Exorcism - A Christian Manual (8 page)

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The client is aware of the demon’s presence
: The client may describe feeling the demon enter them or controlling various aspects of their life.

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Cold
: In many cases it gets extremely cold when in the presence of the possessed.  It may be the room, the body, or both that is ice cold to the touch.

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Hear the demon speak through the client
: The demon will speak in the 3
^rd
person: “she is mine,” “he belongs to me.”

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Voice
: The voice may become extremely different, like a young girl with a deep male voice.  Also the vocabulary may change where adult words are spoken through a child and the child would not know what they mean.  Or, the client may speak a language that they never studied or even heard before.  In addition, when singing in church the voice may go off key and sound horrible even though they are singing spiritual songs.  Finally, the tongue may move in and out of the mouth or even grow in length.  In one exorcism, a man’s tongue grew 3 feet in length.

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Bodily contortions
: The demon may contort the body in painful and almost impossible positions.  In addition, the body may be manipulated by the demon.  For example, I once laid my hands on the back of a woman to pray for her and a fist came through her back and knocked my hands off of her.  Also, they may crawl on the floor like a snake or a spider.  During the exorcism of a 17 year old girl, her skin turned white, her brown hair turned black, and her teeth became pointed and sharp.  She was involved in witchcraft and turned into what looked like a vampire in the middle of the exorcism.

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Unexplained
: Sometimes the demons will throw distractions at you to frighten you.  You may hear many voices talking to you or you may see objects moving without anyone touching them, or you may see insects crawling everywhere but they disappear in the Name of Jesus.

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Superhuman strength
: I once saw a 50 year old woman throw 4 strongly built men off of her with little effort.

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Intelligence
: A child knowing facts and words that are way beyond their years.

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Eyes
: The eyes may roll back into the head so you only see the whites of their eyes for long periods of time when the demon takes control.

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Extreme reactions to religious symbols, the Scriptures being read out loud, and hearing the names of God
.

Preparation & Emergency Situations

After the assessment there must be a time of preparation for the exorcist and the client.  For the exorcist there must be a time of fasting and prayer because Jesus said that certain demons will only come out after one is spiritually ready for the battle (Mark 9:29).   The client should also spend time in fasting and prayer to get ready for this event.  There is no time limit on how long the preparation time should take, but a week is an average time for most exorcisms.  However, there are exceptions where an emergency exorcism is necessary, but this is rare.  In some circumstances counseling and inner healing should come first and this may actually take care of the demonic possession.  If the demons are tied to trauma and unforgiveness, then inner healing may take their anchor away and they will leave during the inner healing process.  There are several rules that should be followed in relation to emergency situations and when you should minister exorcisms:

Rule #1: Never let a demon dictate when an exorcism takes place
.  Demons never have the person’s best interests at heart.  Sometimes a demon will manifest in a person during a church service to disrupt God’s plan and to put fear into the people around them.  The person may fall on the ground and start moving on the ground like a snake with their eyes rolled back into their head.  The first thing you do is get them out of the situation immediately.  If you have to pick them up and carry them out you must do it.  Next, have no fear.  A typical tactic of demons is to threaten that they will harm the client if you don’t do something.  If they could, they would already have done so.  I have never had a situation where God could not get in control of it.

Next, restrain and talk calmly to the person and let them know that you are in control.  The demons want the client to focus on them and their power.  Frequently, the person may scream for help or not respond when the demon is in control.  You must tell them to fight back and call their conscious mind to come back and take over.  You can bind a demon, but don’t cast it out.  Binding stops the action of a demon for a temporary period of time. It can last for minutes or weeks; we are not sure in general how long a binding will last.  Usually, if a demon is powerful it won’t last too long.    When you cast it out, the demon goes and grabs seven more and comes back to make the person worse (Luke 11:24-26).  So, don’t cast it out unless you are sure of the clients’ spiritual strength.  You can bind the demon at this point and call the person’s name over and over and tell them to come back.  When this happens the person’s fear will become less and the demon’s lies will be broken.  The demon will say to the person that they won’t let them come back but when the client fights back they will realize that they are not at the mercy of the evil spirit.  If the person cannot come back then you might have to do an emergency exorcism, but this is rare.

The demon wants to control when an exorcism takes place because they will pick a time when you are tired, when you have many emotional stressors going on, or when your family needs you to do something.  The demon knows when you are at the weakest and they will choose a time where they are more likely to be successful and stay where they are.  They also know when God is moving powerfully in a church service and they manifest in a person to get the focus off of the Glory of God and put the focus on demons.  If they can put the church in fear they can bind up a church service.

Rule #2: Some people have had demons in them for 10 years, so one more week will generally not be harmful
.  This goes against the belief of some that when a demon manifests you must do something immediately or the person will suffer. It is better to wait and have time to get ready for the exorcism then to take a chance and do one immediately.

