Kerri,

Those are good questions.  No, demons do not always gain a foothold in a
person's life just because they have a traumatic experience.  No one I have
ever met likes having surgeries done on them so that would be normal to have
apprehension when going for surgery.  If the fear associated with the
earlier event continues, however, and effects us as adults when we shouldn't
be afraid, then that usually is an indication that a lie dwells within that
memory.  The lie may be, Oh, I'm going to die, or something like, I'll never
wake up from this.  A child's mind could easily experience such thoughts
without any demon involvement.  However, the continuous fearfulness, if I
mean it is carried on throughout life, is a perfect breeding ground for more
lies and demonic influence.  All lies are from the Enemy because Jesus said
the devil was the father of lies but that does not mean he, nor demons, are
always there to speak them at any given time.  A good example is this.
Several people we knew from a church we were in were booked to fly to Europe
on a special church trip.  One of the assistant pastors was going and his
wife.  Their children were staying with friends.  In school, a Christian
school, one of the assistant pastor's little boys was told by another kid in
the school, Your parents are going to crash and die in the ocean.  I
guarantee that alone would follow that boy for the rest of his life unless
someone can pray with him to discover the lie and hear Jesus tell him the
truth.


Phil.