Casting Out Demons

Demons are real and powerful but God is greater. A great many books have been written about binding and casting out demons. But the typical casting out demon book puts the emphasis on the demon. The emphasis should be love and compassion for the person afflicted by the demon and the power of Jesus in us. About all these books are good for is making lots of money for the writers and publishers.

I once heard an entire student body of a small foreign Bible college try to cast out a demon. I did not want to interfere so I stayed away from the situation. After about an hour of the women shouting the hymn “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” and the men yelling at the demon, I thought maybe I should get involved. I found a group of six men holding down Beth. Beth was a young coed of about eighty-five pounds that was studying to be a pastor. The six men holding her had two men on each arm, one man holding her head and another man holding legs that were tightly wrapped in a blanket. And the men were physically struggling with the demon. Their focus was on the demon and not so much Jesus or the young women.

I laid a hand on the woman and softly said something like, “In the name of Jesus, demon be silent and still. I do not want to talk to you; I only want to talk to Beth.” I repeated that a couple times and told the guys to let go of her. When released she struggled so the guys grabbed hold of her again; but I think she struggled in her own power. I repeated the process again and she was calm. In just a few minutes I carried her away to a more private location. Two other young women accompanied me.

I held her on my lap while I prayed in tongues. After a about a half hour she was getting heavy so I asked her to get up and exhausted, she laid on the floor. She started calling on Jesus and delivered herself of her own demon.

What I learned from this experience is that deliverance needs to be in the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus. The focus is not on the demon but on loving the person the way Jesus would. Jesus’ power and love is so much greater than any demon.