Indicators You Need a House Cleansing

We frequently do “house cleansings” for believers in our church and our city.  I’m not talking about a service day on which we go to some needy person’s home to deep clean, organize, and haul away junk (we also do that from time to time). But what I am talking about is clearing the house of demonic spirits that are attached or assigned to that location to oppress or afflict the people living there.  In a sense, it is deliverance for a location rather than a person.  The demonic spirits are not in or attached to the residents, but have an assignment against anyone who is living in that location.

In scripture we have several indicators that demonic spirits are assigned to locations. In Daniel 10, we are told that a demonic prince, the Prince of Persia, resisted the angel God had sent in response to Daniel’s prayer.  He was assigned to a nation. In the gospels, the demon named Legion (for we are many), who was afflicting the man of the Geresenes, plead with Jesus not to drive them out of the region (Mark5).  The region must have been a geographical assignment. There are many other examples but we can be assured that some spirits do have ties to geographical locations. 

Those spirits can be attached to a location where sin has been prevalent such as when pornography, adultery, or molestation in a home has occurred.  They often exist where some form of witchcraft has taken place…Ouija boards, tarot cards, psychic readings, or more formalized forms of witchcraft. When there has been conflict, violence, or abuse spirits seem to be established in those locations. Where suicide or murder has taken place, a spirit of death often remains.  Sometimes the spirit is attached to the house, sometimes to the property where something took place before a house was even built there.  It also seems that individuals who are involved in witchcraft, false religions, or unrepented sin can “shed” demons when they have been in someone’s home – friends, relatives, service workers, etc.  The person leaves but a demon stays.  

Demons can also take up residence when objects in the house invite them…idols (sometimes used for décor), books about witchcraft, souvenirs from overseas that have spirits attached to them, movies or television shows about the supernatural, pornography, tokens of false religions, new age items, and so forth.  The residents may come and go but the spirits remain.  Apartments are especially susceptible to such attachments. 

There are tried and true ways to rid the house of these spirits through the authority of Jesus Christ, but when is a house cleansing indicated in the first place?  Let me list a few of the most common indicators that demonic spirits are operating in your house, a business location, or even in your church and that you need to take action.

1.  You sense a heavy or “dark’ atmosphere in part of your home where you feel sad, depressed, or hopeless when you are in a certain room or section of the house.
2. You and your family frequently feel agitated or angry for no apparent reason when you are home and don’t experience that anger when you are away from your home.  There is irrational conflict and even violence that seems unexplained or unsolvable.
3. You or family members see shadows that are out of place…sometimes with a vague human form.
4. You experience sleep disturbance, feel the presence of something around you, or have tormenting dreams.
5. You feel fear in certain parts of your home.
6. Your children are afraid of something in their room or playroom. They tell you they see scary things or scary people or have frequent nightmares.
7. You hear unexplained sounds in the house…voices at night, cabinet doors opening by themselves, footsteps in the house when no one is there, electronics coming on by themselves, etc.
8. You see inanimate objects move by themselves.
9. You experience frequent illness or fatigue that defy diagnosis or treatment.
10. Demons actually manifest in the house in physical form.

To many, these indicators sound like the quintessential haunted house.  But these are demonic spirits that are subject to the authority if Jesus Christ and those who walk in His authority.  Satan has his greatest success we he operates without detection.  When we live unaware of the spiritual realm and his schemes against us, he oppresses and torments freely. Certainly, not everything is demonic. But when these indicators persist or when several become apparent, you should seriously consider a house cleansing.  Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy. He wants to rob the peace and blessings that a home should provide for a family.  

If you go on line, you will find any number of articles on house cleansings from New Age practitioners.  They will describe essentially the same indicators but will prescribe sage, music, crystals, bells, and meditation.  When facing the demonic, the blood of Christ and his authority over the enemy is all you need.  Next week, I will write a brief blog on how to cleanse a house when needed.  May the Lord bless you and keep you.