As a church that has ministered deliverance to adults for years, we are often asked about children and deliverance.  The questions generally are:

• Can children be demonized?
• If parents break generational curses, are the children set free from the effects?
• Should you minister deliverance to children and, if so, how?
• What should you do if your child tells you that he/she is seeing something scary in their room?

These are legitimate questions that books on deliverance rarely deal with, so I thought I would take a couple of blogs to respond to these.   By the way, there seems to have been a definite increase in demonic activity in the last year, at least in our area, and children are being affected as well.   As many in America pursue sin and perversion and as many of our national leaders do the same, the spiritual gates have been opened wide for the demonic to be active in our nation. Because of that, we can expect demonization of individuals and demonic manifestations to be heightened.  The enemy always pursues the most vulnerable, so we can also expect children to be targeted as well as adults.  

The first question is whether or not children can be demonized.  I guess we ask that because we assume that God would protect children because he cares for them in a special way (Matt.18:10) or because they are innocent and Satan should have no legal right to afflict them.  In Mark 9, a man came to Jesus whose son had been tormented by demons manifesting as seizures.  The text says, “When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he been like this?’ ‘From childhood,’ he answered. ‘It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us’” (Mk.9:20-22). Clearly, children can be afflicted by demons. 

Demons can attach themselves to children as a consequence of generational sin, curses, or trauma. The trauma of abuse, the loss of a parent or sibling, a severe injury or illness, etc. can easily open a child up to a spirit of rejection and/or fear.  Spirits of trauma can also attach to physical or emotional wounds and hinder their healing.  

Curses spoken over the child by those who have spiritual authority over them (typically parents) can also give the enemy a legal right to afflict a child. This can happen in unplanned pregnancies where a parent might say that he or she wishes the child would miscarry or “never be born” or that this child would bring them nothing but pain and sorrow, etc.  Words like that can open the door to spirits of rejection, infirmity, death, or an orphan spirit. 

Generational spirits of fear, anger, infirmity, lying, rejection, stupor, etc. can also be passed down to a child. We have seen these show up and manifest as learning disabilities, feelings of self-hatred from an early age, cutting, extreme anger, obsessiveness, chronic lying, etc. even in young children.  Of course, all these conditions can be physiological and not demonic, but in our experience, many have a demonic componnt.

I always feel a need to remind anyone reading this that demonization is not possession. Demonization means that demons are afflicting an individual in one part of their life while the rest is fairly functional. One part can impact the other parts, but typically the person is out of control in only one or two areas and not all of the time.  The most effective demons are those that mimic physiological or psychological conditions that exist in the natural realm.  They do so without manifesting in such extreme ways that we might suddenly wonder if something beyond the natural was occurring.

We also need to remember that demonization does not nullify salvation.  Demonization effects our ability to mature spiritually or develop fruits of the Spirit, but does not affect our salvation. Sometimes, believers want to deny demonization because they think it means they belong to Satan and are, therefore, lost. Deliverance is about sanctification rather than salvation.  

So, how do we know if a child’s “issues” come from the natural realm or are a manifestation of the spiritual realm?  Sometimes, it is hard to know.  However, if everything has been tried that should help, but has not brought any lasting healing or freedom, demonic activity could be indicated.  If you see something in the child’s eye’s that seems unnatural when an issue is manifesting, it is likely demonic. If a child tells you that something or someone is telling them to hate, hurt, or be afraid, that could be demonic.  If a child has been abused or traumatized, then be sensitive to the possibility of demonization.  Before anything else, ask the Holy Spirit to show you if something demonic is in play.  If you know someone who has a strong gift of discernment, ask that person for their impressions.

Our general rule is that if we are unsure, minister deliverance. Cover the base.   If something manifests or something changes, then demons were involved. If not, keep seeking answers in the natural realm.  Next week, I will talk about appropriate deliverance for children and how to equip them appropriately for spiritual warfare.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.  Philippians 2:14-16

As we continue to minister freedom and healing in our area, I am constantly confronted with the reality that a great number of people who are saved and forgiven are still bound up in addictions, depression, anger, fear, suicidal thoughts, condemnation, and more. Even without any real reflection, that seems wrong. As we minister to believers in other parts of the country, we see and hear the same thing, so it is not just a West Texas anomaly. 

These Christians have a sense that their struggles are simply to be their unchanging lot in life. Their experience has been that “their church” is powerless to help them other than with prayers that seem to make little difference and encouragement that is appreciated but fades away.  Their churches have sent them into the community to find professional counselors or twelve-step groups and they have not experienced any lasting transformation. They often live in broken relationships or have left a solid trail of those relationships behind them. In a sense, they fear the future because it may even be worse than today.

