I've written about my own beliefs regarding demons and demonic activity in other posts (such as this one), and I've been thinking about it a lot lately as I've been reading a book by Karl Payne entitled Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization, and Deliverance. I'm in agreement with Payne that demons exist and are active in our world. I believe they attack Christians on a regular basis, to varying degrees. Revelation 12.10 states that the devil is an accuser, and I believe one of the main methods of attack utilized against Christians is that of accusation.
Don't get me wrong: I don't believe that the devil or demons lie under every rock and behind every tree. Demons aren't behind every sickness, tragedy, and misfortune. In our stupidity and lack of foresight, we're quite able to pull those things off on our own. Nor do I believe that every temptation comes from demonic powers; the Bible teaches that temptation can come through the world and our own sinful inclinations. While a lot of Christians believe demonic forces lie behind temptation, I think they have better things to do with us, since the world and our own flesh have those bases covered. Demonic forces, the "powers and principalities" of which Paul speaks, are anti-God, anti-creation, and anti-man. They work against the Kingdom of God. They're defeated enemies, but they're determined to cause as much chaos as they can before they go down into "the pit" (whatever that is). By accusing us day and night (as scripture teaches), they aim to destroy our devotion to God and to weaken our witness before the world; by doing so, they can put roadblocks in the way of the gospel's advance.
In his book, Payne talks a lot about the accusations Christian face. He doesn't say all accusation that we hear in our minds is demonic; in fact, when people come to him concerned about demonic activity, he assumes they aren't demonized and seeks to help them through Bible reading and prayer. If that doesn't work, he admits it's a possibility that they may be demonized, and this possibility ought to be explored. At the same time, he adamantly believes that some things require doctors, psychiatrists, and medication rather than exorcism. He writes that in his personal experience, both as a Christian and as an "exorcist" (though he doesn't like that word), demonic accusation often comes in the form of secondary personal pronouns. You, your, you're. Reflecting on the last couple of months, there's an eerie thread that runs through lots of the thoughts that have been flowing like a broken faucet through my mind. Some examples:
God doesn't listen to you; why do you pray? God's shown himself untrustworthy--he took Mandy from you! If God REALLY cared about you, that wouldn't have happened. You know why he took her from you? Because you weren't good enough for her. He gave you so many chances, and you failed each time. You're a failure, and you always will be. You couldn't lead her well, and that's why she ended things with you. You can read all the books you want and pray your heart out, but you can't change who you are any more than a leopard can change its spots. You just aren't good enough, and that won't change. You should just give up on God. He's given up on you; why do you cling to him when it's so apparent that he doesn't care? Why do you continue to believe when it's evident that he's not even there? You should give up on ministry; if God wanted that for you, you wouldn't always be rejected. You're rejected because God tells the committees that you're not a good fit. He's sparing them from you in the same way he spared Mandy from you. Look: when the elders at Mayhill said they wanted you, what happened? God organized a coup to make sure you weren't elected to the position! He threatened to divide his own church just to keep you out of it. How much more evidence do you need?
That these accusations aren't a thing of the past is evidenced by an earlier post this year. The enemy's accusations focus on the chinks in our armor, the vulnerable spots in our hearts. If I'm not just "hearing voices" because I've got a dysfunctional brain (many would argue that's likely), then it may be the case that I've been victim to demonic attack. The appropriate response to such demonic attack is three-fold:
(1) Recognize the lies and confront them with truth. It would take an entire monograph to take the italicized paragraph above and show all its falsehoods when lined up against scripture.
(2) Pray offensively and defensively. Many Christians (myself included) treat the arena of spiritual warfare as a sideshow or as a Christian novelty. The New Testament writers, especially Jesus and Paul, take it for granted that spiritual entities exist (both good and bad) and that these entities are in a power struggle. When we become Christians, we become part of this war; Paul's language on the Armor of God in Ephesians 6 doesn't revolve around fighting temptation but fighting demonic powers. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand up against the schemes of the devil. Paul isn't being metaphorical; he continues, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. You can't get around it: Paul takes it for granted that we are in a spiritual war, and we must live accordingly. This involves, first and foremost, prayer. Offensive prayers are prayers that ask God to destroy those who are seeking to destroy us, to to thwart those who are trying to thwart us. Defensive prayers are prayers asking God to encircle us with protection.
(3) Make Scripture Reading a priority. This is a no-brainer, and it ties back into Point 1. How are we to recognize the lies of our accusers, and how are we to confront them with truth, if we lack the knowledge to decipher the lies themselves? How are we to confront lies with truth if our understanding of truth is muddled and based on cliche, hearsay, and conventional wisdom?
Payne's book has been phenomenal so far, and I'll be posting a "Synopsis" on here relatively soon. My life with Christ has been strengthened and encouraged, and I've been trying to be more aware of what's going on in my heart and mind and confronting lies with truth. I've come across a great little website for Ransomed Heart Ministries (you may have heard of them; they're big on John Eldridge), and on that website they have a variety of prayers that deal with demonic influences and attacks. Here are a couple I've found helpful:
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