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| Home > Healing > How to Cast Afflicting Spirits Out of Your Life | Email this article |
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How to Cast Afflicting Spirits Out of Your Life
Introduction
We live in a war zone on planet earth, and whether we know it or not we're all involved in an ongoing spiritual battle. Demons are real, and they can afflict us mentally, physically, emotionally, and so on. If you're not sure about this, I invite you to read my article called An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare. The article you're reading now will help you fight back against the enemy and show you how to cast out demons which might be afflicting you or your family. I can't guarantee what kind of results you'll have, but by following this self-deliverance procedure you will be taking strong steps toward gaining victory over the enemy. Many people (myself included) have gained instant victory over areas of sin or areas of physical affliction through this type of self-deliverance, but there may be times when people will need further deliverance counseling. My prayer is that this article will bless you and help you to get out from under any demonic oppression that may be coming against you or your family, and that the Lord will be glorified as a result! The Spiritual Effects of Past Sins
Becoming a Christian removes the penalty of your past sins, but it doesn't automatically remove the effects of your past sins. For example, if your body was damaged in some way by drugs or alcohol before you became a Christian, you probably weren't instantly healed the moment you got saved. You might still have some of the effects of your past sins to deal with. In a similar way, if you've taken part in occult practices or other demonic activities then you may have opened yourself up to the possibility of being afflicted by demonic spirits. Christian counselors with decades of experience in dealing with demonic afflictions report that when the Holy Spirit enters a person's heart at the moment of salvation, this doesn't necessarily cause any demons to stop afflicting the person. By sinning we give demons "legal rights" over areas of our lives, and some of these demons may still be around even after the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us. Consider for example that the devil "accuses [us] before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10), which means that God allows the presence of the devil in His Throneroom (see also Job 1:6 and 2:1, where the devil presented himself before the Lord). In other words, God allowed an evil spirit into His presence, and therefore we can't dogmatically say that the Holy Spirit will never allow any demons near Him in or around a Christian. Also, if we say that the Holy Spirit absolutely cannot or will not dwell in the presence of evil then we're forgetting that He dwells within the heart of our sinful, evil, corrupt, fallen flesh. This idea that Christians can be afflicted by demons may be difficult for many people to accept, so let me simply refer you to the spiritual warfare section of your local Christian bookstore for further study. An excellent resource is The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare by Dr. Ed Murphy (see chapters 53 to 56, for example). You can also find the Scriptural evidence of this in my article called An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare. Those who are afflicted by demons are usually not aware that their problems are spiritual in nature. This means that you or I might be suffering from demonic affliction or oppression without even knowing it. We might be suffering from physical infirmities, emotional problems, problems with recurring sin in our life, problems dealing with things such as anger, lust, pornography, and so on, all of which can have a demonic origin. For example, there was a woman in Luke 13:10-16 who was bent over for 18 years and could not straighten up (which we might diagnose as a form of scoliosis today), and Jesus said that her physical infirmity was caused by an afflicting spirit. When Jesus cast the evil spirit out, her physical infirmity immediately disappeared and she was able to stand up straight. Scripture also speaks of lying spirits (1 Kings 22:23), a spirit of dizziness (Isaiah 19:14), a spirit of prostitution (Hosea 5:4), a deaf and mute spirit (Mark 9:25), a spirit of fear (Romans 8:15), a spirit of stupor (Romans 11:8), a spirit of timidity (2 Timothy 1:7), a spirit of falsehood (1 John 4:6), and so on. These are possible examples of afflicting spirits, and there are many other ways in which evil spirits can afflict people. Please understand that I'm not speaking of demon possession, I'm talking about demonic affliction. The English word "possessed" is not the best translation from the original Greek, but unfortunately this is the term which has been used in many versions of the Bible. A better word is "demonized," which covers the range from mild afflictions to partial control of the person by evil spirits. Beliefs and Practices Which May Need to Be Renounced
Even though you've been forgiven of your sins, it's a good idea to renounce any past involvement in things which might have opened the door to demonic activity in your life. The following list (compiled from the experiences of Christian counselors) is not meant to be complete or all-inclusive, it's simply meant to get you thinking about the activities which you've been involved in. Some of the things on this list are obviously denounced in Scripture (such as satanism), but other things on this list may have had no harmful effect on you. However, experienced deliverance counselors say that most of the things on this list have caused some people to become demonized at one time or another, so we would be wise not to take them lightly. When we do some of these things "just for fun" (such as going to a palm reader or a fortune teller), or when we cast spells and hexes "just for fun" while playing fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Pokemon, or when we listen to certain songs and consider them to be harmless, etc., then we're entering dangerous territory. Demons don't care if we were just kidding or "just having