Three Stages and Strategies in Dealing With Demonic Attack
Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you were in the will of God, yet circumstances suggested the opposite? Have you ever been surprised by a demonic backlash?
Read on…
In Mark 4, Jesus finished teaching to a really receptive multitude. His grassroots movement was on fire! Afterwards, He sent the crowd away and entered a boat with His disciples—and in the exhaustion of His schedule, the outpouring of virtue, and rigorous prayer life, He fell into a deep sleep. As He slept, a furious storm arose with waves that overwhelmed and beat against the ship. As it took on water the disciples in near panic awakened Him crying out, “Lord, don’t you care that we’re perishing?” (Mark 4:38)
Jesus arose, quickly discerned the situation, and did something that up until now they had only observed Him do when casting out demons—He rebuked the wind! Immediately the wind subsided. Then He spoke to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And immediately there was a great calm. Then He turned to His traumatized disciples and said, “Why are you so fearful? Where is your faith?” (Mark 4:40)
So how did Jesus deal with the drowning contradiction? Here are three principles you can apply.
- Don’t accept the situation. Use your authority to change it! Sometimes you need to combine spiritual authority and discerning of spirits to deal with a high-level attack. There are several storm stories in the Bible and each one reveals a different strategy. For instance, Paul did not rebuke the storm he got stuck in because God was using it to his advantage! Instead, he used his faith to deliver himself. (Acts 27:39-44) Mark 4, however, is my favorite storm illustration. When God gives you a clear direction and a big contradiction shows up—rebuke the hindrance and keep moving.
- Rebuke the spirit. Never forget—the force behind your battle may be a spirit assigned to keep you from crossing over! God has called you to go somewhere. Don’t be surprised if the devil wants to stop you! In this passage, Jesus stands up in the ship and directly rebukes the causative spirit behind the storm. Note: the waters are not rebuked. He speaks calmly to the condition that was created by the agitating spirit and says, “Peace, be still.” There was a demonic fury that came up against the vessel that Jesus was on. It’s a two part formula. 1.) Rebuke the devil. 2.) Speak calming words to the agitated elements. Again, how do I know this spirit was demonic? Because Jesus rebuked it. Jesus’ rebuke was evidence that there was an intelligent force behind it that was resisting His will and acting out of alignment with His authority.
- Speak peace. In prophetic language agitated waters or seas symbolize people being stirred up. This shows up especially in the book of Revelation. Likewise,“winds” refer to spiritual forces. In your church or business or family you will need to deal with the devil directly in intercession. Follow it up by speaking wisely and peaceably to the agitated congregation, clients, employees, or family members who were unsettled and destabilized by the attack.
Question: When have you declared peace to the chaos around you and seen circumstances change before your eyes? Comment below!
As One!
Lance
My wife is catholic, she doesn’t subscribe to the same evangelical christian believes as I do. So, often times when she gets into a snit or gets frustrated she takes it out on me. 99% of the time I try and diffuse her attitude either by keeping quiet or trying to talk to her in a calm fashion to diffuse her anger or whatever mood that’s taking place. I know where it’s coming from, so I just ask God through Christ to help me calm the situation down or ask Jesus to take the demonic spirit out of this house.
The hardest thing for me is trying to get her to listen and read your blogs or listen to your Cd’s or even Kim Clement’s because I belong to the House of Destiny. She does not partake in those with me. In her mind she feels that I’ve gotten to Christian and that frustrates her because she thinks I’ve changed because I don’t swear anymore or get upset at situation like I used to. I pray every day to somehow have the Holy Spirit intercede and get her to come around. But, as the scripture says “a prophet is not without honor except in his own home” to para phrase. Can I get some advice on how I can get her to listen and hope she comes around.
Norvel Hayes always insisted you could get anybody healed from anything as long as they live in your house; IE, if they are under your authority. I think you could make the case that your own wife is under your authority, don’t you? I’d rebuke it & demand it leave. Stay after it until you get victory. If God shows you that you need to do something other than that, then do it also.
We are in the middle of the process of selling our home. On Monday we received a call stating that the appraisal had come in $25k less than the price our buyer was paying in the purchase agreement, and that the buyer was requesting a price reduction. I immediately sensed that this was not right and felt a strong sense of peace to reject this determination, and verbally stated to myself that I do not accept this. My wife and I agreed in prayer that we reject this appraisal, and command it to be changed to our selling price in Jesus Name. The next morning our Realtor call us back and said there was a big mixup in the appraisal itself, and that it was being adjusted back up to our selling price!!
Amazing!! Incredible what happens when we stand in agreement and stand our ground.
