Demon Battles

Battles on Three Fronts

For God’s people there are three battle fronts; the world, the flesh and the devil.  

The world is the flow of culture with its fads, pressures and philosophy of life without God or in opposition to God and His ways.

  The flesh is more personal and instead of being a battle on the outside it is an internal fight.  Human physical make up with its desires and twists and urges wrestling for dominance over the sovereignty of God raises up and shouts demanding attention and control and more.  More attention.  More stuff.  More food.  More rewards.  More.  

And the third of these battle fronts is the enemy of our God and our souls the devil.  The dark influence of the devil appears in the world and in the flesh.  He works both outside and in.  He seeks to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).  This enemy is clever.  He has been at his work since the very first human life appeared.  

Fighting on a single front is difficult enough, but you and I have three sometimes one after another and sometimes coming all at once.  Be prepared. Put on the full armor of God.

Schemes of the Devil

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11 (NASB)

The devil has ways to take God’s people down.  He delights in it.  He smiles because of it.  The prophet Jeremiah dealt with the tactics of the devil. The devil gathered false prophets and gave them lots to say.  The people listened.  Jeremiah, a true prophet of God, was rejected by most of the people as they also rejected God.  Jeremiah pointed out that the people had worshiped idols like Baal and that in worshiping false gods they had forgotten the one true God.  (Jeremiah 23:27)  Paul writing later in 1 Corinthians 10:20 says these idols were not gods at all, but demons. The point is this scheme of the devil caught the attention and hearts of the people and they forgot God.  

God loves His people so much He wants to protect them so He gave as an important word of warning to have no other god.  Stay on track.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  Other gods, idols of unusual size, priorities out of balance, desires that demand attention can all lead to getting off track.  Armor up.  Suit up for the battle. 

Confronting Demons

 Do you remember the ministry Jesus trained His guys in?  Check Luke 10 for some of this.  He sends them out to proclaim the Kingdom.  That is huge.  Another was to heal people. Really nice.  And this one was a rather big deal too: cast out demons.  Jesus tells the guys upon their triumphant return from doing ministry that He saw Satan falling from heaven.  Yep, the devil lost his footing.  Jesus also mentioned not making this power to deal with demons the main thing.  I mention that because of the tendency for us humans to go to extremes with some things.  So here is the deal demons are to be confronted.  

How are we to go about confronting demons?  Carefully, armored up, acting on orders from the Commander.  In 2 Peter 2 and Jude foolishness of some people in taking on the powerful powers of darkness without care gets them in trouble.  Just shouting at demons and announcing one’s great authority in Jesus is not always the way to go.  Demons will attack.  The devil is on the prowl like a lion.  Care must be taken because all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12) which applies to doing what the Lord says in dealing with demons.  Don’t be afraid, but approach with caution.  

The believer going into battle must armor up.  Stay close to God.  Be conscious of the truth regarding spiritual realities.  Stand on the promises of God.  Embrace the protection from on high.  Recognize that He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  This battle is one of good over evil.  It is a breaking into the sphere of the prince of the power of the air and claiming victory.  It is the love of God applied for the good of others.  Be prepared and get your armor on.  

Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  He is the head of the church.  Listen to Him.  Look at how He directs His people in dealing with demons in the accounts recorded in the Gospels, the book of Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation.  It isn’t all cookie cutter sameness.  On training day the trainees cast out demons wherever they could find them.  Paul deals with demons, but not always immediately.  My assumption is Paul was waiting for orders from the Lord in what to do when.  I am of the opinion that we wait for orders as well.  The disciples dealing with the demonized boy in Mark 9 found they could not cast the demon out and they had gotten quite good at it.  Jesus told them this kind doesn’t come out that way.  This one required prayer.  We need to know what we are dealing with and also how the Lord wants to handle things. 

Puny Gods

Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”  LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. Jeremiah 10:5-6 (NLT) 

The handmade idols of people do nothing.  They are objects of decoration.  But God.  Wow.  He can indeed speak and move and He is great and has abundant power.  God the Father has made Himself known.  Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice.  The Holy Spirit is given to comfort, guide, and instruct us.  God, the Triune God, communicates.  God’s ability to speak, to communicate, is made to be of great importance.  When we take on the demons, the invisible dark forces, we need to hear from God.  And know this, He will do it.

Action Plan

Entering into battle be alert for the enemy and listen to the instructions of God.  With God’s go ahead be strong and courageous.  It is His power at work.  Trust Him.  

The battle field may be different, but for this plan prayer to deal with demons is in view.  If evidence of the dark one is apparent identify it to the Lord.  He is not unaware, but you are joining with Him in this work.  Pray.  Pray God’s power be present.  Ask God to open your eyes to see.  Pray praises and words of scripture.  

After examining other possibilities you come to realize a dark presence in your home, a neighbor’s home, a neighborhood or other location.  Pray for that place.  You can use a model like Joshua at Jericho and walk around it and pray.  Looking to God to do what only He can and break down walls so that people are free to enter the Promised Land.  Walk around seven times and pray.  Walk through the house if it is yours and pray for God’s peace to rest on your house and all creatures of the dark to go.  Ask God to fill the space with His love.  Repeat as necessary.  

Maybe there is a person who is experiencing the influence of demons.  This can show up in a variety of ways including cutting themselves, drug use, deep bitterness, activities that lead to forgetting God or turning against Him.  Pray for them.  Go to war for that person.  Pray for the demon to be exposed.  Pray for the healing of God to come.  Pray for the depression to lift and life to come.  Pray for their spiritual eyes to be opened.  Ask God to speak to them as they sleep.  Jesus loves you.  Do you know what He is doing in heaven for you now?  Praying.  Interceding on your behalf.  You can join Him in interceding for others.  

Ask God’s protection around you and your family as you enter into this battle.  The enemy will come.  It may be a frontal attack and evident or it may be difficult to see, but it will come.  Stand firm.  

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)

  I hope this is helpful as you enter into demon battles. 

Randy