How do I pray when I am under demonic attacks? Here are a number of guidelines
that we trust will be useful. Carefully study each of them and apply it to your life.
Much more can be said, but these few pointers are sufficient to lead you into
victory.
1. People often experience heaviness, darkness, despondency, confusion, and
discouragement. Too often we do not recognize it as demonic attacks. The
opposite may also be true: people start to rebuke Satan, but the main cause
is not demonic attacks. Frist and foremost you must make sure it is a
demonic attack. So often people think that the situation is because of
demonic attacks, while there are very logical explanations for it. In many
situations it is God that is dealing with us to show us some fleshly behavior,
un-brokenness, un-forgiveness, bitterness or self-pity in our lives. In every
situation it is important to ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is going on.
He alone can show us what the real situation is.
2. Satan works through feelings, but especially through relationships between
people. Many times there will be friction between people,
misunderstanding, resentment, etc. Too often however we do not recognize
the involvement of demons because all of these things look so “human”.
3. Jesus gained victory over the devil on the cross. In 1 John 3:8 we read: For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil (1 Joh.3:8). and that through death He might destroy him
who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb.2:14).
Confess the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Do not leave this
spiritual position of faith and trust in the cross. Equally important is to know
that through the resurrection you have the resurrection power of God in
you. Remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you. Our victory is through the
complete work on the cross and the power of His resurrection.
4. Take your stand in Ephesians 2:5-6 where we read that as Christians, we are
seated with God in Christ: made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are in Christ: That you may know
what is the hope of His calling…and what is the exceeding greatness of His
power in us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in
this age but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:18-21). We are with
Christ in the heavens far above all powers.
5. Make much of praise and worship. Praise and worship ignores the devil and
focuses on God. It builds our faith. It complies with God’s command that we
must praise and worship Him. Make much of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
brings trust, faith and hope. It helps us to see God’s constant provision and
trustworthiness. In Psalm 8:2 we read: Out of the mouth of babies and
infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy
and the avenger.
6. Persevere in prayer until you gain the victory. Much too often we pray and
win a small battle, but do no pray through to complete victory. We see
something of this when Aaron and Hur were lifting the hands of Moses in
Exodus 17:12. As long as they held up the hands of Moses, there was
victory. Sometimes we come into a position of victory, but do not continue
until the enemy is fully conquered.
7. Watch and pray. Remember: eventually he will come back to attack you
again. Sometimes he will focus on the same thing, but other times he will
come from a different angle.
8. Victory does not always come in the same way. Use the sword of the Spirit,
the Word of God. Sometimes it is through Romans 6. In verse 5-6 for
instance it says: Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
Other times victory may come through Revelations 12:11: They overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they
did not love their lives to the death. Or Romans 8:31-39, etc. Listen to the
Holy Spirit. He will direct you to some definite Scripture verses to pray.
9. It may be that someone cursed you or tried to put a spell on you. Make sure
there is not any known and un-confessed sin in you life. It is only when there
is definite sin in your life that Satan can get a foothold in your life. Do not
fear curses or witchcraft: Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow an
undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim (Proverbs 26:2;
Numbers 23:23a). Make sure you walk in holiness before God. We are
protected against all attacks of the evil one to the extent that we walk in
holiness and are cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
10.Take His name as a place of refuge: The Name of the Lord is a strong
fortress; the godly run to him and are safe (Proverbs 18:1)
11.There is always a battle for your mind: We use God’s mighty weapons, not
worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and
to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps
people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach
them to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Give attention to the words of
human reasoning, false arguments and rebellious thoughts. Satan gains
much of his victory through false and unbiblical arguments. Bring your
feelings and thoughts and ask the Holy Spirit if they are in line with the
teaching of the Scripture. His lies and false arguments always lead us into
bondage. His arguments will always lead you away from the truth and
through this he will gain spiritual victory.
12.Be careful of vague accusations. Satan will tell you that you are too unholy
to be saved and because you are sinning so often you must accept the fact
that you will always be a second class Christian and that spiritual victory is
not for you. He will come and accuse you of sin, but not of something
specific. When Satan tells us about our sin, it is always in the form of
accusations or vague and general feelings of sinfulness. The Holy Spirit
convicts of sin and never accuses. He is always very specific and will show
you a definite sin. Be careful to be introspective. Ask the Holy Spirit to show
you the things that hinders His work in you. He will show you.
13.You must resist him. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Too often people will say: “O, I am so weak. I cannot resist him. I do not
have power to fight him.“ Remember it is not about your power. It is the
power of the Holy Spirit in you and the resurrection power of Christ that
raised you from spiritual death.
14.Lastly: you may have been involved in occult practices. Confess them,
renounce them, rebuke the evil one and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with
His fullness. In some cases it may be important to go to someone to pray
with you.
that we trust will be useful. Carefully study each of them and apply it to your life.
