Children's Bread

Beating Relapse After Deliverance

Written By

BBI

Published On

February 3, 2026

"Many believers experience relapse after deliverance. Learn how to stay free, resist counterattacks, and maintain lasting victory through biblical principles."

Why Do Some People Relapse After Deliverance?

MOST people rejoice after deliverance—only to find themselves slipping back into old habits, patterns, or even worse bondage. This painful cycle raises an important question:

Why does deliverance sometimes not last?

The issue is not that deliverance failed. The issue is that many believers are never taught how to fight back when the enemy attempts a return.

Deliverance is not the end of the battle—it is the beginning of a new way of living.

The Biblical Warning About Relapse

Jesus Himself warned about this danger:

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”
— Matthew 12:43–45

This explains why some people become worse after deliverance. The enemy regroups for a counterattack, and when that moment comes, the deliverance minister will not be there—you will be.

That is why staying free requires personal responsibility, spiritual discipline, and biblical training.

You Are Not Powerless

The good news is this:
You do not need a deliverance minister present to remain free.

You can call on the name of Jesus Christ yourself—and He will answer.

Christ, the life-giving Spirit, lives in you. You are no longer operating from the weaknesses of the first Adam, but from the victory of the second Adam—Jesus Christ.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” — Colossians 1:27

Freedom is sustained not by external help alone, but by internal transformation.

How to Stay Free After Deliverance

Here are three biblical foundations that help believers remain free and overcome relapse.

1. Renew Your Mind

After deliverance, the fiercest battle does not happen in the heavens—it happens in the mind.

Many people were conditioned by years of defeat, lack, fear, or addiction. Their thinking patterns—and even their words—were shaped by those experiences:

“I will never change.”
“I am weak.”
“This always defeats me.”

To stay free, your thinking must change.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
— Romans 12:2

Renewal comes through:

Daily reading of Scripture
Meditation on God’s truth
Application of the Word to daily life

A renewed mind resists old lies and strengthens new freedom.

2. Change Your Words

The Bible teaches that words shape reality.

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” — Proverbs 23:7
“The tongue has the power of life and death.” — Proverbs 18:21

To stay free, you must speak differently.

Faith-filled words reinforce spiritual victory:

“I am free in Christ.”
“I can resist temptation.”
“I am strong in the Lord.”

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’” — Joel 3:10
“God calls things that are not as though they were.” — Romans 4:17

Your words should align with God’s truth, not past bondage.

3. Develop a Strong Prayer Life

Staying free requires a shift in prayer—from emergency prayers to consistent spiritual warfare.

Oppression thrives where prayer is weak. Freedom grows where prayer is strong.

A delivered believer must learn to:

Pray daily
Resist temptation immediately
Command the enemy to leave
Declare Scripture out loud

Prayer keeps the house occupied—so the enemy finds no empty space to return.

Freedom Must Be Maintained

Deliverance cleans the house.
Discipline keeps it guarded.

Staying free is not about fear—it is about stewardship of your freedom.

“Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” — Galatians 5:1

When You Need Support

Freedom is personal—but it does not have to be lonely.

If you feel overwhelmed or need guidance, trained deliverance ministers can walk with you and help you strengthen your foundations.

Final Encouragement

Deliverance is not temporary relief—it is an invitation to a new life.

When your mind is renewed, your words are aligned, and your prayer life is strong, relapse loses its power and freedom becomes your lifestyle.

You were delivered to stay free.

Empowering you to live victoriously by identifying and breaking invisible barriers in your life

Galatians 3:13

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Common Questions

Being born again secures your salvation—your sins are forgiven, and you belong to Christ. You don’t need deliverance to be saved.

However, even as a believer, you can still struggle with patterns, strongholds, or spiritual oppression from the past. Deliverance isn’t about salvation; it’s about applying Jesus’ freedom to those areas. If you experience ongoing struggles, prayer, renunciation, and pastoral support can help you walk fully in the liberty Christ has already won for you.
Breaking a generational curse, in a religious sense, is seen as a spiritual journey of repentance, faith, and deliberate action. It begins with acknowledging sin—both one’s own and, in some beliefs, the lingering effects of ancestors’ wrongdoing—and turning away from it through heartfelt repentance and prayer. This recognition is often accompanied by a conscious renunciation of the curse, verbally declaring that one no longer accepts the negative patterns or misfortunes that may have been passed down through the family line.

