Category Archives: Demons
Book Review: The Girl Who Sees Angels
I just found this new series of books that I have fallen in love with! If you’re a seer or you want to be a seer, these books will really encourage you. It’s a fictionalized story of a girl who has the gift of seeing, but doesn’t understand what she sees. The Girl Who Sees Angels by Jeffrey McClain Jones is the first book in the Sophie Ramos series.
Her mother takes her to doctors, psychiatrists and even a priest, trying to figure out how she can see things that nobody else can see. They think she’s very troubled, but instead she’s very gifted.
During the course of the first book, she meets some Pentecostal Christians that help to validate her gift. That’s really cool! If you’ve ever questioned your sanity because of the things that you see or hear or feel – this book will definitely encourage you! 😊
One of the things I really appreciated about these books was that the author writes from a place of authenticity. Some supernatural fiction that I’ve read (actually most) make gifts of the Spirit so unbelievable and they exaggerate things to such a degree that it detracts from the story. This author doesn’t do that.
Many of the things he writes about, I’ve experienced. The reaction of charismatic Christians to her gifts, I have seen. They encouraged her. They nurtured her. They taught her and helped her to understand what she was seeing. During the first book, she has an experience that shows her how she can help people with her gift. That amazes her and inspires her to learn how to use the gift with greater clarity in order to help others. She’s excited to unpack it and learn more – we get to follow her on that journey.
I’ve only read the first 2 books so far, but I was enjoying them so much that I didn’t want to wait until I finished them all to share them with you. There’s 4 books in the series. I encourage you to check them out. They are a lot of fun. I would call them “deliverance fiction”, a category I’ve never heard of but I wish existed. 😁 We get to see how her ability to see the unseen realm impacts her job, her relationships and every day life. If you are a seer, you will definitely relate!
This author has a lot of books and many of them have piqued my interest. You can check them out here. I’m especially curious about his series, Seeing Jesus. I’m hoping to read some of those next! (Update: I did a review of Seeing Jesus here.)
I love reading supernatural fiction that draws my heart closer to experiencing God in the here and now. Have you read any books that are like that? Please share the titles with us in the comments.
I love finding new authors and books that draw me closer to Jesus, don’t you? 🙂
Thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. God bless you richly today. 💗
Personal Attack – How to Overcome!
What do you do when you are under attack from a person in your life? Can you discern the true battle? How do you overcome?
A reader of this blog asked this question:
I served under another ministry and I was on good terms with the leader – I felt that I served them well, to the best of my ability. After the Lord led me to start the ministry where I am now, the other leader began to attack me and the ministry. I had a vision where I saw him summon all his members and he pointed at me and told them not to have anything to do with me – this was after he called me in front of his church and commended me about how I supported him when his ministry first started with just a small group. They have since grown and expanded and have built a larger facility. Why is he attacking me and what can I do about it?
We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
What does it mean that we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood? Who are we really wrestling with?
I have seen a strategic pattern that I want to share with you that will help you get the breakthrough to overcome any attack that is coming against you personally.
The enemy knows your weaknesses – oftentimes better than you know them yourself. The Lord allows him to reveal them to you and this can be a great gift if you take advantage of the situation. Think of him as a personal trainer – his attacks will make you stronger so you can overcome any situation that comes your way!
Proverbs 26:2 says “the curse causeless shall not come”. This means that if someone is cursing you, attacking you, saying bad things about you – their words have no power to hurt you if there is no cause for them.
What is the Cause, Holy Spirit?
So the very first thing you do is ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you, What is the cause? Did you do something you need to repent of? Even if it was unintentional, repent of anything you realize you did that could have given this curse a cause, a legal right. Did you judge the other person? Did you speak anything negative concerning this person? Did you spread a rumor about them? Anything at all – even if it was only in your heart and you didn’t say it to another person. Immediately repent and ask the Lord to wash you.
It’s never about the man or woman – the person who is fighting against you. It is always about the spirit behind it. Defeat that spirit and the person will stop bothering you. The spirit attacking you is revealing a weakness – allow the Lord to heal that weakness and suddenly the attack will disappear! I’ve seen this happen many, many times.
If the attack continues after you have repented – or if you truly cannot find anything that you did to repent of, then it’s time to look deeper. There is agreement in you that gives this attack a right to continue. We call this “legal ground”. The devil knows his legal rights and wherever there is deception or agreement with darkness, he has a right to attack or harass us.
How do you defeat that spirit? Remove the legal ground!
- Identify how the attack makes you feel. Do you feel intimidated? Does it make you have doubts about your own ministry (insecurity) or are you becoming discouraged? What exactly is it trying to do to you? This will help you identify which spirit is attacking you through this person.
- Ask God why you feel that way. This attack reveals a weakness in you – perhaps it is self-doubt, or perhaps it is fear of man or doubt in God’s ability to protect you. I have an exercise that can help you identify what lie you believe about God or about yourself that gives this spirit a legal right to harass you. It is below.
- Break your agreement with the lie you believe. It may be very deep – take time to really examine it. Then let it go!
- Forgive the person who is attacking you. Release blessing upon them.
- Continue to thank God for His protection and care for you.
The Lie Detector exercise helps people identify the legal ground that the enemy has. There are two versions of it. You can do them both or just do one, based on what you sense from Holy Spirit. One helps you identify lies you believe about yourself. The other one helps you identify lies you believe about God.
