Expert: Marilyn - 3/4/2010

Question
How are we as believers to combat unclean spirits once we are aware of their presence? Also how can we be sure which spirits are of God and which are not of God when a person tells us that God Himself is speaking directly through that person?

Answer
Hello Miriam;

John said to "test the spirits," I John 4:1. "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God," verses 2 & 3. The Holy Spirit or an angelic spirit will readily declare, "Jesus is Lord!", but an evil spirit will not be able to bring itself to do this.

However, when a human being is speaking, the human being can be deceived by an evil spirit and simultaneously claim "Jesus is Lord," so this method will not work when trying to discern whether or not what a human tells you is from God--it will only work when you are personally confronted by evil spirits. However, if what the person is telling you cancels or ignores Jesus' Sovereignty, then you can be certain that the person is not speaking for God. Jesus must be their Center.

First, do not be afraid because in Christ you are untouchable. Every morning ask the Lord Jesus to cover you with His Blood and protect you from evil and sickness. If you will do this, you will not get sick, unless you do something stupid like not get enough sleep or consistently choose to eat unhealthy food--God won't necessarily save you from things you choose. The Blood will protect you from illnesses "going around" like the flu etc.

The Blood will also protect you from evil spirits seeking opportunity to harm you. You can extend this blessing by asking the Lord to post angels around you wherever you are, at the four corners of your hotel room or your house. You can also ask for angels to travel before and behind you when you are on the road or in the air, to make the way smooth and to keep you safe from all dangers.

Our family does this every morning. We are so seldom sick that any medicine we purchase because we have been stupid or forgotten to pray goes bad before we can use it again.

Persons influenced by evil spirits will either avoid you or react to you with hostility to see if they can run you off. If you have prayed to be covered with the Blood and a person acts strangely, that might be a sign the person is influenced by an evil spirit.

When you are dealing with persons who are being influenced by evil spirits or confronted with a person who claims he speaks for God, you can bind the evil spirit and command it to be silent. Do this out of the human being's hearing otherwise the human being will get involved and foil your efforts. However, when you bind the spirit you must speak it, it spoken can be very quietly, barely audible, but it must be aloud because evil spirits cannot read our minds--Thank God! Say, "I bind you in Jesus' Name." If you know the spirit's name, such as anger or what have you, then name it. "I bind you in Jesus' Name and I command you to be silent." This prayer will work for 24 hours. After that time, you will have to pray it again in order to silence it.

Jesus said, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you," Luke 10:19. Also, "...at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow..." Philippians 2:10. And, "...whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven," Matthew 18:18. Evil spirits must bow at the Name of Jesus. This will work for you if you are a believer in Christ because you are IN Christ. It will not work for a person who is not a believer, Acts 19:13-16.

"...God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in Heavenly realms in Christ Jesus," Ephesians 2:6. In other words, when you receive Jesus as Lord, spiritually you are IN Him seated in Heaven. While we have protection from evil, it must be remembered that He does not spare us from persecution, II Timothy 3:12. But we aren't talking about persecution here.

You can silence the evil spirit, but not the human.

Whatever a person says, ask the person to prove it by backing it up with Scripture. Even if the person gives you Scripture references, don't accept it as truth until you have read it for yourself. Read the references in several different Bible translations. Study the matter as deeply as you can.

In Matthew 4 satan took Jesus to a high place on the temple parapet and suggested He throw Himself down. Satan quoted Psalm 19:11 & 12. Satan knows the Bible very well. He knows how to twist it around so that its intended meaning is lost. Jesus was not duped. He knew very well that angels will only keep a person safe as long as he is doing God's will. He answered the devil, "It is also written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16. If Jesus had jumped off the parapet He would be stepping out of God's will and thus "testing" God, that is, doing something stupid to see if God will save His butt.

Notice, Jesus won His battle with the devil by remaining true to His purpose and by quoting Scripture. When you are harassed by an evil spirit, read Scripture to it. Evil spirits hate to listen to praise of God. You can run them off by persistent praising of God. "I have ordained praise...to silence the foe and the avenger," Psalm 8:2. According to this verse, even babies can silence the devil by praising God!

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace," Colossians 3:15. (I have used the NIV for all Scripture quoted unless otherwise noted.) In the Amplified this verse reads, "Let soul harmony from Christ act as umpire continually deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your mind."

So, you read the Scripture for yourself, you study it as deeply as you can, then you lay the question before God in prayer. Then you wait quietly. If you have peace about it, then it is from God, if you do not, then it is not. Always remember to praise God for several minutes before you empty your mind of thoughts in order to hear God. If you don't, you might hear the enemy instead of God. Praise puts you in the throne room of God, Psalm 100, also praise silences the enemy, see reference above.

Sometimes God will ask us to do things that are scary or out of our comfort zone. On the surface we will have no peace about those things, but deep in our spirits we know we won't have peace until we do them. You may have been in that situation before and recognize what that kind of conflict feels like--that kind of conflict between your personal desires and what God wills; it is not peaceful, but when we do what we were asked to do, we have peace. It takes honesty with yourself and discernment to know when the conflict is between your personal desires and the Holy Spirit or between the Holy Spirit and an evil influence outside of yourself.

Anything a person speaking for God tells you will agree with the Scripture. If it does not, it isn't from God. If you are uncertain, then you don't have peace and it's not from God. Or in the alternative, you feel your uncertainty isn't necessarily lack of peace from God, but maybe a doubt in you alone, put the matter on hold until you have confirmation from God.

Confirmation from God can come in many ways, but the Scripture tells us that every matter should be settled by two or three witnesses, Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16. If you receive no confirmation, then it's not from God.

Do your best to remain in God's will. When you are in God's you will, you enjoy maximum protection. If you make a mistake, confess quickly and ask forgiveness so you can get back in His arms, I John 1:9. Give thanks all the time, even for the bad stuff, Philippians 4:6 & 7. Giving thanks also brings peace. Manifest the fruit of the Spirit. The devil cannot touch you when you do this because there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit in Heaven or hell, Galatians 5:22 & 23. Do this by devoting yourself to prayer and Bible study in the morning so that you are immersed in God before you begin your day. If it works better for you, do this at night. Jesus had the power and revelation from God He needed for His daily activities because He spent a lot of time in prayer. We don't see Him studying the Word in the Gospels, but it's obvious He was studied up because He had huge chunks of Scripture memorized and quoted it at will. He said we could do the things He did, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father," John 14:12. When you are filled with the Spirit your ability to detect evil spirits' influence will increase, your ability to deal with them will also increase and their ability to trick you or harm you in anyway will be drastically reduced.

Also, remember: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms," Ephesians 6:12. Don't allow negative emotions toward the deceived person to taint your love, if you do, then you might become subject to evil's influence yourself!

Faith, Hope and Love are the greatest forces in the universe. Any person who speaks for God should show the effects of these in his life. Answered prayers, positive attitude and loving kindness should be qualities you associate with a person who speaks for God. "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things," Philippians 4:8. The person who speaks for God should exemplify these qualities. Certainly, even the best of people will occasionally fail, what I'm talking about is the overall path and the overall tenor of the person should exemplify these things.

Sincerely,

Marilyn