Faith plays a central role in this process. Believers rely on the power of God to intervene, heal, and restore, trusting that divine authority can break spiritual strongholds that have persisted for generations. Prayer, sometimes accompanied by fasting, Scripture reading, or intercession from spiritual leaders, is used to call on God’s guidance and protection.
When we receive salvation, our spirit is redeemed immediately. Our sins are forgiven, we are justified, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 1:13–14). Salvation restores our relationship with God and secures eternal life.

However, the curses or effects of sin in the world—sickness, generational patterns, fear, poverty, or emotional wounds—are not always broken automatically. The reason is that while our spirit is saved, our body, mind, and circumstances still exist in a fallen world under the consequences of sin (Romans 8:20–22).
If you struggle with something but generally overcome it, it is not necessarily a spirit. The Bible shows that even faithful believers wrestle with sin and weakness—Paul himself admitted in Romans 7:15–20 that he struggled to do what was right even as he desired to obey God. A true “spirit” or demonic stronghold is usually characterized by persistent, overpowering opposition that cannot be resisted through prayer, Scripture, and obedience.

If you are able to resist, repent, and grow despite the struggle, it is more likely an area God is using to refine your character and strengthen your faith. Struggles can reveal patterns in our lives that need God’s grace, teaching us dependence on Him, humility, and perseverance. Victory is not about perfection; it is about continuing to walk in obedience, relying on God’s Word, and trusting His Spirit to lead you forward.
Yes, according to Scripture, the human spirit can be influenced, but it’s important to be precise about what that means. The Bible teaches that we are spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The “spirit man” is the part of us that connects with God, discerns spiritual truths, and communes with Him (John 4:24; Romans 8:16).

A demonic spirit cannot possess the spirit of a born-again believer because the Holy Spirit indwells them (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 John 4:4). The Spirit of God protects and fills the spirit man, so it cannot be taken over. However, the spirit man can be influenced or oppressed by external spiritual forces if there is neglect, unrepented sin, or agreement with lies, which can affect our thoughts, emotions, and will.

Satan and his spirits can tempt, deceive, and oppress, but they cannot inhabit the spirit of someone truly born again. That’s why Scripture emphasizes guarding your heart and mind, staying in God’s Word, and walking in obedience—this keeps your spirit man aligned with God and resistant to attack (Ephesians 6:10–18; James 4:7).
consequences of sin, wrongdoing, or negative behavior can extend beyond an individual and affect their descendants. In this context, a generational curse is not merely about inherited traits or family patterns in a psychological sense, but rather a spiritual or moral consequence passed down through family lines.

For example, the Bible mentions in several passages, such as Exodus 20:5 and Numbers 14:18, that the sins of the parents can affect their children “to the third and fourth generation.” This is often interpreted to mean that unrepented sin or disobedience to God can create spiritual or circumstantial burdens like poverty, addiction, illness, or relational strife that may continue to manifest in subsequent generations.

Religious teachings often emphasize that generational curses are not inevitable. Through repentance, prayer, faith, and obedience to God, it is believed that individuals can break these curses and restore spiritual blessings to themselves and their descendants. In Christian practice, this might involve confession, seeking deliverance through prayer, or living a life aligned with God’s commandments to end the cycle of negative spiritual influence.
Feeling anger is not automatically a “spirit.” Anger is a natural emotion that God Himself expresses in certain circumstances (Exodus 32:10; Psalm 7:11). What matters is how you handle it. If you feel angry but do not act in sin, controlling your words, thoughts, and actions, this is not a demonic spirit—it is a natural human response being managed in obedience to God.

A spirit of anger in Scripture refers to a persistent, controlling, or destructive force that dominates a person’s behavior (Ephesians 4:26–27 warns against letting anger give the devil a foothold). If your anger arises but you remain calm, forgive, and do not allow it to control you, it is simply an emotion, not a spirit.
When faced with temptation, there are times to run and times to resist, and Scripture gives clear guidance.

You run from sin when it is dangerous, seductive, or beyond your natural ability to resist. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee fornication.” You remove yourself from the source of temptation—whether it’s a place, a person, or an opportunity—because staying there puts your soul at risk. Running is not cowardice; it is obedience and wisdom.

You resist when you are confronted with pressure or attack that you can face through God’s power. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resisting means standing firm in faith, speaking Scripture, and relying on the Holy Spirit. This is active confrontation, not passive endurance.

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— Deuteronomy 31:6

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