Lie Detector: Self Concept
Go to a place where you will not be interrupted. Take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly to help you relax and to quiet your mind. Say these statements/questions out loud and then wait for an answer. An answer may come as a feeling, a thought, a picture in your mind, a word, a memory or just an inner knowing. If no answer comes to the first question, this may not be the right time for this step.
“Spirit of Truth, is there a lie I believe about myself?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“Who taught me that lie?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I forgive (name) for teaching me this lie. I forgive myself for receiving this lie and allowing it to influence my thoughts. I release myself from this lie. I give it up and let it go.”
“What truth do I need to hear?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I receive the truth that (the truth).”
Lie Detector: God Concept
Go to a place where you will not be interrupted. Turn off any devices that might distract you. Take a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly to help you relax and to quiet your mind. Say these statements/questions out loud and then wait for an answer. An answer may come as a feeling, a thought, a picture in your mind, a word, a memory or just an inner knowing. If no answer comes to the first question, this may not be the right time for this step.
“Spirit of Truth, is there a lie I believe about God?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“Who taught me that lie?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I forgive (name) for teaching me this lie. I forgive myself for receiving this lie and allowing it to influence my thoughts. I release myself from this lie. I give it up and let it go.”
“What truth do I need to hear?” (pause and wait for an answer)
“I receive the truth that (the truth).
I encourage you to write down the answer you get to the last question, “What truth do I need to hear?” Put it on a post-it note where you can look at it each day. Meditate on it. Say it out loud to yourself. Really let it soak in – it might take awhile for it to become your new default way of perceiving God or yourself (especially if that lie was in there a long time).
Once you overcome and break through whatever agreement you had with darkness or deception, that attack will simply disappear! Where there is no legal ground, the enemy cannot take advantage of you. He cannot harm you. The curse causeless cannot come!
Forgive the person who was attacking you. Release blessing upon them. They were simply being used by the enemy – don’t take it personally. Let it go!
There have been so many stories of curses that were placed on Christians, but when there was no cause, the curse was powerless to harm them. I’m thinking of a specific story right now from the mission field. A Christian missionary family moved into a village where there was no church or any other Christians. They began to witness about Jesus and people in the village became interested to know more about Him. The local witch doctor became jealous of the influence the Christian missionaries were having in his village. People used to come to him and now they were going to the missionaries for help with their problems. He announced to the village leaders that he was going to curse them with his witchcraft power and that they would die in 3 days. This witch doctor was very powerful and they believed he could do it. Everyone was tense and waiting to see what would happen. Blissfully, the missionaries were unaware of this curse. They just continued loving people and praying for them. When they didn’t die after 3 days, the witch doctor came to ask them who this Jesus was! They delightfully explained how God has much more power than the devil and how Jesus defeated Satan on the cross by laying down His life for us all. As a result, the witch doctor renounced his witchcraft power and became a follower of Jesus, receiving forgiveness for his sins. The entire village rejoiced and a church was planted among them so they could learn to follow Jesus.
You have the power to overcome all the power of the enemy with the Truth that is in Jesus! You are not a victim of his attacks – you are more than a conqueror! Unleash the Light that is in you to dispel the darkness. Do not be afraid – greater is HE that is IN you, than he that is in the world.
Do you have an example of seeing an attack against you disappear when you overcame the deception within you? If so, please share below! That’s how we learn from each other.
By the way, the example I used above was about someone being attacked in ministry. But these kinds of attacks can come from anywhere – your neighbor, your family, someone at work or at church, etc.
Thank you for reading this blog and sharing it with others who might need this information – you are a blessing to me! 😊
Discerning of Spirits, Gift of Discernment
I came across your blog while seeking answers concerning the gift of discernment. I would like to get help in understanding the gift because there’s a lot I am going through and sometimes it becomes so overwhelming.
Overwhelming? Oh, yes! I can relate. Having the gift of discernment can definitely feel overwhelming at times.
The gift of discernment (aka discerning of spirits) is a very challenging gift to have. Many people have no idea what to do with it and they often feel alone. What they experience seems so weird or odd that they are afraid to tell anyone. If they do mention it to someone close to them, often that person has no idea what they are talking about – which teaches them to not talk about it anymore for fear of being rejected or judged for being abnormal.
Let’s talk about this gift and try to normalize it for those who are uninformed.
Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:10). No instruction manual is provided with this gift so you learn about it through life experience. This forces you to draw close to God and ask HIM to teach you about this gift.
This gift gives you the ability to discern good from evil (or truth from deception) and especially the spirit behind something. Sometimes it is similar to intuition but it usually comes with more information. Discerning the spirit behind something can come in many ways – it might be something you see, or something you hear or something you feel. Or a combination of seeing, hearing or feeling. It can also just be an inner knowing.
Have you ever met someone and immediately you got a bad feeling about the person? They looked like a nice person, but everything inside of you was saying, Watch out! Be very careful – this person is not trustworthy. That was discernment giving you information to protect you. Chances are this was confirmed later by their behavior or attitude toward you, right? Or you saw them hurt someone else and you realized your discernment was accurate.
The number one danger that those with the gift of discernment have is to talk themselves out of their discernment. They assume they are wrong or that they are being judgmental of someone they just met. So they ignore or dismiss their misgivings and then they suffer the consequences.
If this is you, please stop right now and say, “Holy Spirit, I am sorry for ignoring the warnings you have given me. I have not honored this gift you gave me. I apologize. Please help me to pay attention to the things you are showing me. I didn’t realize that it was YOU telling me to be careful.”
