A lady just wrote that she began teaching the Prayers That Heal the Heart course, and came under assault of demons. Her relationship with her sister fell apart. She slipped on the ice and got a concussion. She wanted help! I asked her if she had her armor on.
As we explored we discovered, she had unresolved anger and bitterness, so NO, her heart was not covered with the breastplate of LOVE. Parts of her armor were off, so she had a chink in her armor or a break in her hedge of protection, and the serpent was able to strike (Eccl. 10:8 KJV). She went to work praying through her anger and bitterness so her protective armor would be complete.
Many Christians ignore demons entirely, and have never cast out a demon. Other Christians go to the opposite extreme, attributing every pressure in their lives to satan harassing them. What is the biblical balance?
May I suggest that if I don't give the devil an opportunity (Eph. 4:27) he has no power to touch me, but if I give in to his schemes, I can come under his destructive influence. Another way of saying this is, if there is no chink in my armor, or no broken down areas in my hedge of protection, then satan has no ability to touch me for I live protected by God's grace.
If demons are allowed access they bring disease (Lk. 13:11,12), destruction (Mk. 5:1-20), and death (Jn. 10:10), so I sure don't want demonic interference in my life. I want to walk in the victory Jesus has promised to me. I want to live in my Promised Land.
Key principles we will explore in this blog
- A curse without cause does not alight (Prov. 26:2).
- I submit to God and resist the devil and he flees from me (Jas. 4:7).
- Whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him (Eccl. 10:8 KJV).
- I put on the full armor of God, so that I AM able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:10,11).
Job had a hedge protecting him from satan's attack, but he had one broken down area of the hedge
Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land (Job 1:10).
Satan was not able to touch Job, unless he first got permission from God.
Job did have a chink in his armor, or a broken down area in this hedge, which was protecting him. It was FEAR! What I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me (Job 3:25). Therefore satan was allowed to strike.
In the case of Job: The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold (Job 42:10). Restoration came after Job forgave his counselors who had come against him and offered wrong counsel. Wow! Apparently forgiving is crucial to experiencing God's protection (Mk.11:24-25).
I can live sheltered and hidden from the enemy
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps. 91:1). Hide me in the shadow of Your wings (Ps. 17:8).
If I live close to God, walking in obedience to His Word and His Spirit, I am actually hidden under His wings. Satan and his demons can’t even find me, much less harass me. What a nice place to live - hidden from the forces of evil and blessed by the blessings of Calvary! I don’t need to fear satan’s attack because satan can’t even find me!
Notice that satan's first line of attack is lies in my mind
So, since we are still involved in a warfare (2 Cor. 10:4), and satan's attack begins in my mind, I choose to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), so satan and his demons have NO INROADS to bring devestation into my life!
Satan's lies are rooted in accusation, division, fear and hate
- Challenging God: "Did God say you shall not eat from any tree...?" (Gen. 3:1)
- Challenging truth: "You shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4)
- Challenging love: "He knows that if you eat of this you will become like God" (Gen. 3:5)
- Creating fear: "What I fear came upon me" (Job 3:5)
- Challenging identity: "If you are the Son of God..." (Matt. 4:3)
- Challenging you to live recklessly: "Throw yourself down" (Matt. 4:6)
- Challenging you to worship other gods (Matt. 4:9)
If my hedge is broken down, THEN demons can strike
Whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him (Eccl. 10:8 KJV). If we embrace satan's lies, and move into sin, then satan gains destructive access to our lives.
What if my wall of protection is weakened and broken through listening to satan's lies, stepping into sin and disobedience? If I allow that to happen, demons can intrude. I have given place to the devil through unrepented sin. Word curses and generational curses also open doors for demons to anchor to. Now evil spirits have a legal right to operate in my life!
- Do not give the devil an opportunity (Eph. 4:27). Evil spirits are legalists who skillfully take advantage of every area in our lives where we have “given place to the devil!”
- A curse without cause does not alight (Prov. 26:2).
- Forgive everything … so that no advantage would be taken of us by satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:10,11). Again we see that walking in love and forgiveness is connected with keeping demons at a distance.
I STAND FIRM against the schemes of the devil
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:10-12).
If we fail to “stand against the wiles of the devil” and instead yield to his pressure, demons take all the territory allowed them. As we see from Job’s story, when the hedge is removed, satan can destroy our health, our family, our finances, and essentially every area of our lives. When Adam and Eve sinned, pain, destruction and death followed. The New Testament tells us that demons can cause deafness (Mk. 9:25); blindness, muteness (Matt. 12:22); infirmity (Lk. 13:11,12); madness, anti-social behavior (Mk. 5:1-20); and epilepsy (Matt. 17:14-18). Jesus healed many sick by casting out demons (Mk. 1:34).
Love and forgiveness keep me free from satan's snare
- Put on the breastplate of faith and love (1 Thess. 5:8).
- Reaffirm your love for him … so that no advantage would be taken of us by satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:8,11).
- Forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us (Lk. 11:4).
- Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions (Mk. 11:25-26).
- And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart (Matt. 18:34-35).
Wow! These are heavy verses. Turned over to the torturers means delivered over to demons who harass us and bring into our lives the things Job experienced when his hedge was down. At the very minimum, if we do not forgive, we have mental and emotional dis-ease, which produces disease in our body. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (Prov. 17:22).
