John,
I agree with everything you said. This is why, when praying with people in
intercessory prayer sessions, I don't look for demons. Many times they
simply leave once the truth of the Word of God is applied. If they have a
stronghold in a person's life, however, they will not just leave until the
reason why they are there is exposed. Let me explain the difference. I was
praying with a lawyer friend of mine in New York City one day. About 20
minutes into the prayer time, the Lord wanted him to take a look at a
particular memory related to his relationship with his father. I asked him
to tell me about the memory and he said, There's nothing but a buzzing sound
in my ears. In Jesus name, I took authority and told the demon who was
blocking the will of the Lord to stop it. I asked Bill what happened and he
said, the buzzing stopped instantly. He then could see what the Lord was
showing him and he was healed in a very powerful way by the Lord and His
Word at that moment. Another time I was praying with someone and there was
a blockage keeping this person from seeing or hearing anything. I asked the
Lord if there was any demonic presence blocking His will for this person and
a demon immediately began speaking through this person's voice. When I
asked the demon why he had the right to be in this person's life at this
point, he said, because they made a vow. I asked him what the vow was and
he said, they know. I commanded him, in the name of Jesus, to stop talking
and to stand aside. He immediately stopped talking. I then asked the
person with whom I was praying what the demon was talking about and they
told me about a vow they had made as a little child. This begins to fall
into the category of evil soul ties and unholy covenants I wrote about a
little while back. I had this person pray a prayer to break this unholy
covenant and to break the vow which the demons were using to maintain their
stronghold in this person's life. The vow was broken instantly and the
demons left by this person praying and commanding them out of their life.
We then could get to the place the demons were protecting. Jesus then
exposed the lie they were using as their legal authority in this person's
life. Once the Lord's Word brought light, the person was set free and the
vow was rendered powerless because it was replaced with the truth of God's
own Word. The only aspect of demonology that might be considered dangerous
is not knowing who you are in Christ. I never look for demons during a
prayer session unless there is a blockage and if there is, they manifest in
various ways. Often they do not talk at all because they can't. That means
they only have a foothold and not a well developed stronghold. You handle
each of those differently based upon what you know and don't know concerning
why they are there. Some demons have a legal right to be where they are due
to the lie that the Christian is believing. If they are believing that lie
instead of God's Word, it is due to either committed sin that is unresolved,
or a lie than has remained implanted in the event, or a traumatic experience
as a child in which a lie was implanted into their thinking and since they
were a child, they were unable to process the information with maturity.
This sort of thing is quite common among children who were sexually abused.
In these cases, it is very common that the event is repressed, or
suppressed, to the degree they do not even remember the details or the event
itself. In these cases, you always find one of two things. You find either
a demonic presence which has to be removed before healing can come, or you
find a fragmented part of the mind which was created by the child. This
dissociation is not demonic. It is the mind fragmenting into another
personality in order to help the person suppress the trauma and the
tremendous pain the mind has been forced to endure. These dissociated
fragments of a person's mind are not, as I said already, demons, although
demons often masquerade as alternate personalities. Since personalities
cannot be cast out, since they are not demons, it has to be determined, by
talking to each of the alternate personalities, which they are. When an
imposter is found, they can be removed and the finishing work of Christ can
be accomplished. There is a very simple way of discovering if an alternate
personality is a personality or an unclean spirit. You simply ask the one
speaking, normally their voice has changed and sounds different, to answer
this question. Did Jesus Christ come in the flesh? Yes, or no. Demons
will never answer this question. Alternate personalities created by the
traumatized person's mind will answer the question immediately by saying
yes. Some traumatized people have multiple personalities that have been
created to protect multiple areas of pain suffered in early childhood when
the mind was too undeveloped to understand what was happening to them. As
with demons, I never bother looking for alternate personalities unless
indications arise which reveal there are other personalities. Demons love
to talk to you but alternate personalities are normally very shy and
reluctant to talk. The person has to be very sure you are their friend
before their alternates will ever speak to you. I have spoken to many more
alternate personalities than demons because when I find a demon in a
person's thinking, I normally lay down parameters, which if they violate, I
send them directly to the Lord to take care of. Demons don't like going to
Jesus. By the way, Jesus is their Chief Shepherd and Lord and Master, too,
so when they are turned over to him, they aren't happy. Again, if they
refuse to go, there is a reason why they can stay. Through praying with a
person, this reason is located, exposed by the Lord Jesus, and replaced with
His Truth. That immediately removes the right a demon has to stay and they
often leave on their own because the light is the only thing left and they
hate the light of Christ. Demons, if allowed to, will also always try and
challenge your authority. If you aren't sure who you are in Christ, and if
you allow them to carry on a conversation with you, they will locate that
inconsistency in your belief structure and try and turn the tables on you.
This is why I never talk very long to a demonic presence. I only talk long
enough to find out why they have a right to be there. Then I make them shut
up or defer them to Jesus for control. I know a man who prays with people
and carries on running conversations with demons he discovers in a person's
life. He is looking for the root cause as to why they are there but it only
traumatizes the person more to think they have demons rolling around in
their thoughts. Besides, there is no reason to carry on a conversation with
them because all you need to know is why they are there. Furthermore, the
longer you talk, the easier it is for them to tap into an area of your own
life that may be uncomfortable for you to think about. One thing you never
do is answer a demon's question. This is their way of turning the tables on
you. I ignore all questions or defer them to Jesus. I hope this discussion
helps somebody. If any of this makes someone feel uncomfortable, there is a
reason and you would be wise to find out why because it will get worse
instead of better. It is a lie of the devil that demons won't bother you as
a Christian. If you think that, you have already been deceived and it has
stirred up some area of your life that our Lord wants to heal. In short, if
you are afraid of demons, there is a reason and that reason is not of God
and needs to be removed by the Lord so you can walk in spiritual freedom.
Why does the Lord Jesus want you to walk in total freedom? So you can do
His will and serve others. Yes, it is that simple.
Phil.
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