Much more can be said, but these few pointers are sufficient to lead you into
victory.
1. People often experience heaviness, darkness, despondency, confusion, and
discouragement. Too often we do not recognize it as demonic attacks. The
opposite may also be true: people start to rebuke Satan, but the main cause
is not demonic attacks. Frist and foremost you must make sure it is a
demonic attack. So often people think that the situation is because of
demonic attacks, while there are very logical explanations for it. In many
situations it is God that is dealing with us to show us some fleshly behavior,
un-brokenness, un-forgiveness, bitterness or self-pity in our lives. In every
situation it is important to ask the Holy Spirit to show you what is going on.
He alone can show us what the real situation is.
2. Satan works through feelings, but especially through relationships between
people. Many times there will be friction between people,
misunderstanding, resentment, etc. Too often however we do not recognize
the involvement of demons because all of these things look so “human”.
3. Jesus gained victory over the devil on the cross. In 1 John 3:8 we read: For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil (1 Joh.3:8). and that through death He might destroy him
who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb.2:14).
Confess the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Do not leave this
spiritual position of faith and trust in the cross. Equally important is to know
that through the resurrection you have the resurrection power of God in
you. Remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you. Our victory is through the
complete work on the cross and the power of His resurrection.
4. Take your stand in Ephesians 2:5-6 where we read that as Christians, we are
seated with God in Christ: made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are in Christ: That you may know
what is the hope of His calling…and what is the exceeding greatness of His
power in us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in
this age but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:18-21). We are with
Christ in the heavens far above all powers.
5. Make much of praise and worship. Praise and worship ignores the devil and
focuses on God. It builds our faith. It complies with God’s command that we
must praise and worship Him. Make much of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
brings trust, faith and hope. It helps us to see God’s constant provision and
trustworthiness. In Psalm 8:2 we read: Out of the mouth of babies and
infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy
and the avenger.
6. Persevere in prayer until you gain the victory. Much too often we pray and
win a small battle, but do no pray through to complete victory. We see
something of this when Aaron and Hur were lifting the hands of Moses in
Exodus 17:12. As long as they held up the hands of Moses, there was
victory. Sometimes we come into a position of victory, but do not continue
until the enemy is fully conquered.
7. Watch and pray. Remember: eventually he will come back to attack you
again. Sometimes he will focus on the same thing, but other times he will
come from a different angle.
8. Victory does not always come in the same way. Use the sword of the Spirit,
the Word of God. Sometimes it is through Romans 6. In verse 5-6 for
instance it says: Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
Other times victory may come through Revelations 12:11: They overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they
did not love their lives to the death. Or Romans 8:31-39, etc. Listen to the
Holy Spirit. He will direct you to some definite Scripture verses to pray.
9. It may be that someone cursed you or tried to put a spell on you. Make sure
there is not any known and un-confessed sin in you life. It is only when there
is definite sin in your life that Satan can get a foothold in your life. Do not
fear curses or witchcraft: Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow an
undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim (Proverbs 26:2;
Numbers 23:23a). Make sure you walk in holiness before God. We are
protected against all attacks of the evil one to the extent that we walk in
holiness and are cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
10.Take His name as a place of refuge: The Name of the Lord is a strong
fortress; the godly run to him and are safe (Proverbs 18:1)
11.There is always a battle for your mind: We use God’s mighty weapons, not
worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and
to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps
people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach
them to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Give attention to the words of
human reasoning, false arguments and rebellious thoughts. Satan gains
much of his victory through false and unbiblical arguments. Bring your
feelings and thoughts and ask the Holy Spirit if they are in line with the
teaching of the Scripture. His lies and false arguments always lead us into
bondage. His arguments will always lead you away from the truth and
through this he will gain spiritual victory.
12.Be careful of vague accusations. Satan will tell you that you are too unholy
to be saved and because you are sinning so often you must accept the fact
that you will always be a second class Christian and that spiritual victory is
not for you. He will come and accuse you of sin, but not of something
specific. When Satan tells us about our sin, it is always in the form of
accusations or vague and general feelings of sinfulness. The Holy Spirit
convicts of sin and never accuses. He is always very specific and will show
you a definite sin. Be careful to be introspective. Ask the Holy Spirit to show
you the things that hinders His work in you. He will show you.
13.You must resist him. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
Too often people will say: “O, I am so weak. I cannot resist him. I do not
have power to fight him.“ Remember it is not about your power. It is the
power of the Holy Spirit in you and the resurrection power of Christ that
raised you from spiritual death.
14.Lastly: you may have been involved in occult practices. Confess them,
renounce them, rebuke the evil one and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with
His fullness. In some cases it may be important to go to someone to pray
with you.
