The best analogy I know [for deliverance] is to see the demons as “rats” and the emotional and spiritual problems as “garbage.” Demons are like rats: They go for garbage. The emotional and spiritual stuff is the garbage. As long as there is garbage, there are likely to be rats feeding on it. 

If we have garbage in our homes, it attracts rats. If we are to get rid of the rats, we first need to deal with the garbage. If we fight the rats but keep the garbage, the rats come right back. But if we deal with the garbage, it is comparatively easy to get rid of the rats, though they do not usually go away without being chased. 

Demons can infest any of the emotional and spiritual stuff that I am referring to as garbage.

Some who do deep-level healing choose to deal with the rats before the garbage… I seldom find it advisable, since it usually results in fighting with the rats when they are strong and takes more time [and effort] than if the garbage is dealt with first. Conversely, if the emotional and spiritual stuff is dealt with first, the demons become weak and usually can be cast out with little to no fighting. 

So I choose to deal with the garbage first, recognizing that demons are a secondary problem. When the primary problem, the garbage, is dealt with first, the demons are so weakened that they are unable to cause violence or embarrass the client.