Rule #3: All exorcisms should go through a team leader in a church that has experience in doing them.
  In a church, people should not try to minister an exorcism without proper training and a prayer covering.  In some cases that I have consulted on, a lay person that is fascinated by demon possession will try to pray for someone they believe is possessed and all sorts of negative outcomes occur.  I have seen cases where the demon refused to leave and the lay person didn’t know what to do so they just left the person.  I have seen a demon attack a lay person when they tried to minister an exorcism prayer and it almost totally shattered their confidence.  Also I have seen the faith of the person harmed because they felt ashamed that they did not have the faith to change the situation. 

If you need an exorcism try to attend a church that has an established ministry in exorcisms.  There will be more accountability there and hopefully good training and experience.  I would be careful with people not connected to a church because of accountability issues.  If you do go to a person that ministers exorcisms by themselves make sure you get a copy of their theological beliefs and see if they line up with what you believe.  Some solitary exorcists are not Christians and have different definitions of what demons that are not Biblical.   Just knowing that the Name of Jesus is powerful is not enough-you must be a believer.  In Acts 19:13-16, there were Jews (7 sons of Sceva) that exorcised demons but were not Christians.  In one exorcism a demon answered the exorcists in verse 15… “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”  Then the demon possessed man jumped on the exorcists and beat them severely.  You must have the faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to successfully complete exorcisms-knowledge about Jesus is not enough.

Rule #4: Once you start a deliverance stay with it until it is completed
.  Many people seek out the exorcism ministry but they don’t count on it being difficult or exhausting.  They believe that you go in, kick the devil’s butt, and walk out.  Exorcisms can last for hours or even days and you must stay with it until it is done.  I have seen too many cases where someone starts the exorcism but then gets tired or starts to lose faith and then just say, “You are delivered in the Name of Jesus, Amen.”  They then tell the client that the deliverance may take a few days on their own but the demon has to leave because they prayed it.  This is not helpful.  There is a battle and one will win-you must stay until the battle is complete or don’t even start it.  If you must take a break for sleep make sure that someone is awake and watchful over the client.

Rule #5: As in most things, there are exceptions
.  There will be times where an emergency exorcism will take place, but this is rare.  Do everything possible to not get pulled into this situation if you can.  God can set up these circumstances because He has determined the time.  We must pray and get the green light from God to do an emergency exorcism.  If God ordains it, it will get done.

Rule#6: Try to minister exorcism with a team
.  I would suggest having 2-5 other people that are trained in ministering exorcisms to assist for several reasons.  First, it is best to have people there for accountability.  Having other people present will help in case there are false accusations made or if things don’t go as planned.  Second, it is good to have several strong men present in case the demon tries to invoke violence or if the client tries to hurt him/herself.  There have been cases where the demon will lash out physically and strong security is helpful.

Third, having other people there will increase your discernment.  I primarily see the demons and feel in my spirit when they are present, but others can hear them or smell them.  Having multiple ways to help discern when demons are present and when they leave is very helpful as others may get a revelation of what is going on that you may miss.  For example, demons will act like they have left in the middle of the exorcism but they are really hiding.  The demon will stop speaking or moving and the client will start to feel better.  Having multiple ways to detect these manipulations will help break through the lies and trap the demon.  Finally, having multiple team members can help when the exorcism goes a long time and people get tired.  Having someone there to take over while you rest is essential as the exorcism can go on for hours. 

Rule#7: Make sure you have a medical clearance before the exorcism takes place
.  It is good to have a medical clearance because the exorcism is stressful and can be medically/physically taxing.  Have the client reveal any per-existing conditions and any mental health issues that can be affected by stress.  If in doubt, consult with a medical doctor or have a medical doctor be present.  

Children and Exorcisms

Children can be possessed by demons. For example, a man brought his son to Jesus to get rid of a demon…”A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground.  He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not,’” (Mark 9: 17-18).   In general, I do not think it is a good idea to put a child through a standard exorcism.  I do not want several adults to stand around a child and yell at a demon to come out.  The child may think you are yelling at him and he may feel bad about himself believing that he is evil or unclean.  Instead, I developed several steps to help children:

1.
     
Meet with the parent first to get an idea of what the concerns are.

2.
     
If you think you need to go further, talk to the child.  Make sure you talk about their behaviors, and do not mention demons.  You can ask them if they feel something pushing them to do something or ask if they feel like they are in a fog when they are doing something wrong.  Also, you can if they are afraid of anything or if anything new and strange has been happening to them.

3.
     
If you think a demon is there, ask the child to confess their sins to the Lord (they can do this silently) and then ask God to forgive them.  Again, do not tell the child you think a demon is there.

4.
     
Then, go to the home at night with another prayer minister and anoint and cast out any demons in the child’s room. Do not let the child know what you are doing unless they are being plagued by a demon in the room and then it is good for them to see you cleansing the room.

5.
     
Wait for the child to go to sleep and go into the child’s room with the parents and quietly cast the demon out while the child is sleeping.  If the demon came in through sin or generation bondage, the demon has to leave because the child has already confessed the sin and received forgiveness. 

6.
     
If the child wakes up for any reason during the process, stop praying and let the parent take over.  Wait in another room until the child is asleep and try praying again if time allows; you may have to come back on another night.

7.
     
Make sure that whatever you do, you have the parents’ approval.  Explain everything in advance and make sure they know why you are doing what you are doing.