How Inner Healing and Deliverance Changed My Life

In 2019, I was walking down the hallway at my children's homeschool co-op when another mom came up to me and said, "God has sent me to walk with you for as long as it takes." Shocked and confused, I had no idea what she meant, but I could sense the importance and the urgency behind it. Little did I know what I was about to blindly agree to. This divine appointment marked a pivotal moment in my life where I was about to embark on a journey where I would be forever changed, and my view of myself, my life, and my relationship with God was about to be completely dismantled to be rebuilt and reconciled to truth.

At that time, I had never even heard of the term "inner healing". In case you haven't either here is a general definition.

Inner healing focuses on emotional, mental, spiritual, and even physical healing from past hurts, traumas, abuse, or lies people have believed about themselves, the Godhead, or others. It's a ministry of the Holy Spirit, bringing truth, comfort, and restoration - and includes prayer and listening, repentance, forgiveness, inviting Jesus into painful memories, replacing lies with truth, and healing deep soul wounds.

Some scriptural foundations of inner healing are found in:

• Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

• John 8:32 – “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

• 2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

• James 5:16 – “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Heading into the first session I did not know what to expect - I assumed it would just look like praying with this woman. However, fear and shame crept in as I felt like my past was going to be exposed, and possibly even held against me. I did not grow up in a Christian home, I had only started to learn about having a relationship with Jesus 7 years prior, I had only been baptized 2 years prior. I had lived a lot of life in sin and darkness as I tried to survive through the pain of my past - that honestly I couldn't even fully remember besides the ripple effects of how I felt and behaved. Needless to say, I was nervous.

I soon found out, that these sessions would be the safest place to work through my life story. The time I spent with God during these times became the sweetest and most real encounters I had ever experienced. I began receiving God's love in ways I didn't even know were possible. The woman did not merely council me out of her experience- she gracefully and powerfully facilitated a meeting between Jesus and me, where she helped to give me questions to ask Him so that I could hear His voice for myself. God's Truth began to be exchanged for lies I had held against myself for as long as I could remember - the loud voices of "I'm not enough" and "I am unloveable" became silenced by Jesus showing me how He sees me, by telling me how He loved me before anyone else, and how he explained that the bad things that had happened to me were not my fault. The intimate relationships of trust and love that were created with Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit - three distinct persons, yet One God - during these sessions have been the greatest gift to my life that now extends into everything I am, and everything I do.

I have to be honest, though, as we continued not every session was easy and this sweet. Some were a downright battle where I got to experience other nature's of God - such as Deliverer, Rescuer, Defender. There was a very real enemy against me and my life, passed down from generations behind me, evident in the abuses that were a part of my life and the choices I gravitated towards. As Satan's assignment was being exposed the fight for "ownership" began. This is where deliverance was introduced.

At that time, I equated deliverance with exorcism movies or pastors yelling at people as they growled and their bodies shook. *To be clear, I do believe there is a time and place for exorcism - but I believe it needs to be done privately and with authority - not just yelling.

Deliverance in a Christian context refers to being set free from demonic oppression , strongholds (fear, addiction, anger, etc.) and/or spiritual bondage (occult practices, ungodly soul ties, etc.) that either you, or your generational lines, have given access to. It can include confession and repentance, renunciation of evil, identification of the demonic access, and the commanding of demons to leave. Your mind, body, emotions, and behavior are freed from demonic influence.

Some scriptural foundations of deliverance are:

• Mark 16:17 – “In my name they will drive out demons…”

• Luke 10:19 – Authority over the power of the enemy.

• Ephesians 6:12 – “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…”

Deliverance has given me a freedom I never knew I could have. I didn't know that those internal nagging voices that were constantly trying to make me feel bad, anxious and afraid, or make me feel shame, or that I deserved to be punished, were not my own. I did not know that there could be freedom from self-protection, haunting flashbacks, and even physical blockage when I was being sexually intimate with my husband after being a survivor of rape and sexual abuse. I had lived a lifetime of just trying to push through triggers, to block them out, or disassociate from them. I did not know I could be free from them. Where I settled with, "this is as good as it is going to get", God said, "I'm not finished with you yet."

This is just a small look into what inner healing and deliverance has done for me and my life. I continued on with that woman for a year. We then moved to another state, and guess what ...God sent another - for another level - and another - for a different part. Jesus paid the price for us to be fully saved, healed, and delivered. I would not be the woman I am today without these gifts, and I am passionate about others receiving the gifts as well.

Important Things to Keep in Mind

Deliverance removes spiritual bondage

Inner healing repairs soul wounds

Often, deliverance follows inner healing, as unhealed trauma can be an entry point for spiritual oppression

Biblical grounding is essential to avoid excesses or error

Not every problem is demonic, and not every emotion requires deliverance

It should be Spirit-led, not fear-driven or control-driven

It's a process—freedom and healing often come in stages

Accountability and community help maintain freedom

*Professional, and licensed, counselors and therapists with other healing modalities and philosophies are also important and needed