Today I want to tell a testimony of a lady named Sally B. who was instantly set free from addiction to alcohol in the name of Jesus! Sally had been addicted to alcohol for the past 11 years with a daily habit of consuming a full bottle of red wine by herself, which is equivalent to 7-8 shots of liquor daily.
Like many alcoholics, she tried to rationalize her daily habit by telling herself that she wasn’t a “real alcoholic” because she didn’t drink until after 5PM, after all, real alcoholics drink throughout the day, right? The problem is that the alcohol became a requirement of life and it consumed her thoughts, her life, her marriage, her finances, among other things. Drinking became the highlight of her day – she would look forward to 5PM so that she could partake of her “source of joy” and consume her “point of light” for each day. Her “source of joy” soon became a required aspect of daily life and the joy began to leave as problems entered in.
Sally always had been seeking God, but struggled to maintain faith as problems from drinking arose in her life. A common human tendency is to question God when things start going amiss in our lives. We fail to make the linkage between our sinful living and the resultant fruitless faith life, and instead we feel that God has abandoned us. Such was the case with Sally who really began to question God. The true problem was not God abandoning her, but alcohol took ownership of her soul and her faith in God was rapidly deteriorating. The scripture is true which says, “… to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin (i.e. alcoholism) leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness.”
Romans 6:16 NKJV Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
The reality is that drawing near to God, or pushing away from Him, is in our hands. The scripture tells us in the book of James that we must submit to God, resist the devil, and wash our hands from sin in order to draw near to Him. Drawing near to God (and pushing away from Him) is according to our choosing – not His. His desire is for all men to be saved, yet only some will partake. If we are in sin, let us not blame God for the problems in life, but let’s make the connection, repent, and be set free. Amen!
James 4:7-8 NKJV Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Along with deteriorating faith, Sally’s moral compass eroded and her marriage began to fall apart as her family values withered. The result was a divorce after many years of marriage. Not only that, she lost interest in other aspects of life such as her career, because her focus was on partying and selfish desires. Alcoholism affects everyone involved in a person’s life. In Sally’s case, her husband had never been a drinker until after their divorce, after which he became suicidal due to depression over life’s troubles, the loss of the love of his life, and alcohol warring against his soul. Somehow they reconciled and got remarried a year later, but now they were drinking buddies and the alcoholism was affecting both of them.
As the years ticked by, Sally was increasingly aware of the need to stop drinking, knowing that it was a stronghold over her life bringing destruction. She was mentally, physically, and spiritually desperate for change, yet her repeated efforts to stop drinking were to no avail. The reality is that it is nearly impossible to get free from addiction unless Jesus sets you free. Addicts have become slaves to sin – slaves trapped by the devil with addiction such that you can’t break free unless the Son sets you free. Addiction is captivity and oppression of the devil, yet thankfully Jesus came to set us free from it. A key turning point for Sally was remembrance of the prodigal son in Luke 15:17 who “finally came to his senses” and turned back to his father. The same was true for Sally who turned again to God for deliverance from addiction and sinful living.
Luke 4:18 ESV The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed
Fortunately, Sally was exposed to good teaching that revealed the goodness of God and the full salvation of Jesus Christ. She knew that Jesus bore her sicknesses, carried her pains, and by His stripes her healing was paid for. (Isaiah 53:4-5) She was aware that Jesus came to free her from oppression of the devil and set her free from all curse. (Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38, Galatians 3:13) She knew that divine healing was available for her, so she sent a prayer request to our ministry. On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 12:30 PM, Sally and I prayed in agreement and she was instantly set free from all desire for alcohol!
Isaiah 53:4-5 HCSB Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. (5) But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.
Acts 10:38 NKJV how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Galatians 3:13 NKJV Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”)
How did we pray? We prayed in the simple ‘mountain moving prayer of faith’ manner that Jesus outlined in the gospels. We commanded Satan and his spirit of addiction to leave in the name of Jesus. Then we commanded the heart (soul) to be healed and for her to be filled with the sound mind & sober thinking of the Holy Spirit. As simple as that! Let us remember that Jesus gave us authority to cast out demons in His name. When someone is bound up in addiction, they are truly bound by a demon – a spirit of addiction – that needs to be cast out. Upon our command in the name of Jesus, the spirit of addiction immediately left and she was set free. Every knee must bow to the name of Jesus. Devils must obey our command when we believe in our God-given authority and exercise it, as the Holy Spirit said through James, “Resist the devil and he will flee.” Thank you, Jesus!
Mark 11:22-23 NKJV So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. (23) For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
Mark 16:17 NKJV And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues
As Sally shared with me a few months after our prayer, “When we got off the phone I went about my day, and didn’t think too much more about it. However, when evening came, when out of habit, I normally would drink, the thought of alcohol made my stomach turn. No mental gymnastics. The desire just left. There were a couple of times a few weeks later that the temptation crept up, but by then the habit was over and I was able to choose with my will. … My husband has also quit drinking completely as a result of the miracle he saw occur in me (he had seen me try to quit many times before).”
Thank you, Jesus, for instantly setting Sally and her husband free from years of daily addiction to alcohol!!