Some of us have a stronger gift of discernment and we can perceive angels, demons, etc. in the unseen realm. Some see these beings as shadows or lights. Some feel them as energy or a presence. Some hear them in various ways – words being spoken, sounds of movement or wings, etc. Many with this gift can also discern things about people – they can perceive someone’s gifting or calling, or they can perceive areas of unhealed wounds in their soul. And they can also tell if someone has a demon attached to them.
As you can imagine, discerning things that are invisible, that no one else seems to notice, can make you question your sanity. Am I going crazy? I know too much. How come no one seems to have this gift? How do I know if I can trust what I am perceiving? Is it accurate?
First of all, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I started this blog to help people like you and me – to help us know we are not alone in this gifting. There are many of us and in fact, the Lord is increasing this gift because we need it more now.
The biggest question I get is – What do I do with the information I receive? Is it accurate? Should I take action on it or tell other people what I perceive?
The only answer I have is this – ASK GOD. Become very familiar with the Holy Spirit inside of you. Talk to the Spirit every day. Holy Spirit was sent to us to help us and teach us (John 14:26). This gift forces you to rely on Holy Spirit to show you what to do with what you are receiving from this gift. And that’s a good thing! 😊
So whenever I perceive something, I say in my heart/mind, Holy Spirit, what is this? Do I need to do anything with this? And I wait. It can be hard to do this in a busy, noisy place, but I do my best. And if it is a very strong impression then I try to get away by myself for a minute so that I can discern what, if anything, I am sensing I should do.
Many times I do not sense that I need to DO anything. For a long time this bothered me. Why am I receiving information if I’m not meant to ACT on it? I would ask. But then God showed me that this is just part of the gift. Some people can perceive a lot more detail when they hear music because they are musicians – they hear things that I don’t. Some people perceive a lot more detail when they look at paintings because they are artists – they see things I don’t. It’s the same way with this gift – I perceive things that other people don’t. I don’t usually share what I sense – unless I am talking to someone who also has discernment.
I have discussed this gift with many people who DO have discernment – that’s how I know I am not crazy and I am not alone! That’s actually the best advice I can give you – ask the Lord to bring you 1 or 2 people who have this gift so that you can share your experiences and learn from each other. That helped me learn a lot when I was first exploring this gift – I wrote about my experience in the Introduction on this blog. When you share what you sense with someone who has the gift, it’s such a good experience. You don’t feel weird anymore. 😊
The second thing that really helps is to pursue inner healing for yourself. Often we can get overwhelmed by what we sense because of our own wounding. If I have a lot of unhealed fear or anxiety in my soul and I encounter another person who is struggling with fear or anxiety – WHAM! Suddenly I am drowning in fear or anxiety! And I don’t even realize why. My senses are so overloaded that I can’t think clearly. This could happen with any strong emotion – fear, hate, anger, lust, depression, grief, rejection, etc.
The more you become healed on the inside by receiving God’s love for you and what He says about you, the easier it is to discern what is your stuff and what is someone else’s stuff. Then it doesn’t feel so overwhelming because you are no longer triggered so easily by other people. After you have been healed, you can then use this gift to help others heal – that’s a very powerful and redemptive experience. When you see how your past suffering helps someone else find freedom from the same things that used to plague you, it helps give purpose to your pain.
I hope this article has helped bring some clarity to this topic. Keep in mind that people use the word “discernment” differently. Some use it to mean having wisdom to make a good decision. Some use it in the Catholic community when they are talking about someone discovering their calling in life or ministry. Because of the different uses of this word, it can be hard to find books or articles on this topic.
Here are a few I can recommend:
Seeing the Supernatural: How to Sense, Discern and Battle in the Spiritual Realm by Jennifer Eivaz
The Veil by Blake Healy
Discernment: The Essential Guide to Hearing the Voice of God by Jane Hamon
The Discerner: Hearing, Confirming, and Acting On Prophetic Revelation (A Guide to Receiving Gifts of Discernment and Testing the Spirits) by James Goll
Sometimes this gift is considered part of the prophetic giftings. Some say it is part of being a Seer. This gift can be used to help people with inner healing and deliverance. It is very helpful when dealing with spiritual warfare too. There’s so much this gift can do to assist the body of Christ.
Don’t be afraid. Ask Holy Spirit to teach you and pay attention to what you sense. There are many articles on this blog that describe experiences I have had that might encourage you. You can use the search feature at the top or side to search by a specific word or phrase. You can also look at the Directory for a list of all the articles by name.
Feel free to post your question or comment below – that way we can all learn from each other! I look forward to reading your thoughts and responding to your questions.
Related posts:
- Feeling in the Spirit – What Do I Do With It?
- Spiritual Senses – Which one is your strongest?
- How to See the Unseen Realm
- God’s Voice vs Other Voices: How Can You Tell the Difference?
- How to Remove Blocks to Hearing God
- Spiritual Protection from Dark Forces & Evil Spirits
- Spiritual Cleansing: Taking a Spiritual Shower Each Day
I’ve Been Slimed! 🤢
The other day I was in traffic and I pulled behind a large black van. We were both in the lane to turn left into a busy multi-lane highway. As I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, I read the advertising on the van. It appeared to be for a man’s grooming salon and I wondered out loud, “Why do they have such a big van for a man’s salon? Do they offer mobile grooming?”
