I have shared previously about how I went through nine years of encountering some very intense spiritual warfare. When I first began having these encounters and for some time, I didn’t have any books on the subject, except the Bible (later on when I did find some books on the subject, I found that they taught some of the same principles that I had learned). Little by little, through trial and error, the Lord taught me many lessons about how to do spiritual warfare. He put me through “spiritual warfare boot-camp”, so to speak. We moved five times when we lived in Dade City and every time we moved, it seemed, I would encounter a new type of territorial spirit or spirits.
One of the first lessons I learned was to pay attention to the types of dreams I was having and to use discernment. I had a few dreams about people stealing from us. When I prayed specifically against a spirit of thievery and stealing, then I felt the presence of the Lord and sensed a release and afterwards I stopped having those types of dreams. I had heard that some of our neighbors had been having things stolen from them and realized that there was a stronghold for this type of thing in our area and the Lord was showing me how to pray against it and the importance of naming the spirit and praying specifically. The way that I would know that I had hit the nail on the head is because I would feel the presence of the Lord and sensed a release from that demonic presence and the dreams would stop.
In one particular house we moved to, there was a demonic presence that would hover over me and wake me up in my sleep. I would get up, go through the house and pray and I would feel it in a different room each time, it seemed. I rebuked the spirit, told it to leave and not come back and it would leave, but then it would return again the next night. At one point I had a dream where a tall young man that was dressed like a farm hand (probably in his 20s or 30s) (the Bible says Satan can transform himself into an angel of light, often demons will impersonate people) knocked at the front door, I opened the door, he ran through the house to the back door, where I opened the door and punched him out the back door. He was light as a feather, it was very easy for me, but the next thing I knew, he was at the front door again and we repeated the process all over again and then it happened again, but this time there was one at the front door and the back. I woke up and said what is going on Lord? The Lord was clearly showing me that I had power over them, but why did they keep coming back when I told them not to?
At one point, when the demonic presence hovered over me in my sleep, I had a dream where my mouth flew wide open and the Holy Spirit came out of me like water gushing out of a fire hydrant when it is opened up and the demonic presence left (temporarily). Again, it was not a lack of power because I was spirit-filled and I prayed, fasted and studied the word on a regular basis.
I continued to pray for the Lord to show me what was going on and I had a dream where I saw pioneer people on the front porch shooting rifles at Indians who were riding on horse back, also shooting rifles back at them. I thought about the scripture in Deuteronomy 21, where the Lord gave instructions on how the people were to make atonement for the land in the case of an unsolved murder or unjust blood-shed. They were to call for the Priests, the Levites and the Elders of the two nearest towns. The Elders were then instructed to measure and see which was the closest town to where the body was found and the Elders of that town were instructed to go down to the stream and kill a heifer that had not been worked and had never pulled with a yoke. The Elders were to break the heifer’s neck (symbolic of Jesus death for our sins) and wash their hands in the stream and say “our hands have not shed this blood nor have our eyes seen it. Forgive oh Lord, your people Israel, whom You have redeemed and do not hold us guilty for this unjust bloodshed. And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood. So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.” (Deut. 21:7-9). Notice, since they were not able to punish the guilty party who actually committed the sin, the job fell to the Elders (leaders) of the nearest town to pray and make atonement for the unjust bloodshed and if they did not do so, the curse would continue. King David encountered a similar situation in his day where there was a drought for three years because of unjust bloodshed that Saul committed (See II Samuel 21:1). I believe, as Christians, now the job falls to us.
I began to pray the prayer of the Elders from memory, claiming that the blood of Jesus paid the price to break any curse for unjust bloodshed on the land and I sensed the Holy Spirit, so I knew I was on the right track. However, the next night, the demonic presence returned again, so I got out the Bible and read the prayer the Elders prayed out loud. I then realized the part I had left out was the part that said, “forgive us Lord and do not hold us guilty for this unjust bloodshed.” As I prayed the prayer, I sensed the presence of the Lord and I felt a release. The curse on the land for unjust bloodshed was broken and the demon spirits no longer had a legal right to be there. The demons did not return after that and I didn’t have anymore dreams about it.
Here is a very important point I want to share about this, demon spirits only have the authority that human beings give them. Adam and Eve were put in charge of planet earth. They were told to be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Gen. 1:28, NKJV). When Adam and Eve chose sin, they opened a door for Satan to become the “god of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air” (II Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2). They gave him authority in the earth, but when Jesus came in human form and died for our sins, he reclaimed the authority for believers. He gave us the keys to the kingdom, power to bind and loose. (see Matt. 16:19, Matt. 18:18-19). We are like spiritual deputies, but we have to use the power and authority the Lord has given us, it does not just happen automatically.
Ephesians 4:25-31 gives a list of sins that grieve the Holy Spirit. In verse 27, we are told not to give place to the devil. The word for place in the original Greek language means locality, opportunity or license (Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, #5117, NT). When we choose sin, especially when we do it repetitively in a particular area, we give the enemy license or permission in that area of our lives. That is how strongholds are formed. Of course, if we sincerely repent and confess our sins, the Lord will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (I John 1:9), but we may need to take authority over the type of spirit that has been given place to and command it to go in Jesus name.
So to re-cap: when people give place to the enemy by choosing sin, whether it is yourself, your forefathers (as in a generational curse) or in this case, the people who had occupied the land many years before…
- There needs to be a prayer of repentance prayed, confessing the sin, naming it specifically and asking for forgiveness.
- Then take authority over whatever type of spirits were given place to (such as a spirit of murder, violence, addiction, etc.) Name them specifically and rebuke them and command them to go in Jesus name.
- If you still aren’t getting relief, you may need to fast or get other believers who know how to pray and do spiritual warfare to pray with you.
God bless you everyone. Hope this helps anyone who may be having battles. Kelly Rowe
A Deeper Walk 