From Hidden to Elevated: Breaking the Demonic Spirit of Delay

From Hidden to Elevated: Breaking the Demonic Spirit of Delay

Teaching by Prophet Lovy L. Elias · Watch on YouTube · 16 September 2023

God's plan is not to keep you hidden forever — it is to release you into the fullness of what He has ordained.

There is a critical difference between being hidden by God and being held back by a demonic spirit of delay. Understanding this distinction is not merely theological — it is the key to breaking patterns of failure, poverty, and stagnation that repeat across generations. God's will is for every believer to reach the expected goal He has set, and spiritual discernment is the weapon that exposes every force working against that destiny.



Teaching Overview

  1. Spiritual discernment is a function of the spirit — not the mind — and must be developed through maturity to accurately identify the forces operating in a believer's life.
  2. Being hidden by God is a season of preparation with guaranteed timing, while being delayed by demonic forces is a spiritual battle requiring active resistance.
  3. The demonic spirit of delay operates through generational patterns, poisoning the mind and creating cycles of failure, poverty, and stagnation that must be broken by the power of the Holy Spirit.
  4. Humility before God is the essential condition for elevation — pride invites divine resistance, while humility opens the door to God's lifting.
  5. Faithful action in small, present responsibilities is the proof of readiness for the greatness God has prepared.

Key Distinctions

HiddenDelayed
What it isA God-ordained season of preparation before public elevationA demonic obstruction actively resisting a believer's God-given destiny
SourceGod's sovereign timing and shaping processDemonic and witchcraft forces, often operating through generational patterns
Internal experienceA knowing that the right time is coming; peace beneath the hiddennessA spiritual battle; nothing works regardless of effort or righteousness
Results during the seasonResults exist but people cannot yet see themEfforts collapse without explanation; relationships and resources fall apart
Biblical exampleMoses — hidden as a prince of Egypt to be shaped as a delivererGenerational families where no one ever surpasses a certain ceiling of advancement
What breaks itObedience and readiness when the appointed time comesSpiritual warfare, prayer, and decrees of liberation by the power of the Holy Spirit
Prophet's SpiritAngel of the LordHoly Spirit
What it isThe prophet's own trained spiritual discernmentA messenger from the presence of God delivering specific revelationThe Spirit of God inspiring and empowering speech and insight
How it operatesAnalyzes and reads what is present in another person's spirit without external inputSpeaks deep details the prophet's own spirit could not accessInspires angels and believers alike — the common source through which all revelation flows
What it producesDiscernment of conditions, patterns, and spiritual statesPrecise, deep revelation that fills in what discernment alone cannot reachThe foundational enabling of all prophetic operation
How they relateFills in the gaps the angel does not coverProvides the deep layer; the prophet's spirit responds and supplementsUnifies all three — angels speak by the Holy Spirit, making absolute distinction impossible without mature discernment

Spiritual Discernment: A Function of the Spirit, Not the Mind

  • Strong meat — mature spiritual truth — belongs to those who have exercised their senses to discern both good and evil; this capacity is developed, not assumed.
  • When the church instructs believers to "use discernment," the instruction is widely misapplied — discernment is not a mental function but a spiritual one, entirely distinct from human reasoning or opinion.
  • Discernment reads what is present in another person's spirit directly, without needing information, explanation, or input from the natural mind.

"When the church says use discernment they are saying use your mind because discernment is a function of the spirit not the mind."

"When you discern, you don't need to tell me something. I don't need your opinion to assess what is true or false. I can just get it from your spirit. That's what discernment is."

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Three Channels of Prophetic Operation

  • A mature prophet operates through three distinct channels: his own spirit, the angel of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit — and knowing which is active in any given moment requires developed discernment.
  • When the angel of the Lord speaks, it is a double-edged operation — the angel provides deep revelation the prophet's own spirit could not access, while the prophet's spirit simultaneously fills in what the angel did not say.
  • Angels themselves speak by the Holy Spirit, which means distinguishing between angelic voice and the direct voice of the Holy Spirit requires the deepest level of spiritual maturity.

"When the angel of the Lord speaks to me, it is a double-edged sword because I'm hearing from one that comes from the presence of God, but my spirit is also functioning."

"He'll give me the deep one that I couldn't see and then my spirit fills in the gaps that he didn't tell me. That's how it works. It's a collaboration."

Humility as the Condition for Elevation

  • Being resisted by God has one root cause — pride; removing pride through humility is therefore the non-negotiable condition for divine elevation.
  • God's resistance is not arbitrary — it is a response to pride, and His lifting is the response to genuine humility.
  • The believer who humbles themselves before Almighty God will be elevated, lifted, and brought into the goodness of God at a level previously unknown.

"Pride is what will make God resist you. So if you don't want to be resisted by God, you have to get rid of pride."