Suddenly I felt a wave of negative energy come towards me! I was shocked. My eyes were still on the van and I noticed at that exact moment the address on the van – it was from a part of town where witchcraft is common and celebrated. People especially use it to prosper in business.
I’ve been slimed! I thought. It felt just like what is depicted in the movie Ghostbusters when a negative other worldly being rushes towards its victim. YUK! 🤢
Immediately I prayed out loud, “I come out of agreement with witchcraft. You do NOT have permission to mess with me. Go back! Now!” I felt the energy shift but it was still lingering. So I continued to tell it to leave me alone and it did!
By the time the light changed, it was gone. I kept my eye on that black van because now I knew what it carried in the spirit realm. Initially it pulled into the far left lane and then suddenly the van cut across all 3 lanes and turned right, into a shopping center. Thankfully no other cars were around and since I was keeping my distance from the van, it didn’t affect me. I just watched and shook my head as the driver made a “Miami right” as we say (turning right from the far left lane).
Whew! Thank goodness for very sensitive discernment. In the past, I have not been so aware and I’ve been affected by being randomly “slimed” – it messes with your mind and emotions and yet you don’t know what’s wrong or how to fix it. No fun at all.
I don’t know why it decided to attack me – maybe it didn’t like the tone of my question about the van. I was being a little skeptical, I guess. Maybe it sounded like I was mocking them? 🤷♀️
Are you aware of negative energy when it hits you?
As I’ve been walking with Jesus, I am definitely more aware of it. Especially when it specifically targets me. Sometimes I am aware of it just in the air – as a storm moves through the area or when I drive through different parts of town.
On a positive note, I had a good experience with spiritual energy today. I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to go to a park near my house. I wasn’t sure why. So I asked if I should bring my journal or art supplies – sometimes I write or paint at the park. I sensed that I didn’t need to bring those today.
When I arrived, I felt drawn to walk through a specific section of the park. As I did, I began to feel God’s “good energy” being released from me to bless the ground and the surrounding area with His glory. I can’t really explain it other than to describe how it felt – like positive vibes leaking from my arms and legs as I walked. From an outsider’s perspective, it just looked like a woman walking in the park. But in the spiritual realm, it might have looked more like this.
That was fun! I like to go on random adventures with God. I never know what He has in mind.
Do you have any experience with positive or negative spiritual energy? If so, please comment below. I love to read other people’s experiences – that way we all learn from each other. Some people refer to the negative energy as demons or evil spirits. It definitely could be. I didn’t specifically see demons – it just felt like a wave of energy that was not good. And when I was walking in the park, it simply felt like “good energy”, but I didn’t know if it was love, joy, peace or what – to me it just felt like a blessing of God’s presence and goodness.
It can be hard to learn how to deal with energy because you can’t often see it – or at least, I can’t. Sometimes I can perceive it on other people but not usually visually. But God knows that and He knows what we need to learn to be able to respond to it well. I hope I’m learning more and more each day. And now I’m sharing it with you so you can learn from my experience.
Thanks for reading this far – God bless you! (sending lots of positive vibes your way 😊)
Break Through Fear! Have More Peace!
When I was first exploring my awareness of the unseen realm, I was really scared! I could sense things, but I couldn’t see them with my eyes. Many of the things I sensed made me very afraid.
I really wrestled with a fear of the unseen realm for many years growing up. I knew it was there and I knew I could sense beings, movement, messages, etc. but at the same time I was very hesitant to explore or learn more.
Have you ever felt that way?
Not only was I afraid of the unseen realm, I was also afraid to talk to anyone about it! I was also afraid of what other people thought of me – I didn’t want to be “weird” for seeing things that other people couldn’t see, right? The fears kind of multiply and build on each other, don’t they?
By the time I was a young adult, I had so many fears on top of fears that it was paralyzing.
Later in life, I finally found the key to break through my fears but boy was it hard work before I found this key! I remember one night I woke up and I could sense darkness in my house – a tangible “something” or someone unseen was there. I lived alone out in the country at the time. It was very dark outside and no one was around (or at least, no one should be around my house in the middle of the night!). I turned on all the lights in the house, but I could still sense this “evil energy”. I was afraid and I had no idea what to do!
I started yelling and praying! I commanded that dark thing to leave – I yelled at it like you might yell at a big dog that was coming to bite you. I got mad! I stamped my foot and stared at the corner where I felt it and then I yelled at it. Then I whirled around to the other side of the room where I felt other “somethings” and did the same thing. It was terrifying but I was so mad that it gave me the energy to fight. I felt like I was chasing out a bunch of cockroaches that had been hidden – so creepy! Like that old commercial from Raid Ant & Roach spray – remember that? LOL
Eventually, I felt peace return to my house. I left the lights on and went back to bed. For years I slept with a night light on, just in case. I hated that experience and I never wanted to encounter creepy invisible things at night ever again!
Years later the Lord taught me an important lesson on Fear that would have really helped me that night.
What I wanted to share today was the Key that helped me break through my fears. Because today I don’t fear the things that I can sense in the middle of the night. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve sensed anything creepy in my house because now I’m not afraid. Most of my fears have completely disappeared and I am so happy and at peace!
Recently the Holy Spirit led me to create a short online course to share how the Lord taught me to overcome fear and anxiety (that Key). Here’s the link to the course (or click on the course image below).
This course can really help you if you suffer from fear or anxiety. What I share in this course, I still use today! (because it REALLY works). You can preview the course by clicking the link above – to see if it’s something that you would be interested in.
