Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1994, Page 50
are doing good things. Thus when a Catholic bishop decided to investigate one covenant
community in the Midwest, the impression spread through the group that the devil was
using him as a pawn to undo the good God was doing through their community. This is a
dramatic and serious claim. It was not alleged that the bishop was morally wrong or
corrupt he was admittedly within the bounds of his episcopal authority. But even then, he
was playing Satan‟s game, because he did not know Satan‟s plan. Satan is so devious and
deceptive that one can be free of his designs only by following those who have discerned his
true plans. These, of course, are the leaders of the community.
Because any member can fall unwittingly into the devil‟s traps and because the influence of
evil spirits is supposed to be so pervasive, most of these communities require new members
to submit to the “prayer of deliverance” during the early weeks of membership. “Being
prayed with for deliverance” is, in fact, a major spiritual event, a turning point in the new
member‟s life. This prayer originated among the nondenominational pastors of the Gulf
Coast Fellowship in the early 1970s, and they taught it to some Catholic charismatic
leaders. The very existence of covenant communities is attributed to the discovery of this
prayer. Addressing an audience of covenant community leaders from around the country in
August 1977, Kevin Ranaghan commented that without deliverance “we would have been
just a happy little Holy Spirit group.”
The prayer of deliverance assumes a kind of demonic intervention midway between ordinary
temptation and outright possession. This is a kind of oppression or obsession by which
demons lay siege to a particular area of a person‟s life. So, for example, a young man may
be oppressed by a spirit of lust, which constantly urges him to lustful acts and desires. The
victim may well believe that he suffers from a particular character weakness, whereas in
fact he is being constantly harassed by demons.
The effects of this obsession need not correspond directly to the sinful area represented by
the obsession. The spirit may work “negatively.” For example, the spirit of lust may cause
his victim to be reluctant to relate to members of the opposite sex. A spirit of anger might
not inspire outbursts of anger but instead cripple his victim‟s capacity to confront evil. Thus,
there are no unequivocal signs of demonic obsession. A seemingly virtuous life can still
mask the workings of a host of evil spirits.
The prayer for deliverance depends neither on some kind of analysis nor on confession.
(Indeed, the person undergoing deliverance may have no pertinent sins on his conscience.)
Rather a prayer team attempts to discern on its own in prayer what evil spirits may be at
work. The Pastoral Guidelines of the People of Praise states:
Normally within the first year of being underway each member of the community is
prayed with for deliverance. Normally this is done in a general deliverance session.
It is also normal for people to be prayed with again for deliverance if they and their head
feel it would be beneficial for them. (Lk. 10:19-20) ...The team does not “interrogate
the spirits,” but rather discerns their presence and prays against them in the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The person being prayed with is to renounce any
spirits that are named.
The method here is significant. The “victim” plays a passive role in his or her deliverance. In
the early days of covenant communities, the spirits were interrogated, and this gave the
victim a more active role. At the prompting of the prayer leader, the victim was to respond
for the spirits, trusting that the Holy Spirit would ensure that the evil spirits involved would
be honest. This “discernment” might run something like this:
Leader: I sense the presence of a spirit having to do with money. (To the victim, gently)
Just respond with the first thing that comes to mind. (To the demon, sharply) I
command you evil spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, to tell us your name!
are doing good things. Thus when a Catholic bishop decided to investigate one covenant
community in the Midwest, the impression spread through the group that the devil was
using him as a pawn to undo the good God was doing through their community. This is a
dramatic and serious claim. It was not alleged that the bishop was morally wrong or
corrupt he was admittedly within the bounds of his episcopal authority. But even then, he
was playing Satan‟s game, because he did not know Satan‟s plan. Satan is so devious and
deceptive that one can be free of his designs only by following those who have discerned his
true plans. These, of course, are the leaders of the community.
Because any member can fall unwittingly into the devil‟s traps and because the influence of
evil spirits is supposed to be so pervasive, most of these communities require new members
to submit to the “prayer of deliverance” during the early weeks of membership. “Being
prayed with for deliverance” is, in fact, a major spiritual event, a turning point in the new
member‟s life. This prayer originated among the nondenominational pastors of the Gulf
Coast Fellowship in the early 1970s, and they taught it to some Catholic charismatic
leaders. The very existence of covenant communities is attributed to the discovery of this
prayer. Addressing an audience of covenant community leaders from around the country in
August 1977, Kevin Ranaghan commented that without deliverance “we would have been
just a happy little Holy Spirit group.”
The prayer of deliverance assumes a kind of demonic intervention midway between ordinary
temptation and outright possession. This is a kind of oppression or obsession by which
demons lay siege to a particular area of a person‟s life. So, for example, a young man may
be oppressed by a spirit of lust, which constantly urges him to lustful acts and desires. The
victim may well believe that he suffers from a particular character weakness, whereas in
fact he is being constantly harassed by demons.
The effects of this obsession need not correspond directly to the sinful area represented by
the obsession. The spirit may work “negatively.” For example, the spirit of lust may cause
his victim to be reluctant to relate to members of the opposite sex. A spirit of anger might
not inspire outbursts of anger but instead cripple his victim‟s capacity to confront evil. Thus,
there are no unequivocal signs of demonic obsession. A seemingly virtuous life can still
mask the workings of a host of evil spirits.
The prayer for deliverance depends neither on some kind of analysis nor on confession.
(Indeed, the person undergoing deliverance may have no pertinent sins on his conscience.)
Rather a prayer team attempts to discern on its own in prayer what evil spirits may be at
work. The Pastoral Guidelines of the People of Praise states:
Normally within the first year of being underway each member of the community is
prayed with for deliverance. Normally this is done in a general deliverance session.
It is also normal for people to be prayed with again for deliverance if they and their head
feel it would be beneficial for them. (Lk. 10:19-20) ...The team does not “interrogate
the spirits,” but rather discerns their presence and prays against them in the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The person being prayed with is to renounce any
spirits that are named.
The method here is significant. The “victim” plays a passive role in his or her deliverance. In
the early days of covenant communities, the spirits were interrogated, and this gave the
victim a more active role. At the prompting of the prayer leader, the victim was to respond
for the spirits, trusting that the Holy Spirit would ensure that the evil spirits involved would
be honest. This “discernment” might run something like this:
Leader: I sense the presence of a spirit having to do with money. (To the victim, gently)
Just respond with the first thing that comes to mind. (To the demon, sharply) I
command you evil spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, to tell us your name!