"If you can do that, the Lord will elevate you, the Lord will lift you, and you will indeed see the goodness of God more than you have ever known before."

Hidden vs. Delayed: A Critical Discernment

  • When a believer is hidden, they experience results — but those results are not yet visible to others; this is a season of preparation, not obstruction.
  • When a believer is delayed by demonic forces, nothing works — not effort, not righteousness, not relationships — and there is no natural explanation for why things fall apart.
  • The demonic spirit of delay closes doors that are not even contested for others — ordinary access that any person could obtain becomes impossible, exposing a supernatural opposition at work.

"When you are hidden, you can tell at that moment that you are hidden. It is not a force that is holding you, it's a matter of time. You know at the right time this will be opened. But when you are delayed, it is not a timing thing."

"David killed lions and bears, nobody knew. But when you're delayed, you try to lay your hands on something, it just falls apart."

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The Generational Nature of Demonic Delay

  • The demonic spirit of delay operates through family patterns — what one generation experiences as instability, the next inherits as a spiritual ceiling that prevents surpassing a certain level of advancement.
  • The affected family may be talented, hardworking, and gifted — but a consistent invisible force pushes everyone back when they approach breakthrough, leaving a legacy of mediocrity in the place of ordained greatness.
  • Demons operate with patterns, meaning the delay a believer experiences today was already being painted in the generation before them.

"The demonic delay is always a picture that is painted within your family before even you because demons operate with patterns."

"Nobody ever seems to go beyond a certain point. Everyone always ends up mediocre. Everyone seems to always feel like when they're about to go beyond a certain point, something pushes them back."

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The Mind as a Target and the Call to Present Action

  • The spirit of delay does not only attack external circumstances — it targets the mind, because if the mind is poisoned into passivity, the demonic influence can return even after the spirit has been driven away.
  • A little slumber and a little folding of the hands opens the door for poverty to overtake a life like a plague — present inaction is not a neutral condition but an active invitation to lack.
  • Faithfulness in small, present responsibilities is the evidence of the character needed to steward the greater thing God is preparing to release.

"If you cannot manage the little that you must, you are not ready for the big that God is about to release."

"A little slumber, a little folding of the hands. Poverty will catch you."

God's Will for Abundance and Strategic Elevation

  • It is the will of God for every believer to possess every single thing He has ordained for them — the Lord desires far more for His people than they can think or imagine.
  • A believer's elevation is not merely personal — it is strategic to God's plan for salvation, because the place of influence a believer occupies determines the number of souls that can be reached and transformed.
  • God wants the believer in the place of success because through that position, souls will be touched, transformed, elevated, and ultimately brought home to Him.

"It is the will of God for you to have every single thing that God has ordained for you."

"You having the place of influence, the place of success is strategic to God in his plan to bring salvation to men."


Key Definitions

Discernment — A spiritual faculty — not a mental one — that reads what is present in another person's spirit without requiring any natural information, opinion, or explanation; it belongs to those who have exercised their senses through spiritual maturity.

Hidden — A God-ordained season of preparation in which a believer has real results and real growth but they are not yet publicly visible; it is governed by divine timing, not demonic obstruction.

Delayed — A demonic condition in which witchcraft, sorcery, and evil forces actively resist a believer's God-ordained destiny, causing repeated, unexplained failure across every area of life regardless of effort or righteousness.

Spirit of Delay — A generational demonic pattern that paints a picture of stagnation and mediocrity across family lines, ensuring that no member surpasses a certain ceiling of advancement until the pattern is broken by spiritual authority.

Pride — The single root cause of divine resistance; the condition in a believer that causes God to actively resist their elevation rather than lift them.

Humility — The essential posture before God that removes divine resistance and opens the door for God's lifting, elevation, and the release of His goodness in greater measure than previously experienced.


Key Takeaways

  • Discernment is a spiritual sense, not mental reasoning — Misidentifying discernment as a thought process leaves believers without the actual tool they need to accurately identify spiritual realities and navigate their destiny.
  • Being hidden and being delayed are two entirely different spiritual conditions — Confusing the two causes believers to passively wait when they should be warring, or to war anxiously when they should be trusting God's process.
  • The spirit of delay is generational and must be actively broken — Recognizing the inherited pattern is the first step; the second is decreeing liberation by the power of the Holy Spirit over every bloodline affected.
  • Pride is the one thing that guarantees God's resistance — No amount of effort, prayer, or faithfulness will produce elevation in a life where pride has not been surrendered; humility is the non-negotiable gateway.
  • Present faithfulness in small things is the qualification for greater release — God does not release the big into the hands of someone who cannot manage the small; the character to steward greatness is proven in everyday responsibility.

