When a simple phone call turned into deliverance

The day we first moved into our house in St. Augustine, there was a knock at the door. A young guy was going door to door offering a service to spray homes for bugs and asked if we were interested. At the moment we weren’t, but he asked what brought us to Florida. I told him that my family had just moved here to start a church.

We talked for a few minutes. He was really kind, and then he headed off to the next house. But about five minutes later he came back and knocked again. This time he asked if we could pray for him. He shared that he was going through a really hard season in his life. Right there on our front step we prayed for him.

I remember thinking how cool it was that on the very first day we moved into our home, God opened a door for us to pray for someone.

Fast forward two months.

Yesterday morning I was doing my devotions and ended up reading Matthew 8:16 where Jesus was casting out demons and setting people free. Around the same time, I had been noticing some bugs around our house and had it on my to do list to call someone to spray. I suddenly remembered the guy who had knocked on our door that first day.

So I reached out to him and we connected over the phone. We set up a time for him to come spray the house. Before we hung up, he asked if he could talk to me about something personal.

He told me that recently he had given his life to Jesus. But ever since then he had been experiencing intense spiritual attacks at night. He described nightmares, anxiety, depression, and even things moving in his room. He said he had been praying, reading his Bible, and anointing his room, but nothing seemed to stop it. The night before had been so bad that he decided to stay home from work because he hadn’t slept.

I told him I had seen Jesus set many people free from darkness and demonic oppression during our years of ministry in Wisconsin, and I asked if he would like to come over so we could pray together.

He said yes.

We set a time for 5:30 that evening, and he brought his cousin with him. In our living room we walked through a time of prayer and deliverance together. As we prayed, Jesus set both of them free from heaviness, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, and generational bondage.

As I reflected on it later, I couldn’t help but think about my devotional that morning. Just hours earlier I had been reading about Jesus setting captives free in Matthew 8. I had no idea that eight hours later that very scripture would come to life right in our living room.

It felt like the Holy Spirit was preparing the moment before it even happened.

Moments like this remind me why God sent our family to St. Augustine. We believe He brought us here to see people encounter Jesus and be set free from darkness.

And this feels like just the beginning.

Jesus is still setting the captives free.