Help
With Your Rule
Deliverance Prayer
Dear Holly,
I was reading the part in your book where you talk about deliverance prayer. I've felt the same kind of emotional turmoil and oppression, scoffing thoughts, etc.- and so often get told pat answers about it. I'm not sure how to go about finding a priest or asking a priest for this kind of assistance. Any advice?
Labels: 1st P Prayer
posted by Holly at 1:15 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for your question - it is not so uncommon as you might think. I have received a number of emails from women in the past few months who think they too might need it.
First off, I can tell you that I didn't 'diagnose' myself. The issues of healing and deliverance prayer came up through the normal course of my spiritual direction. The discernment took place on the part of the priest. I think this is important. Why?
Because prudence and spiritual caution dictate that normal and natural causes are examined first when there is any 'spiritual' problem.
For example, when I am pregnant during the first few months, I am severely depressed. Obviously, it is a hormonal reaction, despite the fact that my spirit experiences the ramifications. It is only when the physical, psychological and moral aspects are ruled out that there can be a true discernment of demonic harassment. This discernment is not up to us - but our directors.
Secondly, I had been to see many people about my emotional state - doctors, priests, etc - and I did many things on my own to restore emotional order - aligned my activity with moral norms; studied; analyzed my past; forgave people who had hurt me; attended to my health; partook of the Sacraments regularly.
These things helped and had their place in my healing. Without them, I probably would not have noticed such a huge change after the healing and deliverance prayers.
So, once again, I think we need a regular director who can tell us what we need to work on, and lead us through the steps or refer us to other professional care. Sometimes we can think "The devil made me do that" when in fact, there may be many things we are failing to do ourselves. An objective outside opinion and the action of the Holy Spirit is our best bet here.
Lastly, it was only when I had reached the end of my rope, after having lived a fairly faithful Christian life for a long time, did I finally implore the Blessed Mother to intervene. Now , I had prayed novenas and rosaries galore - and I believe they each had their place. But when push came to shove, I placed it firmly in Mary's hands and asked her to put the right person in my path. Within a month, I had found him.
Again, I did not search high and low across continents to find that priest, but put it to prayer and trusted in God and Mary's intercession to get me the help I needed. And she did.
Now, she could have done it a lot sooner too, I suppose, but in God's way, there is mystery, and we don't always understand why things seem to take so long. Here, we have to trust He is still holding us in the palm of His Hand and guiding us.
My first recommendation then? Pray for a director, and in the meantime, do a general confession of your whole life. Consecrate yourself to the Blessed Mother and pray your rosary. That's where it starts, I think...
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