Reflection Questions

  1. When you examine the recurring patterns in your family line — stagnation, financial ceilings, relationships that collapse — do you see evidence of a generational spirit of delay, and have you ever addressed it with spiritual authority?
  2. Are there areas of your life where nothing works regardless of how hard you try or how righteous you are — and have you discerned whether that is a season of hiddenness or a demonic obstruction requiring spiritual warfare?
  3. Is there a small, present responsibility in your life right now that you have been neglecting while waiting for the "big" thing God has promised — and what does that reveal about your readiness to steward what He is preparing?
  4. Where has pride — even subtle, unrecognized pride — potentially been the reason God's hand of elevation has not yet moved in a specific area of your life?
  5. If your elevation is strategic to God's plan for saving souls, what would change in how seriously and urgently you pursue the destiny He has placed before you?

Prayers and Declarations

Say this after me:

"Father in the name of Jesus. I understand that you are preparing me for greatness. I understand that you are molding me to be useful in your hands. Father, I pray that the work of the Holy Spirit within me will continue in the name of Jesus. Will continue in the name of Jesus. Father by your spirit, Father by your spirit. Remove all impurities, remove all impurities. Break me and shake me, Break me and shake me. According to your will. According to your will. Let everything that is in me, let everything that is in me, that will wish to resist you, that will wish to resist you, Father deliver me. Father, change me. Father, transform me. Even to the image of your son Jesus Christ. Father, by your spirit. Do a new work within me. Father, by your spirit. I will mold me. Shape me. That I will represent you in this world. That I will represent you in my generation. Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. Father, I pray in the name of Jesus. I accept the fire today. I accept the fire today. The molding today. Though it may be painful. Though it may be painful. Father I accept it. Because I know it is working for my good. When it is all said and done. I will be a vessel of honor. Father, I accept. Father, I accept. In the mighty name of Jesus. To carry my cross before you. To be molded by you. Even if it means losing friends. Even if it means losing my life. Father, I accept because who so ever loses his life for you, he shall pick it up again. But who so ever tries to win their life, who so ever tries to save their life, They shall lose it. Father, I don't want to lose anymore. I want to win for your glory. Father, make me an overcomer, an overcomer of the flesh, an overcomer of the ways of the world, an overcomer of fleshly mentalities, father by your spirit, help me to overcome the flesh."

Say this after me:

"Father in the name of, by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the power of the Holy Spirit. I speak to every single thing that has delayed me. Every evil forces. Every demonic powers. Witchcraft and sorcery. I decree and declare. Me and my family. Me and my family. In the name of Jesus. We are free. We are liberated. We are liberated. By the power of the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit. And in the powerful name of Jesus. And the powerful name of Jesus. Right now, I decree and declare. Right now, I decree and broken. Change of the layer broken. Change of the layer broken. In the mighty name of Jesus. The demonic powers are broken. The demonic attacks are broken. Satanic resistance is broken. Misfortune is broken. Is mine. No one can take my 2018. Over every demonic forces. Be thou broken. Be thou broken. Be thou broken. Be thou broken. Be thou broken. Be thou broken. In the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus. I scatter every works of darkness. Resisting me. Resisting those who are watching at home. Be free in the name of Jesus. Be free in the name of Jesus. Father in the name of Jesus. I release acceleration. I release speed. I release acceleration. I release speed. In every area of my life. In every area of my life. In everything that has to do with me. I release speed. I release acceleration. I release acceleration. I release acceleration. In the mighty name of Jesus. In the powerful name of Jesus. Let it be so now. Let it be so. In Jesus name."

Say this after me:

"Say thank you, Jesus. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you, Lord Jesus. For your goodness and your faithfulness. Thank you, Jesus, for your goodness and your faithfulness. I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. I will enjoy the goodness of God in the land of the living. Let it be so now. In Jesus name."


Scripture References

  • Hebrews 5:14 — "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (KJV)
  • Proverbs 24:33-34 — "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." (KJV)

Golden Nuggets

"When the church says use discernment they are saying use your mind because discernment is a function of the spirit not the mind."

"When you are hidden, you can tell at that moment that you are hidden. It is not a force that is holding you, it's a matter of time. You know at the right time this will be opened. But when you are delayed, it is not a timing thing."

"David killed lions and bears, nobody knew. But when you're delayed, you try to lay your hands on something, it just falls apart."

"The demonic delay is always a picture that is painted within your family before even you because demons operate with patterns."

"If you cannot manage the little that you must, you are not ready for the big that God is about to release."

"Pride is what will make God resist you. So if you don't want to be resisted by God, you have to get rid of pride."

"It is the will of God for you to have every single thing that God has ordained for you."

"You having the place of influence, the place of success is strategic to God in his plan to bring salvation to men."

"He'll give me the deep one that I couldn't see and then my spirit fills in the gaps that he didn't tell me. That's how it works. It's a collaboration."


Resources and Further Reading

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Topics

DeliveranceFaithPrayerSpiritual Authority

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