Have you had any experience in praying for those oppressed by the demonic?
- Share briefly.
- Have any of these experiences left you discouraged, disillusioned, or jaded? Share briefly.
- Has that resulted in separation from God in any way?
- Is there any bondage that has come to you as a result of the deception and separation?
I don't really have a whole lot of experience with the demonic. I've never played for a "deliverance" or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think that demonic possesion looks anything at all like The Exorcist (even that it's supposed to be based on a true story). I don't believe that demons can fully posses christians to the point that it cuts them off from the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 says that not even demons can seperate us from the love of God.
That being said, I do believe in demonic oppression and influence. The Enenemy IS real, he does want to see us seperated from God. Our job is to recognize these spirits and confront them with the truth of God's word.
I think we all have out own personal "demons" that we struggle with, areas of sin patterns that aren't fully submitted to God's rule yet. Whethere these are actual demons or not I don't know. For me, I contunually struggle with things like anger, cynicism, rebelliousnes, and know-it-all-isms, etc. That;s just for starters. Whether those are the result of demons, conditioning, trauma, etc, I don't know. Sometimes what may appear as "demonic" could really God's Spirit moving in different ways in these areas of struggle.
I don't think I've ever directly prayed for deliverance. Usually its something tacked on to the end of another prayer, i.e. "...and if there is anything of the enemy holding him here, release him in the name of Jesus". I've seen deliverance going on around me. It's always a bit scary to me at first because usually it involves some grunting and moaning which I usually associate with someone in pain.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who I've ever spoken to who has been "delivered" of something usually shares just how incredibly freeing it is, and how new growth is able to take place when those blocks are removed.
I think I probably come in contact with demonized people much more than I realize. Missi has a better awareness of me so she'll point things out that I may have not noticed. One time she was in a thrift store and this lady was mumbling under her breath nearby. Missi had the sense she was demonized so after a few times, she confronted the woman and asked her what she was saying. The lady kind of growled, "I never get text messages about jobs". Which sounds random but as Missi was driving to the store, she had received a text from our friend about a great job she had just been offered. Missi was pretty spooked and rebuking it wasn't the first thing on her priority so she left rather quickly. Crazy!
I find that in my skepticism, it's hard for these things to be real to me unless someone close to me who I really trust has an experience. While God is gracious enough to still do things around me, I think it really holds me back from having my own stories and experiences. I think that will be a continued prayer of mine, that he might help overcome my hesitations, not simply by proving himself to me, but by helping me be simply obedient and trust that he is who he says he is and is capable of so much that doesn't make sense to me.