This course is for:
- People who are tired of living with anxiety every day.
- People who are ready to make a change in order to have more Peace in their lives.
- People who are open to new ways of looking at the world and themselves.
- People who are spiritual and want a connection with something bigger than themselves.
The purpose of this course is to simply help you discover and eliminate the root source of the things that make you feel anxious or afraid. This course will teach you how to cultivate more peace in your daily life and how to more quickly recover from unexpected stressful situations.
- You’ll learn how to remove the source of your anxiety and make it disappear.
- You will be able to more quickly recover from sudden, unexpected stressful situations. What a relief!
- You will be able to cultivate more peace in your daily life, both mentally and emotionally.
- You will overcome specific fears, like the fear of snakes or public speaking, and help others do this too!
A lot of people have been feeling more fearful and anxious since the COVID Pandemic of 2020. It’s like the things we used to be able to depend on are not as dependable as we thought they were – this uncertainty is causing a lot of anxiety about many different areas of life.
It’s time to get FREE of anxiety and fear so we can enjoy the Goodness of God! 🙂
Related posts:
Fear is afraid of you – did you know that?
Several years ago while on vacation, the Lord taught me some things about Fear. It was late at night and God’s presence filled the room suddenly. I pulled out my notebook because I sensed the Lord was going to teach me something. I write down what He says because if I don’t, I can’t remember it clearly the next day – then I can’t share it with anyone.
I was pondering the power that Fear has over people, myself included. It seems to influence our daily lives. Not only do we have the emotion of fear internally, we also have the Spirit of Fear externally making things worse. The emotion of fear might hold you back from taking action, but when the Spirit of Fear adds his influence to it, you can be suddenly paralyzed with Fear. It’s awful!!
I was asking the Lord about this when His presence intensified – a sudden clarity of awareness came and my mind opened to revelation from Him. He showed me the Spirit of Fear – it looked kind of like a large mosquito with flimsy wings and long, dark grey spindly arms and legs. It was about the size of a goose.
As I considered that we have authority over Fear, I suddenly felt its fear. The Spirit of Fear is AFRAID of us!! I started laughing at the irony. I asked the Lord why it was afraid and He showed me that Fear is all it has. That’s why it’s called the Spirit of Fear. It doesn’t have power or great intelligence or even craftiness – it’s just pure fear. And it is afraid of being controlled by us – our authority can take control of it’s freedom by binding it and telling it to leave. That’s what it fears – not being able to do what it has been assigned to do. So whenever it sees you (or me), it throws itself on you and wraps you in a smothering hug with those long arms and legs. Suddenly, you feel paralyzed by Fear. But you’re not – it’s just an illusion!
This revelation gave me SO MUCH courage! Any time I feel fear, I laugh – imagining this creature that is afraid of me. Before it can take over my sense of reality with it’s smothering hug, I bind it and command it to leave immediately! And it works – every single time!
I live in an area where mosquitoes are very common – they are very fragile and easy to kill. They are annoying, but they are not dangerous or scary. So thinking of the Spirit of Fear as just a big mosquito really makes sense to me – it completely disarms its power in my mind. I can slap away a mosquito and crush it easily – Fear no longer intimidates me.
I thought this would encourage you today – Fear is actually afraid of you! Isn’t that cool? 🙂
Want some help overcoming your fears? Try my short online course! In it I share the KEY that helped me overcome my fears of the unseen realm (and all my other fears too). 🙂
More posts about Fear:
Book Review: Remnants by Lisa Bergren
I just finished reading a 3-book supernatural fiction series by Lisa Bergren called Remnants. It is VERY good. I recommend it.
Book description: Our coming was foretold by the elders— Those who would change the future, just as the planet teetered on the edge of darkness. Born on the prophesied day with birthmarks in the form of a crescent moon, they knew us immediately. Swaddled and screaming, we were spirited away by those who hid us, trained us, and kept us safe until our time came. They poured their lives into us. Some died to save us.
And now we, the Remnants, protected by Knights of the Last Order, have gathered. Called until we breathe our last … to save the world. Amazon link
Although it is written for a young adult audience, the story, characters and plot line are much better than a lot of YA fiction I’ve seen. This has depth and some really good illustrations about the supernatural world that are worth reading.
I’ve been looking for this kind of fiction for the last twenty years – ever since I read Frank Peretti’s, This Present Darkness about angels and demons battling it out over the human affairs of life.
Remnants gives you an insider’s view of what it is like to discover you have supernatural gifts – particularly some of the gifts we talk about on this blog. Like being able to sense spirits – good ones or bad ones. Being able to sense another person’s soul or emotions. It also has a LOT of battle scenes between good and evil, using both natural elements like sword fighting as well as supernatural elements like prayer.
The story develops and unfolds over three books and it’s definitely worth reading. In fact, I appreciated that this was not a “preachy” Christian book. It dealt with some hard subjects like family conflict, reconciliation, betrayal, forgiveness, guarding your thoughts against negativity and avoiding sexual immorality. The main characters grew in their faith and in their gifting as they encountered and overcame many different kinds of obstacles to their mission. They also learn the power of being part of the community of faith and learning to follow the advice of their elders. It never mentions Jesus but instead refers to God as “Maker”. I think the author probably used that as a means to reach an audience that may or may not be Christians. I think it is very effective. The main theme is trusting God no matter what the circumstances look like – a good reminder to us all!
