Have you ever prayed with someone and sensed that something was spiritually off? Maybe as you listened to their needs, problems, and challenges, something inside you stirred. You sensed that there was a spiritual need for freedom in their life.
Or maybe it was more obvious. They came right out and told you they were carrying a spiritual issue and needed prayer for freedom or deliverance.
So how do we respond? What do we actually do?
Why We Feel Unprepared for Deliverance Prayer
One of the most common struggles in praying for others is feeling unequipped to pray for spiritual freedom. We feel like we don't always know the right questions to ask. The whole situation can leave us feeling uneasy, wondering if this is an area where God has called us to pray for others.
We are concerned that we are unable to handle situations because we just never learned how. These types of more serious spiritual issues can be overwhelming for us because the intensity or seriousness of the situation makes us aware that this seems like something that is beyond our abilities.
I've felt this myself. Early in my own journey of praying for others, I often felt poorly informed about what was happening or why when I encountered people who needed spiritual freedom and suffered from oppression. There was a real gap between my readiness and what I was encountering. This was accentuated by the fact that my upbringing and background didn’t include anything about how to address these types of spiritual issues.
But over time, as I prayed with more people, I saw God show up again and again. He used those uncertain moments to bring deliverance and help people move out of the places where they were stuck. These moments usually surface in ordinary settings: someone requests prayer for spiritual freedom in a church setting, or I meet someone who simply shares a need in a different environment. That's where I discovered that many people could be helped with a model that many people are already aware of and use.
The Five-Step Prayer Model, Adapted for Spiritual Freedom
I've found something simple that helps in these moments, and it doesn't require adding a mountain of information to what we already do. It just requires becoming more awake to what's happening in our lives and the lives of others. It also involves adding questions and making some adjustments that take the moment to the level where spiritual freedom can be encountered.
The tool is the five-step prayer model, adapted for situations involving spiritual oppression or a need for freedom. The five steps are:
Interviewing: asking good questions
Discerning: sensing what's really going on
Praying: engaging in focused prayer
Feedback: checking in with the person
Post-prayer direction: guiding next steps
The interviewing step is where this model becomes especially important for deliverance prayer. This is where we ask, and just as importantly, where we listen.
How the Need Shows Up
Sometimes people already recognize their own need for spiritual freedom. They'll ask directly for prayer, or bring a trusted friend or family member with them and that person clarifies the reality of oppression and the need for freedom. This brings the situation to the forefront, and the path forward is clear.
Other times, people aren't fully aware of what's happening or why it’s happening within them. As we pray, we may simply sense something real in the spiritual world, like a spiritual weight, a resistance, or a darkness. In these moments of praying for others, we can shift back to the interview portion of the prayer model and ask open-ended questions. We need to ask questions that are non-accusing. When we ask these questions, we want to let the Holy Spirit reveal what is happening, and we want to make sure that the person is in agreement.
Diagnostic Questions for Spiritual Freedom Prayer
When someone senses oppression, darkness, or a need for freedom, a few simple, well-placed questions can shape how you pray. Consider asking about:
Family of origin: Was there broken trust or ongoing conflict at home? How was self-worth communicated?
Unforgiveness and bitterness: Are there wounded relationships, unresolved conflict, or unanswered questions about past injustices? Left unaddressed, bitterness toward others can get projected onto God Himself, painting Him as unjust or unloving.
Rejection and fear: Does the person carry rejection, or repeat negative self-talk from their painful stories and experiences?
Generational patterns: Do certain struggles, behaviors, or even occult practices seem to repeat across generations in the family?
Occult or witchcraft involvement: Has the person knowingly or unknowingly participated in or explored these practices? Sometimes, especially as a child or teen, the consequences of exploring or participating in tarot cards, ouija boards, or forms of magic are not understood.
Trauma: Has "big-T" or "little-t" trauma created lasting emotional, mental, or relational stress, showing up as anxiety or depression? Trauma can take many forms and levels of severity.
This list isn't exhaustive, and these signs don't automatically mean someone is under spiritual attack. In fact, the person may simply be facing emotional or relational struggles. But here's a helpful insight: spiritual attack often targets the places where we're already wounded or weak, and that is worth noting when we pray for others.
When We Pray for Others
Ask good questions and listen well. People are usually more than willing to share their story once given the space.
A word of caution: when we pray for others, we are not trauma counselors. Praying for others does not equip us to ask someone to relive every detail of their past. Our focus stays on prayer, not on excavating the minutiae of their story. Our goal is that we want to help make space to receive and experience the Holy Spirit.
Another important aspect when we pray for those who need spiritual freedom is we should never do this alone. Invite trusted people into the process and use a team-based approach for prayer. This brings collective discernment to the situation so that what one person misses, another may sense. Community can create a deeper wisdom and safety.
The Fruit of Learning to Pray for Freedom
When we learn to handle these moments without being overwhelmed, we become the type of people who can help others move toward genuine spiritual freedom. We become people who God can use to help lift spiritual pressure and darkness off the lives of others. We become people who understand that God uses these moments to profoundly minister to people.
If we never learn this, the opposite happens: fear and anxiety creep into our own prayer life, we stay poorly equipped, and we miss out on helping others experience spiritual freedom.
But when we apply these simple principles, something shifts in us too. We become confident in God's power to bring freedom. We grow more spiritually aware, more attuned to what's really going on beneath the surface, and more ready to help someone move from spiritual bondage into breakthrough.
The next time we pray with someone, be sure to stay attentive. When we sense darkness, oppression, or an unspoken cry for spiritual freedom, we will be ready to help them take the next step toward breakthrough.
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