was.
Parent did not have to figure it out (how or where demon got in or was able to oppress child) or have any training.
Parent had spiritual authority over their children and knew children did not need to be involved in the transaction.
One parent seeking Jesus for deliverance is enough. It can be the father or the mother. If you’re the only parent in your family contending for the deliverance of your child, you are enough!
Parents have spiritual authority over their kids. It is the parent seeking deliverance for their child - ie. Not the child seeking their own deliverance. (See article on parental spiritual authority).
Parent persistently pursues Jesus for deliverance. They knew Jesus could deliver their children and continually pursued Jesus to do it. Ask, seek, knock. (See Matt 7:7-11). Be persistent in seeking the Lord for deliverance for your child. Don’t give up! Love never fails. Both parents were also humble. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6.
Parent doesn’t have to be “socially acceptable” or “perfect” in order for their child to be delivered. Both of these parents came to Jesus based on their faith in HIM to be able and willing to deliver their child. Neither of them tried to prove their worthiness nor relied on their own righteousness.
Parent doesn’t have to figure it out. These parents did not have to find the open door/gate, roots of the problem, ancient/ancestral curses, etc. first! These Biblical examples show the simplicity of deliverance. Don’t make it complicated! John Ch. 9 tells the story of the man born blind. The Disciples asked Jesus, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” Jesus replied, “Neither his nor his parents’ sins. This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” Your children’s deliverance is not dependent on your own understanding of what caused the demonic oppression and/or mental illness. Your part is to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow His lead. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, and Understanding. Trust Him to provide all that you need for this. These two deliverance stories had only 2 basic elements - 1) Parent persistently pursues Jesus for deliverance for their child (faith-filled humble prayer). 2) Jesus delivers the child.
The Children
The boy was not involved in any way except as recipient. He was deaf, so couldn’t hear what was going on, and mute, so couldn’t verbally respond to any of it. He was thrown into a violent convulsion, so was definitely distracted - not paying attention to father’s conversation with Jesus.
The girl was not even present.
They did not confess sins first. Did not forgive first. Did not renounce anything. Did not understand what was going on. Both were simply recipients of deliverance.
I believe these examples show that you can use your own discretion about whether or not you want your child to be present for the deliverance prayers. In either case, please remember that all deliverance is dependent on Jesus’ righteousness, neither the child’s nor the parent’s righteousness. There is no condemnation in Christ, and He came to set the captives free. Your child is precious to God. He died to set them free. If you choose to have your child present, make it a condemnation-free zone, full of God’s unconditional Love for them!