The author was asked about the spiritual aspect of the book – she replied:
Lisa: I believe there is an unseen realm that we humans spend little time considering, but should. Once you begin walking the road of faith, it’s like you put on glasses that allow you to see more and more of it. But I don’t get hung up on angels and demons, because my soul has already been won, and there’s enough to deal with here in our physical world. But are there battles? Yes. Every day, every hour. Given that the Remnants are all about fighting off the dark and leading others toward the light, angels and demons will logically take a bit more stage time with each book. But our human characters will remain the focus.
I could relate to the characters and their struggles – it made me stop and think a few times. It’s rare when a fiction book is that deep and carries such truth. Kudos to the author, Lisa Bergren! 🙂
(You can read more about the spiritual aspect of this series in the author’s online interview here, if you’re interested.)
Spiritual Warfare 101: Battle at 3:30am
Yesterday on the way to the doctor, I heard this song in my head – it’s a worship song from the 1990’s.
The enemy whispered into my mind determined to wear me down. Alert in the Spirit I am not blind – my confession of faith has the enemy bound! I will rejoice; I will rejoice – I will rejoice for I’ve made my CHOICE to rejoice in the Lord! – Bob Fitts, I Will Rejoice, Maranatha Music
Odd. I haven’t heard that song in years. I wonder why that song would suddenly pop into my head. I even remembered the lyrics clearly. Hmm, maybe this is for a reason? The day was busy, life went on and before I knew it, it was bedtime and I fell asleep.
I awakened at 3:30am – time to empty my bladder. As I rolled back under the covers, I was immediately assaulted with all kinds of doubts and disturbing thoughts. One minute I was still in “sleepy-brain mode” and the next, I am wide awake and can’t sleep.
Earlier this week, I had sent out an email to our closest friends asking for prayer for my husband’s upcoming surgery. A few had responded, but many had not. No response – why?
My mind started churning, thinking about the email. I had specifically requested a response, especially since we all get inundated with so many emails. I wanted/needed to know they were supporting us in prayer.
I began to doubt myself – maybe my email wasn’t worded correctly. Maybe that’s why they didn’t respond. Maybe our friends just didn’t care enough to respond – some of our relationships didn’t feel as close as they used to. Could people have just stopped caring about us?
The more I experienced these thoughts, my emotions were being stirred up. I tried several times to quiet my mind and go back to sleep. Impossible!
I could feel this emotional pressure pushing on me. I felt small, vulnerable, unloved, insignificant, uncared for … basically invisible. All because a few friends didn’t reply to my email.
Wait – that didn’t add up for me. I’m not usually like that.
Suddenly a light-bulb went off – this is an ATTACK!
I was still feeling it, but now I knew this was more than just random thoughts. This was an assignment from the enemy to hurt me.
So I prayed – out loud. “Jesus, please help me. What’s going on? What IS this?”
It suddenly became obvious to me – this is Baal! (that’s the gift of discernment at work)
Baal Unveiled
Baal is a very common name mentioned in the Old Testament. You might remember the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Baal was this god that demanded human sacrifice – he was a very violent, bloody god associated with child abuse, rage, greed and lust.
I call him “the orphan maker”. All the fruit of his works leads people to believe they are orphans in this world – that no one really cares about them or will protect them from evil. In modern lingo, we refer to this as the “victim mentality”. Poor me, nobody knows what it’s like to be me, my life sucks, nobody cares, I’m all alone, etc.
We’ve all felt that way at one time or another. Probably more often than we are willing to admit.
Once I realized the pattern in the thoughts that were bombarding me at 3:30am (now it was 5am), I recognized this as the assignment of Baal. [By the way, that’s what I call it. You might have a different name for it – that’s okay. You get the main idea, right? Just stick to that for now.]
Now keep in mind – these were MY thoughts and MY emotions I was experiencing. They sounded like me – until something didn’t add up. I don’t usually get so worked up about whether or not someone responds to an email. I know everyone is busy – I would have just sent it again about a week later and said, “Hey, did you get this?” No big deal.
The devil overplayed his hand. When things didn’t add up – that’s when it occurred to me, “Hey, these are NOT my usual thoughts. Something’s not right here!” Maybe the sleepy-brain was interfering with my ability to distinguish this sooner, who knows? Either way, I got it – finally. After wasting an hour and half tossing and turning.
The Lord taught me a strategy for dealing with Baal (aka orphan thinking) in the past:
DON’T RESPOND. Don’t look at what he wants you to focus on. Look at God’s goodness instead. Pay attention to the love of God instead.
So that’s what I did. In my heart and mind, I immediately stopped obsessing about the email and started thinking about God’s goodness to me. I started thinking things like, “It doesn’t matter who responded. If we need prayer, God will stir people’s hearts to pray for us. I know he often stirs my heart to pray for our friends. I’m sure He will do that with them too. Of course, they love us – they’re just busy living life. I don’t have to worry about this because God’s got us. He’s a good father and He is taking very good care of us. God has given me peace about this surgery – I’m not worried. God’s good to us.”
Immediately all the mental and emotional distress I had been feeling literally VANISHED! Like instantly – as soon as I turned my mind and heart to focus on God’s care for me. It was amazing. The darkness dispersed – POW! No more negative emotions – no more emotional pressure. No more stress!
I felt light and peaceful inside. Whew! Yay, God!! YOU ARE AMAZING, JESUS!! ❤
I felt so peaceful I started to drift off to sleep – at 5:30am. Just as I’m nodding off, my husband got up to go to work. Now I was awake. I got up with him. He had a particularly hard morning and I’m glad I got up with him. I helped him get off to work.
