Spirit Daily

When You Are Obsessed Or Blocked, Kick Out Evil And Watch God Take Its Place

By Michael H. Brown

Are there certain things in your life that seem hard to explain? Are there problems that appear intractable? Are there situations that continue despite your best efforts (and prayers)?

This could be because the root of the problem involves spirits. It's not a pleasant topic, but when we're blocked in life -- plain stuck, unable to shake off bad fortune -- it could be because we lack faith, are simply approaching a situation the wrong way, or because spirits, demonic or familial, are behind it.

No, it's not a pleasant topic, but it is supremely biblical: in a third of the cases in which Christ healed, devils were connected with the illness.

How do demons affect us?

Often, they hook into sin, other shortcomings, or emotional damage. Sin can cause an infestation that drags us into a whirlpool of bad habits or even addictions. We all know how sin spirals. Once we open the door a crack, just a bit, spirits can find their entrance. When our feelings have been injured (when we have a physical, spiritual, or emotional vulnerability), the devil can reach in and extend that weakness.

When we have been rejected, the devil can extend that into a lifetime of feeling inferior. When we have been abused, or when we have turned to sin ourselves, the devil can infest us with the wrong kind of sexuality. He "hooks" into hurts. He finds existing wounds and widens them. Especially he exploits trauma. The result can be everything from simple hardships in life -- manifestations so subtle that we don't notice them as demonic -- to overt signals like deep psychological disturbance, phobias, and "panic" attacks.

The answer is to pray, of course, but often the prayer we need involves a specific command to cast such a spirit out. This must be done in the Name of Jesus. We should command out the spirit by name (spirit of rejection, spirit of gluttony, spirit of stubbornness or anxiety or whatever the affliction may be), and send it to the foot of the Cross (to be disposed of according to the Will of the Father).

Miracles occur with that simple, firm prayer. Spirits are cast out. And when spirits are gone, so are blocks. We can now feel filled with grace. Possession is not a common occurrence, but infestation -- the effect of evil on our everyday lives -- is common. All of us, at various times, need deliverance. That's why it is right there ("deliver us from evil") in the Lord's Prayer. Indeed, see the excellent series of tapes by spiritual-warfare expert Mother Nadine Brown on precisely the power of this prayer. Are you tempted? Do you tend toward dislike, or criticality, or lust, or gluttony, or other negativities? Are you suffering anxiety or depression, even illness, as a result?

We'll have more on this in the future. It's an important topic. It can prevent us from getting that job we want or making our marriages work or can trip up our kids; it can affect our spouses. It can drag us into financial trouble. As a television evangelist, Father John Corapi, points out in another series of tapes, we shouldn't look for demons under every rock -- but as he also says, and as we agree, the bigger problem is not seeing them at all. Had the Church cast away the spirit of temptation when it first arose, there would be no priest-abuse crisis.

In the Name of Jesus, through the Lord's Prayer,  spirits are cast away. Also, invoke the Mother of God. Remember: the Blessed Mother has been granted power to step on the head of the evil one, especially when we meditate on the life of her Son through the Rosary. Let her be your guide. Seek always the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Once we pray to cast away such a spirit, it's important to then pray for equilibrium. If it is others who have afflicted us, we need to start the process of deliverance through forgiveness. Forgive those who did you harm. If our problems are caused by sin, we need Confession. This is very powerful against the enemy. Confession is like roto-rooter: it clears away the debris blocking us and lets the Spirit flow. Once the Spirit is flowing, we are then free to achieve what God wills for us to achieve -- namely happiness! There are few things as pleasurable as deliverance. It makes us calm. It makes us whole. It cleanses.

When we sin, the devil is granted a foothold -- while he is repelled when we're in a state of grace. The best defense is thus goodness. It is in the Sacraments. You can chase away a horde of demons during consecration!

And once you do -- once you kick the devil out -- watch how God swiftly takes his place!

[Resources Spiritual warfare at the Spiritdaily bookstore: Deliver Us From Evil, Desert Briefing, Immortal Combat, Deliverance From Evil Spirits, Prayer of the Warrior, Pigs in the Parlor, Healing the Haunted]

[Potent deliverance prayer]