The believer cannot deliver himself or herself either morally or physically by any amount of will power. On the other hand, if there is not an iron determination to be delivered there can be no permanent healing. Both physical and moral deliverance are lost if the individual does not resolutely, with all the will power and integrity he or she can summon, desire to be delivered and to stay delivered.

There may be perceived benefits in remaining bound, both physically and spiritually. Sometimes people continue to wallow in their disabilities because it forces healthy people to attend to them. Until the believer has rejected all of these and has determined he wants no part of bondage, either physically or morally, there will be no lasting release.

There is no manner in which we can heal ourselves physically by our will power. We have to combine our desire for healing with waiting on the Lord until He grants the healing. Just because someone is sick does not indicate that he or she lacks faith or desires to be sick.

As far as moral deliverance is concerned there are many practices we can just stop doing. We do not have to wait for lightning to strike us before we are delivered. In numerous instances if we will resist the devil he will flee from us. We are to stop sinning! As we call upon the Lord He will help us do just that.

We must "awake to righteousness." We must be diligent in the matter of deliverance from moral sin. We have to "rise up early" and make certain every trace of the enemy has been removed from us.

So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: (Joshua 7:16)

One of the most important aspects of moral deliverance is a clear, well-defined statement of the bondage. It does little good to ask the Lord to remove all sin from us. We have to specify exactly what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us, precisely what has come to our attention.

It is better that we discuss our problems as sin. Many of the "foods offered to idols" can be referred to as a psychological problem. Often such an attitude is helpful in encouraging the individual to work through his or her problem without excessive condemnation or spiritualizing. However, it is well to keep in mind that evil practices have demonic counterparts. When we denounce them as sin the Divine judgment comes to our assistance.

The authority of the atoning blood of Christ and the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit forgive our behavior and bind and remove the spiritual agencies that are intensifying our psychological problems.

And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. (Joshua 7:19)

We give glory to God when we confess our sins clearly and distinctly, usually to God alone. However it often is very helpful to share our concerns with devout Christians who will pray with us without gossiping about what has been confessed to them. It is wise not to cross gender lines when doing this.

To be continued.