Thank you for this great message. I encountered spiritual warfare while in the hospital overseeing the care of my handicapped sister. She had a multitude of symptoms that required a wide range of tests (EEG, EKG, MRI, CAT scan, Sonogram, x-rays, blood tests). Without realizing it I got caught up in the various diagnoses that were being spoken out by the doctors and the tests to try to confirm or reject them. Finally, when my sister’s temperature dropped so low that they couldn’t even measure it, I allowed fear to take hold. Like the disciples I was focused on the storm and not on Jesus. Praise God one of my Christian friends discerned that in my texted prayer request. She drove over and lovingly helped me realize that I had taken my eyes off of Jesus and I had allowed fear to undermine my faith. I had to repent for putting more trust in the doctors and their diagnoses rather than in Jesus our healer. Almost immediately after confessing and repenting of this, my sister’s body temperature rose by 3 degrees! We declared Shalom Peace over my sister. Ultimately there were no significant findings after all the tests that were run and she was discharged as all body systems came into alignment with Jesus’ perfect peace and divine healing.
Perfect timing, 8 women at our church met to pray today. Our leader came feeling fine, worshipping, raising her arms no problem. On the way home she starts to get pain all over, took Tylenol and a nap. When she woke up she she was in extreme pain and couldn’t lift her arms or even hold a cup. It’s obvious it is an attack
Lance,
So glad to have you sending these Divine Downloads right to my desk top that are amazingly insightful and timely appropriate for both myself and many of our ministry team here in Santa Barbara. Keep exercising your spiritual gift of Encouragement and Exhortation and know that you are sharpening all of us who are the direct beneficiaries of your spiritual insights, Biblical wisdom, personal encouragement and marketplace ministry teaching. When we get to Heaven, I look forward to sharing with you just how much you have influenced and encouraged me and my family over the years…. AS ONE !!!
Blessings,
Michael
Excellent study! I was reminded of a time when The Lord rebuked a habit I had for eating late at night. He literally told me “I rebuke this eating at night”. The wisdom of God is everything! I didn’t necessarily get it and strived in the flesh but after reading this, and Holy Spirit bringing this back to my rememberience, I recieve His wisdom, council and rebuke of that thing, thereby leading to peace and freedom! Amen! The wisdom of God IS EVERYTHING, seriously!
There is a small, possibly over looked component in this teaching that is new to me (as of the last year) and in my recent storms of life, this component has been all important. I live in the southern tip of ‘Tornado Alley’ and this is the season. Lots of hail, straight line winds, roofs blowing off houses, cars smashed by falling trees… When on a particular evening the wind was horrific, I stood in my driveway, aware that a north wind was driving the storm. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees in about 2 seconds. The Lord challenged me to ‘release’ my peace. It rose up in me that…”I have enough peace for this storm” so I released my peace over my whole neighborhood. Neighborhoods all around the DFW area had devastating damage. We were in line for the same…but God! No rebuke necessary, just release my storehouse of peace. It felt a little like being a peace station (rather than a gas station) supply rose out of the deep. My resource was not depleted, but infused to a whole new level…. ahhhhhh what a life has been provided us!!!
Wow that was an awesome word! A great challenge to remind me to take authority over things happening in the “natural” against me, or the work of the Lord and rebuking the spirit behind it to get out of the way. Also, I never realized that He was speaking to the spirit behind the storm in Mark 4. AMEN!! That did happen yesterday while we were doing a street ministry. Someone with us was really anxious and distracting, and choatic, making it difficult to hear Holy Spirit and sense His leading, and I felt let to take authority and rebuke the spirits behind it. That person calmed down, and we were able to move on in peace. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the word of knowledge until we were done, but in any case the Lord touched those He wanted to, and we went about the rest of the day in peace. Good stuff!!! For me- two incidents come to mind: Years ago I was in an abusive marriage, and my ex husband was coming after me physically. I rebuked the enemy under my breath and my ex literally stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and said I’m going to take the laundry downstairs. The other time that comes to my mind- I was driving my mini van, and it went out of control at about 55 mph. I was just fish tailing back and forth down the road and I couldn’t get ahold of it. Finally I just said, “JESUS!” and immediately my van straightened out and just kept driving straight down the road to work. God bless you!!!
Thanks Lance. This was really timely and encouraging. I am going through my final leg of transition into positioning and a day or two after I received this email I saw the very content of what is in it to manifest. I am not naive or a beginner in spiritual warfare in no way. But it is refreshing to see how GOD cares about us and to let us know that someone is listening to him (in this case you) and following his leading. Again, thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I decreed and bound this thing up and it is a stubborn, resisting devil but I am watching (as always) to see how magnificently GOD steps into the situation after my declaration. HE never ceases to amaze me.
Lovingly Serving HIM-Jesus Christ
Wow… this just open my eyes! and my wife as well.
I was in circumtances having holiday near the beach with family and friends when a boy was drifting by the wave and my friends and I already tried everything but didn’t work for about 5-10minutes. Although I couldn’t swim well, I jumped to the agitating waters using a rope and got the boy out of the sea. We have done our part but he was too long drifting. The boat came but quite late.
I cried to God to return his breath but he has been quite long drinking water, panic and thus died.
If I have learnt the strategy taught above before, probably the story would be different. Next time, I am for sure will fight aggresively to glory the name of Jesus Christ so that the devil will think to mess with me/us.
Amen.