Walking in LOVE and FORGIVENESS and obedience to God is a must, if we want God’s hedge of protection and freedom from demonic influence in our life.
Honoring all people helps me express love and forgiveness
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king (1 Pet. 2:17).
The Lord lifted this verse off the pages of Scripture, and spoke it directly into my heart. He said, "Mark, you are to honor all people." We dialogued for some time in my journaling about what this meant. That morning's devotions were a life-changing encounter, as He showed me that ALL actually meant ALL, even those who disagree with me politically and spiritually! This honor extends to non-Christians, and those in other religions. Wow!
If I extend honor, I cool my tendency to judge. If I extend love, that also cools my tendency to judge. I find it impossible to honor and love a person while at the same time criticizing or hating them. You might want to ask God to speak to you about this verse too.
I stand firm against the devil by being filled with the Spirit and putting on God's armor
Jesus' counsel is that demons can come back: "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first" (Lk. 11:24-26). Note: We are to live and walk by the Spirit, and not leave our house empty (Eph. 5:25).
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm (Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Thess. 5:8,9).
- GIRD YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH
- PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
- Shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
- The shield of FAITH to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one
- THE HELMET OF the HOPE of SALVATION
- The sword of the Spirit, the word (rhema/spoken word) of God
- Pray at all times in the Spirit
Andrea rebuilds a wall of protection and FEAR loses its grip
I grew up in a family where they had deep roots in witchcraft. On my mother’s side of the family my great grandparents (and I’m sure even more relatives I’m not aware of), to include my mom, participated in witchcraft. Growing up in my house was very interesting. We would have manifestations of demonic activity on a regular basis and assumed everyone’s household was just like ours. I remember as a child being extremely fearful, nervous, and anxious (for obvious reasons).
My mom did put us in church and participated in church herself because she knew inside of her that Jesus was what we needed but because she was raised in the environment she was she always went back to what she knew. You can imagine how that was for us as kids. Church on Sunday then come home and see everything going on like mom using her things for spells, Ouija board etc.
When I got married and moved out I started my journey towards a relationship with Jesus. It was a challenge! It wasn’t until my 30’s that God put people in my life I could share my family history with. I was then able to confess, repent and forgive the generational sin of witchcraft within my family line. I was also able to repent and receive forgiveness for my sinful responses for being in the environment. I went through a season of healing for God to remove the wrong beliefs and lies about Him, who I was and about life in general. Jesus had given me the scripture: You who DWELL in the secret place of the Most High and will remain fixed and STABLE in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps.91:1)
In other words He was restoring my hedge of protection. You see my husband is retired US Army and whenever I would go home and visit my mom, even though I was saved, I would walk in her house and be in judgement of her and her actions. Then staying in the house my fears from childhood would rise up within me when all the manifestations would occur and I would have anxiety and literally be frozen in terror. I would whip out my Bible and say ALL the “right” scriptures to no avail. The enemy had me every time. I was wondering: “Should I keep away from them until they got their act together or never visit home again?”
Then finally one day I asked God what in the world is going on here? Your Word says greater is He who is in me and that is not working at the moment. God clearly spoke to me that through my fear, beliefs, being in agreement with the lies of the enemy, unforgiveness, and judgement, demons had access to me. If I would handle these things, the access is closed. Then He said to pray so I could see my mom and siblings the way He (Jesus) sees them because when He looks at them He doesn’t see all the stuff I do. He only looks at them through the eyes of love.
I needed to truly honor my mother and I was not. The word says to honor your father and mother so you will live long in the land the Lord God is giving you. (Ex. 20:12) AND HONOR ALL people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king (1 Pet. 2:17).
Jesus gave me His eyes and His heart and now I go home and visit and NOTHING happens to me. I have peace, rest, and comfort. It’s a matter of fact the past few years I have been going home there have been no manifestations at all while I have been in the house. I have even went through and anointed my mom’s home.
I am able to spend time with my mom loving her as my mom and just be her daughter. Some of my siblings have participated in witchcraft but they see my love and response towards them and they ask me about Jesus and my mom has even asked me to pray for her. God is restoring my family and it’s amazing. I just go home and be a daughter and sister and ask Jesus to teach me how to love them the best way I can. Because of this heart posture I have SEEN the Salvation of the Lord in great and mighty ways within my family.
Journaling exercise - Lord, are there chinks in my armor or breaks in my wall?
What steps do I need to take in order to stand firm against the schemes of the devil?
Seeing more clearly: In what situations do I need to accept that my struggle is not with people or circumstances but spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places?
Putting on the Armor of God:
- What truth are you asking me to walk in, that I am not walking in fully?
- Where do I need to put on righteousness?
- Where do I need to be a minister of peace?
- Where do I need faith to replace my fear?
- What word would You speak to spark hope in my heart, so my mind can be filled with hope?
- Where do I need to be praying in the Spirit?
Go Deeper
- Discover how to do two-way journaling here.
- Hearing God's voice resulted in giving up anger and receiving blessings (scroll down)
- Removing the voice of the accuser
Related Resources:
Prayers That Heal the HeartRelated Blogs:
Casting Out Demons
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