fun." If we invoke their language or dabble in their realm then they may become active in our life. Consider a prisoner of war who says, "I was just joking around, having some fun. I didn't mean for you to capture me!" That's what it's like when we naively play games or listen to songs which are associated with the demonic realm, no matter how "harmless" these things may seem to us. The point of this list is simply to give you some things to consider, and I'll leave it between you and God whether or not you feel that you should renounce any of these or other activities: involvement or belief in other religions or cults, Transcendental Meditation, the occult (including such things as Ouija boards, Tarot cards, crystal balls, palm reading, fortune telling, horoscopes, astrology, clairvoyance, and other aspects of ESP), spiritism, satanism, participating in seances, fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons or Pokemon, the "Magic" or "Myst" types of card games, demonically-oriented video games, demonically-oriented song lyrics (even when the music seems "tame"), hypnotism, fraternal organizations such as freemasonry, witchcraft (both "good" and "bad"), Wicca, trance channeling, belief in reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, past life experiences, pornography, sexual sins, and so on.According to those who have decades of experience in spiritual warfare, these types of things might have opened doors in your life, giving demons legal rights to afflict you in certain ways. These things should be renounced as you feel directed by the Holy Spirit to do so (which I'll cover in a moment). Another area which can open the door to demonic affliction is anything having to do with foreign gods and idols. If you own any artwork which has occult symbols or pictures of pagan gods or goddesses on them, be aware that these may be more dangerous than you realize. Idols are associated with demons in Scripture, and the Israelites in the Old Testament were told over and over to smash and completely destroy all sacred images and idols from other cultures. Notice carefully what God's attitude is toward any artwork or objects associated with pagan beliefs: "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.'" (Numbers 33:51-53)We can clearly see in these passages that there are demons behind pagan idols and gods. When people sacrificed to the gods they were sacrificing to demons (see 1 Corinthians 10:18-20 above), and God commanded the Israelites to completely destroy all objects and artwork associated with these foreign gods. This was an act of spiritual warfare against the demonic realm, and we would be wise to destroy and get rid of any objects in our homes which are associated with the things in the list above. This simple act of destroying or throwing away such objects and renouncing the spirits attached to them and dedicating the home and family to the Lord has brought freedom to families which were afflicted with strife in the home or afflicted with a string of "accidents" or illnesses, and so on. Unfortunately, modern Christians tend to be very naive when it comes to the spiritual realm, and we place ourselves in potential danger when we associate ourselves with anything having to do with pagan gods, goddesses, idols, vows, oaths, curses, etc. For example, if you've been involved in a fraternity in which you made any kinds of vows that invoked the names of Greek gods, these oaths should be renounced. If you're a medical doctor, you should consider renouncing any parts of the Hippocratic Oath 
which invoked the names of Greek gods. Modern medical schools sometimes use a modified Hippocratic Oath, so you should closely examine the particular oath you took. The traditional oath often begins in this way:
"I swear by Apollo the Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant."and it ends by having the physician pronounce a curse against himself: "If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot."A Christian should never swear by any pagan gods or goddesses nor pronounce any types of curses, and if you've done so (even if it was before you became a Christian) then these oaths should be renounced. I hope that by now you can see how such an oath would be viewed by God (based on the Scripture passages above) and how it might allow the possibility of the entrance of demons into your life in some way, even though you're not likely to be aware of their presence. A Prayer for Renouncing the Effects of Past Sins and a Command Against any Spirits Which Have Attached Themselves to Your Life
When you're ready to renounce all unGodly beliefs or practices in which you've been involved, here's a prayer for taking back the ground that you may have given to the devil. Notice that we only pray to God, we never pray to the devil or his fallen angels. Instead we take authority over demonic spirits in the Name of Jesus and we command them to leave us. Say the following out loud: "Heavenly Father, I know that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of my sins, and that He rose again from the dead to assure my salvation. I belong to You, I'm Your child, and I desire to live in a way that's pleasing to You. If I have believed or taken part in anything which is contrary to Your will or is displeasing to You in any way, then I'm truly sorry and I ask You to forgive me in the Name of Jesus. I now confess all of the sins which gave legal ground to the devil, and I repent of them. [Now tell God the things you can recall, being as specific as possible (names, places, etc.)]. I now renounce these things in the Name of Jesus. I forgive everyone who has hurt me just as I desire You to forgive me. Thank You for forgiving and cleansing me by the blood of Your Son.By renouncing your past sins which may have given demons the "legal right" to come into your life, you have taken strong steps toward being completely set free to live an abundant life in Christ. If the devil or his fallen angels try to attack your faith, your health, your finances, or any other areas of your life, simply command them with authority in the Name of Jesus to get out of your life and never return, just as you did a moment ago. May the Lord bless you, and may you live an abundant and victorious life in Christ! |