First of all, let’s define “deliverance” for everyone who may be reading this. Deliverance means to be “rescued.” Rescued from what? In the Biblical sense it means to be “rescued (saved) from sin.” We need to be rescued from the PENALTY of sin, the POWER of sin, and the PRESENCE of sin.

The moment a sinner believes in Jesus Christ as Savior they are delivered from the PENALTY of sin, which is hell. Jesus said in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be SAVED” (NKJV). It was His DEATH on the cross that provided this salvation for the sinner. Once one is saved from hell, they need to be delivered from the POWER of sin; that is, from the Old Nature of sin that is still in them (this is no doubt what your question deals with). It is by Christ’s LIFE working in us that we experience this ongoing deliverance, as we see in Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my beloved…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” And finally, when the Lord RETURNS to take us home, we will be delivered, once and for all, from the very PRESENCE of sin. We see this blessed truth in Hebrews 9:28, “So Christ was offered once to bears the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear the second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” The apostle Paul brings all three of these aspects of deliverance together in 2nd Corinthians 1:10, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust He will still deliver us.”

Again, your question deals primarily with the second aspect of deliverance; deliverance from the POWER of sin and it would surely include being delivered from Satan who will do all in his power to tempt us to sin. Let’s consider some verses that assure us the Lord will deliver us IF we cry out to Him:

*2nd Samuel 22:2-4, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my DELIVERER; the God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You SAVE ME from violence. I WILL CALL UPON THE LORD, who is worthy to be praised; SO SHALL I BE SAVED FROM MY ENEMIES.”

*Psalm 34:4 & 17, “I SOUGHT the LORD, and He HEARD ME, and DELIVERED ME from all my fears…the righteous CRY OUT, and the LORD HEARS, and DELIVERS THEM out of all their troubles.”

*Psalm 107:6, “Then they CRIED OUT TO THE LORD in their trouble and HE DELIVERED THEM out of their distresses.”

These are NOT prayers that your Young Adult group can recite, but they are passages that promise them (and ALL believers) DELIVERANCE if we cry out to the Lord. No matter what the trouble is we are facing from our enemies (Satan and everyone he uses to tempt us to sin), if we “cry out to the Lord in the time of trouble, He will deliver us!” So, I would encourage your young adults to pray FROM THEIR HEARTS TO THE LORD, telling Him exactly what temptations they are facing and HE WILL DELIVER THEM!

I would like to close with an actual prayer that David prayed, for in it he points to the real cause of sin; which is SIN IN US! His desire was for God to reveal to him any sin that was lurking in his heart and then to be delivered from it. I pray this prayer often and I would encourage your Young Adult group to do so too. Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (294.9) (DO)