[This is the 3rd installment of an article I wrote on cleansing locations, especially houses, from the demonic spirits that have established some kind of permanent presence there. In Part 2, I began to discuss “open doors” that allow these unclean spirits to gain access to a home. We begin this blog with the 3rd open door.]
A third source of demonic presence in homes is the presence of those who serve demonic spirits knowingly or unknowingly. I am certain that our friend from India had no malice towards Susan and I. He most likely prayed to his “gods” on our behalf or simply prayed to them in our house and that prayer opened the door for their presence in our home as he honored them. We have discovered demonic spirits in new homes without a history, but sensed that some workman who built the house left something of himself there after he moved on. There are also individuals who willingly and formally serve Satan (cult members, etc.) who will dedicate their work to the enemy.
It is also possible that the home was built on property to which some spirit had laid claim. We have discovered that some spirits affect a house because of the property it sits on rather than something in the house – perhaps a location where violence occurred or over a place of worship where false gods were honored or their names invoked. We have also cleansed houses where satanic rituals, witchcraft, séances, etc. took place in the past. These homes can have intense manifestations, especially if the house or property was dedicated to Satan. A dedication is like handing a deed over to the enemy. That deed has to be nullified by someone with greater authority. In the case of believers, Jesus is the one with more authority.
A fourth source of demonic presence in a home are curses that have been spoken over a family, a home, or property. A curse is an appeal to the demonic realm to visit failure, death, disease, poverty, divorce, etc. on a person, family, tribe, nation or location (See Numbers 22 – the account of Balaam). A curse may come as a result of prolonged, unrepented sin or as a result of words spoken deliberately or sometimes in anger or haste. Demons may be assigned to enforce the curse. Sometimes, it is difficult to define the source of a curse because it may have been assigned to a location or a family in previous generations. Exodus 20 tells us that the sins of the fathers will be passed down to the children to the third and fourth generations. It may be a good practice to make a declaration renouncing and repenting of any sins of your Fathers and asking Jesus to break and nullify any curses that have been operating in your house or family. A sample declaration is provided in the Suggested Declarations at the end of this article.
Solutions:
If any of this resonates with you, then your next question is probably, “What do I do if I think demonic spirits are operating in my house, my business, etc.?” Great question!
Let me take you through a simple process that has always been effective for us. This process is essentially the same as deliverance for individuals and involves aligning ourselves with Christ, renouncing the enemy and his works, declaring authority over the enemy and exercising that authority.
Alignment:
If you are not a believer, the devil has access to you at all times because you have not yet been delivered from the dominion (authority) of darkness (see Col.1:13). Your only way out is to sincerely make Jesus your Lord and Savior. If you are a believer, Jesus has taken away Satan’s legal right to oppress you or afflict you. However, you or those you are connected to may give him back that right. Satan may gain access to you or your home through areas of your life that are not aligned with Christ. He may also have access through the actions or words of others who have touched your life or home in significant ways after they had given Satan a foothold or a stronghold in their own lives.
Jesus taught us to pray “and deliver us from the evil one” (Mt.6:13). It’s always good to begin with a prayer of protection from the schemes, the influence, and the attack of the enemy when you are confronting darkness. After that, in house cleansings, the first step of alignment is to have the one(s) with authority in the home make a verbal declaration of his or her faith in Jesus as the Son of God and his or her allegiance to Jesus as Lord and Savior followed by a verbal renunciation of Satan and all of his works.
You might begin by making a verbal declaration like this:
Heavenly Father, I declare my faith in and allegiance to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and willing place everything I am and everything I have under his authority and lordship. In the name of Jesus I renounce Satan and all the works of Satan and repent of any and all sin in my own life.
If the owner or head of the home has areas of unrepented sin in his or her life or if someone who lives in the home has areas of unrepented sin, that sin may be an open door to the enemy. Sincere confession and repentance followed by renouncing the sin disarms the enemy in that area of an individual’s life and removes Satan’s authority to harass that individual and his or her family. Scripture tells us, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13, emphasis added). “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices” (Ezek.14:6, emphasis added)!
In addition to personal repentance, we ask the owner, renter, or head of the household (both husband and wife should do this together) to verbally place the house, contents of the house, and the property under the Lordship of Jesus and to dedicate all of that to his purposes. In doing so you transfer dominion of the house and any part of the house from the enemy to Jesus. Joshua declared, “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
You should verbally declare something like…
In the name of Jesus, we dedicate and consecrate this home, it’s contents, this property and our family to the service and Lordship of Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth. And in the name of Jesus we renounce and nullify any claim that the enemy has had on this house, this family, any contents in this house, or on this property. In doing so, we declare that Satan has no right and no place in this home, in this family, or on this property and is declared a trespasser.
Lastly, we look through the home to identify any objects that may be giving the enemy a place in the home such as the ones listed above – souvenirs, books, dvd’s, music that glorifies sin or violence or death, occult items, pornography, jewelry, etc. that, by their presence, provide an open window for Satan rather than honoring God. We also ask the Holy Spirit to highlight any other objects or areas that need to be removed or given special attention in the house such as places where sin has occurred – beds where adultery was practiced, tables on which occult activities took place, etc. We then ask those in authority to verbally renounce any sins that those objects clearly represent – pornography, idolatry, magic, false religions, fortune telling, adultery, sexual abuse, etc.
Say something like:
In the name of Jesus we renounce and repent of (name the sin) and ask forgiveness for its presence in this house and for our involvement in (name the sin).
Where unforgiveness is involved you may pray something like:
In the name of Jesus, I forgive (name the person) for the wrongs I have received at the hands of (name the person(s)). Because Jesus has forgiven me for the wrongs I have committed, I forgive (name the person(s) and no longer require payment for the wrongs done to me. I release (him, her, them) from the debt they owe and release all judgment to the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, Jesus I ask you to bless them as you see fit and to work on their behalf for their salvation.
When that has been done, then the owners of the house and the house itself have been aligned with Christ.
IN my next blog, I will finish this article with the process for cleansing and a summary of the declaration a person might make over a house or other location where unclean spirits are present.
