What About Demons
By Phil Scovell
The following reply was something I wrote in response to
comments made on a mailing list I have called echurch-USA. The
topic of demons in the life of a Christian came up. Some on the
list do not believe anything relating to demons and their
deception in Christians today. In other words, they believe it
was all done and finished on the cross of Christ. As you will
read, my view is different. Oh, yes, I believe Satan was
defeated at the cross and especially at the resurrection of
Christ. Demons, however, do function today and they do deceive
even Christians.
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.
Safe Place Fellowship
Phil Scovell
Denver, Colorado - Mountain Time Zone
WWW. SafePlaceFellowship.com
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