The timing felt significant – it was important that I was awake when I was so I could help him. I was actually more alert than he was – sometimes he wonders about that, but what can I tell him? “I’m wide awake because I’ve been fighting with Baal for the last 2 hours?” I did tell him later but not then – he’s still had sleepy-brain. 🙂
As I headed back to bed, I thought about the fact that sons and daughters are led by the Spirit. That’s a hallmark of adoption. It may have felt like a sleepless night to me, but in reality it was just me being a daughter of God. Being led by Him to do battle with dark forces at 3:30am (which is actually a prime time for that).
When I got up a few hours later, I wanted to post this somewhere:
But I thought it might be too weird for some people. So instead I posted this:
If the enemy can get you to doubt the love and goodness of God toward you, he’s won. Don’t believe his lies for a second!
Now I know why that song was playing in my head yesterday! Those words turned out to be the exact strategy I needed to overcome!
Here they are again:
The enemy whispered into my mind determined to wear me down. Alert in the Spirit I am not blind – my confession of faith has the enemy bound! I will rejoice; I will rejoice – I will rejoice for I’ve made my CHOICE to rejoice in the Lord! – Bob Fitts, I Will Rejoice, Maranatha Music
Too weird, huh? Yeah, that’s why I write this blog. These things happen to me a lot. I don’t feel comfortable just casually sharing these kind of things. Can you imagine having this conversation with a friend:
“So, how was your day?”
“Well, pretty good. I spent 2 hours fighting demons and then realized that the battle strategy I needed was given to me earlier in the day in some song lyrics from the last century. I lost sleep but somehow God orchestrated it beautifully so that I could help my husband get off to work this morning. I now know a little bit more about the demonic assignment of Baal and I’m telling the world through my blog. So, how about you? What’s new?”
I certainly hope this article helps somebody somewhere. Please let me know if it does. Because I sure WISH I had this knowledge when I was a younger Christian. It can feel overwhelming when the enemy floods your mind like that and you don’t know what to do. Now I know and I’m telling you – SO GO BE DANGEROUS to the kingdom of darkness, okay?
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear if this post helped you. Thanks 🙂
P.S. If you want to hear the original song I’m referring to, here’s the YouTube Link:
Confronting Intimidation
Jenny* called me on her drive home from work. She told me how her boss was not treating her well. He was humiliating her in front of other employees. Now the higher up boss was doing it too. She felt so embarrassed when they did this.
What made it even more infuriating was that she was filling in for 4 other people who had left the job. She was working really hard, really long hours trying to keep everything running in her department, but instead of being appreciated and thanked, she was being called out on every little mistake they were finding. She was exhausted, both mentally and emotionally.
When she first got this job, they had shown her a lot of respect. She had many years of experience in the industry and they were very happy she had joined their team. Now she felt intimidated daily by all their accusations and frustrated no one could see the good she was doing. She was angry, tired and feeling overwhelmed.
I listened and tried to empathize with her. I recognized a pattern – this was similar to the previous job she’d had. That boss had accused her and treated her badly as well. She justified his actions because she knew he had mental health issues and was on and off medication. This time there was no justification.
“You’ve got to deal with this in the unseen realm,” I told her.
“This is not normal. You’re right. What should I do?” She agreed.
“You need to take authority over this spirit of Intimidation so that it doesn’t harass you at work any more,” I said.
“But how can I? It’s my boss. I don’t have authority over him. I don’t want to be disrespectful of his position,” she replied.
“You’re right. You do want to respect his position. But you don’t deserve to be treated disrespectfully. That’s not right! I learned something that I believe will work for you. You cannot change his actions, but you can bind that spirit of Intimidation from manifesting in your presence. Then you’ll just be dealing with a normal human being – not one that is being influenced and empowered by an evil spirit,” I suggested.
She agreed to try it. I sent her some prayers to pray before work. I put them in an email so she could keep it easily accessible on her phone. Here’s the message I sent her:
Here are 3 specific prayers that will help you stand and take authority in your situation.
You don’t deserve to be treated with disrespect. You don’t deserve to work in an environment where you feel intimidated.
1. I come out of agreement with fear and intimidation. I release peace and trust in the Lord into my soul. (pause for a moment)
2. Spirit of Jenny, I call you to attention. Please come forward and lead. Soul, please go to the back and rest. (pause for a moment)
3. I take authority over Intimidation operating through (name of person). You do not have permission to manifest in my presence. I release the fear of the Lord, wisdom, humility and teamwork right now, in Jesus name! Thank you, Lord!Save this email. When you cannot think straight, say these 3 prayers in this order.
Also say them before any time you know you will speak to your boss, supervisor, etc. Any person who is not treating you right – say this prayer before you talk to them. I would encourage you to say these prayers each day before work.You WILL see this situation change – I promise!
The next morning I sent her a short text message reminding her – she said she got my message while driving to work and immediately pulled over so she could say those prayers.
At the end of the day, I got this message from her:
“I don’t have words enough to thank you for your time listening and your time writing this for me. Thank you for your prayers. Today was a good day at work. I haven’t had a good day like this in a very long time.”
Many times the issues we have with people are not about the people themselves. It is an attack against us by demonic forces. They want to see if you know who you are – your identity in Christ.
Paul said in Ephesians 6:12:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (human beings), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Especially when you see the same pattern happening over and over in your life, it’s safe to assume there’s something spiritual going on. Ask the Lord for insight and understanding. Feel free to adapt these prayers to fit your own situation.
