Encounter with a Demon

I know I repeat myself a lot. There is a precedent. The Bible repeats a lot, (because we just don’t get it sometimes) and Im a Beeman. So repetition is inevitable as Jennifer is painstakingly learning. Im not sure if I covered this under spiritual attacks about 18 months ago or not, but it bears repeating. I mentioned yesterday that great Charles Stanley quote “If you are not bothering the devil, he won’t bother you.” So I guess I must be bothering him because I feel like Im under attack. The good part is that Im aware, and that is half the battle. There is a great line in the Usual Suspects, and I wish it were in the Bible. “The greatest trick the devil ever did was convince the world he didn’t exist.” Since All Truth is God’s truth, Evangelites, I’ll take that movie quote as truth.

I woke up this morning somewhat quickly and refreshed. Which is kind of odd because I had been talking to Jennifer til 4 am. As I was about to jump into the shower to get ready for church, I had these odd thoughts suddenly appear in my head. “I don’t need to go to church today. I’ll go when Jennifer gets here. Im sleepy, I should get some rest. I can go next week it will be fine. I could sleep and then go have a nice brunch.” All these thoughts kind of hit me within a minute. Then I realized what was going on. I think it was some sort of attack. So I prayed, outloud. “Spirit of the enemy, you have no authority over me. Whatever spirit that doesn’t glorify Christ, I command you be gone in Jesus name.” With an inaudible poof the thoughts were immediately gone. As quickly as the thoughts came upon me, they just as quickly vanished, which made me certain that those thoughts were not my voice or the Lord’s. OK…I know there might be a perception among some readers that Im out there, because I would have had that same perception earlier. Before I went through life transforming changes. I know this spiritual battle is real. I know what Paul said, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Most Christians don’t want to hear this and most pastors don’t preach it. It makes too many people uncomfortable. I could give you several examples of witnessing this battle firsthand, but let me give you the one that jumps immediately to mind.

It was about 10 years ago. My ex-wife and I were married then and attending a spiritual conference called Cleansing Stream sponsored through our home church of The Church on the Way with Jack Hayford. This was a deliverance ministry. What I saw that weekend were pretty dramatic encounters of people getting released from both demonic oppression and possession. What I saw was a lot crying, wailing, fighting as the prayer warriors rallied around these people. It was a scene right out of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist. It was very Hollywood type of drama and I had never before witnessed anything like it. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. What many Christians don’t realize that Jesus spent a 1/3 of his ministry casting out demons and devils. If he put so much emphasis on it, why don’t we as well.

That night I went to sleep normally and woke up with a very strange and incredibly vivid dream. I seldom dream and I seldom remember it. But here it is 10 years later and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I dreamt that as I was sleeping, there was a four-inch demon on my shoulder. Dude was ugly. This demon was greasy, had a big pot belly, and balding head, Pointy ears, beady red eyes and a scraggly beard. He was whispering in my ear, “Don’t believe any of this. Its just a bunch of charismatics jumping around screaming out hoola boola stuff. Don’t believe it, you are better than this. These people are strange. Just jumping up and down waving their arms, they’re crazy. “ I didn’t think much of my dream, only shrugged and thought to myself, that was weird. I did not tell anyone of the dream nor did I tell my ex-wife who was laying next to me. So we went back to the conference and it was more of the same only more intense. The next morning, my ex-wife woke up with a startled look on her face. She said, I had the strangest dream last night. I dreamt there was four inch demon on my shoulder whispering in my ear, don’t believe this, its just a bunch of crazy charismatics, these people are strange, you are better than this…” It was my same dream verbatim. It turns out before the conference some of the prayer leaders went through the hotel praying away the evil spirits, casting them away in the name of Jesus. But….we registered late and were staying at the hotel across the street that hadn’t been prayed for. From that moment on, I knew that this battle was intense, real and verifiable. I could tell you more stories, maybe later on the down the road.

So with that knowledge and experience, I know that Jennifer and I are both up against a big spiritual battle. Your prayers are appreciated. The good part is that the enemy is fighting like crazy, and that must mean something pretty darn spectacular is just around the corner. I have put on the full armor of God. Im spiritually fit, from working out with my prayer and meditation. I think Im ready for the onslaught. The frustrating thing is that Jennifer and I are physically separated. She’s going to come under the same attack that I am, and because im a half world away, I feel like I can’t protect her as effectively as I should. But that is part of the enemy’s strategy and timing. He knows to divide and conquer. This is his best chance to attack. But Im ready this time. I believe Jennifer is too.