I hope this post will help someone today – it certainly helped Jennie! 🙂
Feel free to share below any specific prayers that you have found helpful so we can learn from each other. And if you try these 3 prayers – please let me know how it worked out for you. I expect you’ll see a shift in how people are treating you at your job too!
*name changed to protect privacy
For more information about prayer #2, follow these links: Spirit vs Soul Part 1 and Part 2
Sexual Harassment from the Dark Side
I was having coffee recently with two female friends. Linda* was telling us about a man who was pursuing her romantically. She felt very uncomfortable with his behavior and was trying to figure out how to handle it appropriately. She was afraid to confront him. It suddenly dawned on her that the situation reminded her of when she was a child and was abused. It also reminded her of when she spoke up as an adult regarding sexual harassment she experienced at an organization where she worked. In both situations, she had no voice. She tried to speak up and instead of being defended, the situation got worse. It brought tears to her eyes.
“I can relate. Something happened to me when I was young and I felt the same way. I told my mom and she did nothing. For years, whenever a man would stand too close to me, I would immediately get tense and feel very uncomfortable,” Yesenia* said.
“Maybe the Lord is allowing this man to come into your life to stir up these issues – so you can be healed,” I said.
“I hope so. I thought I had put this behind me – I’m surprised that I got so emotional just telling you about it right now. That must mean there’s more healing for me to do,” Linda replied.
“You know, there’s a spirit behind that man that’s making you uncomfortable,” Yesenia said.
“I know! I was thinking the same thing! His behavior makes me feel intimidated. Last week, we were both at an outreach event and someone put their hands on both sides of my waist briefly. I felt something touch my butt. When I turned around, he was the only one nearby that could have done it. It made me so mad but I didn’t want to make a scene,” Linda vented.
“Man, I would have been angry! How dare he touch you like that without your permission!” I interjected.
“That’s a very intimate way to touch a woman. He crossed the line right there,” Yesenia sympathized. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“That’s sexual harassment AND intimidation,” I said. “Intimidation is a spiritual force. It often comes with a spirit of Control.”
“Yeah, someone else told me that he’s very controlling. I’ve seen that aspect of him sometimes. He used to be so humble, but lately he’s become very opinionated and seems to know it all. That reminds me of my ex who abused me,” Linda remarked.
“I bet this is a challenge of your identity. The enemy wants to see whether you really know who you are. You used to be the woman that men could take advantage of – but not any more! As you allow the Lord to heal your heart in this area, you will become more confident. And I bet that guy will leave you alone,” I said.
Just as we were discussing the spiritual forces behind this man’s behavior, a stranger walked into the coffee shop. He started speaking loudly as he approached our table. He was cursing and making sexually explicit comments. He got right in our faces. We were shocked. He looked disheveled and unkempt. It is obvious he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Nothing he said made any sense.
We felt so uncomfortable that all three of us grabbed our purses and walked toward the exit. Linda turned to him and said, “I feel bad for you. I’m sorry you’re in pain.”
He called her several vulgar names, yelling them as we left. He was really creating a scene. I looked around and there were no employees behind the counter. Where was the manager?
We got outside and found an employee sweeping the outdoor tables. We told him to find a manager and get rid of that man because he was harassing us. As we left, we saw through the front window a manager and that employee talking to the man.
Linda was shaking. Yesenia was angry. I was concerned but not afraid.
“He called me names I’ve heard before. It really shook me,” Linda confessed in a quiet voice. “But I also saw how broken he is on the inside. I feel so bad for him.”
We walk her to her car and watched as she drove away. Yesenia and I walked to my car. The man walked toward us. I got in my car and locked the doors. As I was pulling out, I saw the man following Yesenia to her car. I stopped and waited for her to get in and leave. He was not far behind but thankfully we both were able to drive away without further confrontation.
Yesenia called me as we drove home.
“Do you realize what just happened? That was spiritual sexual harassment! That guy was out of his mind and he came straight over to our table, saying all those obscene comments. It was targeted at Linda.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What are the odds that just as we were revealing the spiritual forces behind her current situation that some random guy comes in trying to intimidate us with such sexually explicit comments? And did you notice that there was a policeman there just moments before the guy came in? He disappeared – I guess he left after getting his coffee. That makes me think about authority. If he’d been there, that strange guy would never have gotten away with his behavior. Identity and authority are linked. When Linda recovers her true identity in this area of her life, she will have the authority to stop this harassment she is feeling from this man in her life.”
We paused and pondered what had just happened to us.
“Wow. God is so good. He even uses what the enemy meant for evil to bring about His purposes. I’m so glad we were together,” I said.
*names changed to protect privacy
Does that story sound crazy or believable to you? It’s hard to believe – unless it happens to you. That guy was under the influence of demons. He came in and confirmed that what we were talking about was accurate and important. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have come.
The dark side hates to be revealed – just talking about it brings it to the light and reduces its power. Now Linda knows what’s going on and what the Lord wants to work on in her life. That helps her because now she won’t be so worried about this man in her life. Instead she will be focused on allowing the Lord to heal that place in her heart that is afraid to confront this man’s behavior. This will strengthen her in her identity and give her the confidence she needs.
I am so thankful that the Lord joined us for coffee that night! He said he would be there whenever two or three are gathered. 🙂
Has anything ever happened to you like this? Feel free to share it in the comments below.
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 