In many ways, these men and women are no more free than the unsaved men and women in their community. If you put them in a room with an equal number of unbelievers and had them talk honestly about their struggles, you might not be able to tell God’s children from the lost.  That is not God’s intention nor is it what Jesus died for. In the passage from Philippians at the beginning of this blog, Paul clearly is making a case that those who follow Jesus, who have been born again, and have the Spirit of Elohim living in them should stand out in the world like stars against the night.  He declared to the church at Corinth that, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  Power is needed to defeat the agents of darkness that torment and to heal deep, gaping wounds from the past before we can become the light of the world. When we say all the right things but display no power, we are not reflecting the kingdom of God.

Through the years, I have talked to several individuals who had been part of witches’ covens or satanic cults.  When I asked them what had drawn them to the “dark side,” the answer was that their lives had been out of control and they were looking for something that could give them a sense of power, control, and security.  They had not found that in Christian churches, so they looked for it in darkness.  These men and women had not failed us, we had failed them.

Of course, we always hear that Christians should not be chasing the miracles but should be chasing Jesus.  Certainly, we can get caught up in the power gifts and supernatural manifestations, but miracles were part of the fabric of Jesus’ ministry and the early church.  Wherever Jesus was, miracles were also present.  Why should it be different today?

A gospel that only gets us to a place of forgiveness but does not radically free us and change us so that we stand out in contrast to our culture is not the gospel that Jesus preached nor demonstrated. If you are part of a church that preaches the Bible, but never displays the power of Jesus Christ in healings, deliverance, prophetic words, and radically transformed lives, then the Bible may be preached but is not being understood.  Stars stand out in stark contrast to the darkness around them. That is the Savior’s desire for his people.  I see it daily in the lives of those who have experienced his power.  So let me encourage you to not accept a powerless gospel.  Seek what you see on the pages of the New Testament.  Those pages were recorded to show what the Christian life should look like, not what it only looked like for a few…long., long ago.

I posted a version of this topic a few months ago, but felt prompted to bring it back with some additions and some discussion that I believe will be helpful.  In order to do that, I will present this as a series of blogs rather than just one.  Some of these thoughts were framed from an excellent article by Jentzen Franklin, while much of it will be my own thoughts and observations.

Clearly, not every obstacle in life is a demonic attack.  Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble.  Many of our troubles are just the consequence of living in a fallen world in which we will face hard circumstances that we simply have to deal with or outlast.  However, Paul also said that we should not be unaware of the devil’s schemes and that our real struggle is not against flesh and blood but the spiritual powers of darkness.

There are times when demonic forces are actively attacking us and divine weapons will have to be employed to overcome those forces.  This series will present ten indicators that you or others you know and love may be under spiritual attack, if these conditions are prolonged.   Being passive will not get you the freedom or victory you need. Even prayer alone may not be enough because we have been ordained to trample on snakes and scorpions (demons) and to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). We are called to heal and cast out demons not just pray about it, so many times we must take the fight directly to the enemy if we want victory.

At times, we will not be sure whether or not we are facing a spiritual attack. The devil is most effective when spiritual attacks come on us slowly so that we begin to feel that the oppression or affliction we are experiencing is simply a natural condition. If we were to experience these things suddenly, we would probably see them as the spiritual attacks they are.  But when these things creep up on us over a period of months, we begin to think it is just our “new normal” and begin to simply live with it rather than fight it.  We should pause from time to time to evaluate the challenges in our lives to see if we simply need to endure something for a season or go face-to-face with the enemy.  The following indicators may help you with that evaluation.  These indicators are not arranged in any particular order of importance.

Indicator One

Your spiritual passion and desires have subsided.  You find yourself without the desire to read the Word, pray, worship, attend church, or even serve in your calling without any apparent reason.  You are marked by apathy and indifference and can’t seem to shake it.

We all go through seasons of depleted passion, burnout, and distractions.  But if the season drags into months rather than weeks, you may be under attack.  There are a number of spirits that can attach themselves to us in order to drain our energy, passion, and commitment.  Spirits of stupor, discouragement, fatigue, or heaviness can affect us physically or whisper thoughts that all our efforts have accomplished nothing or that our prayers make no difference.  Sometimes the enemy discourages us through others, who judge us and criticize us so that we feel condemned and begin to doubt ourselves. When we find ourselves in this place, we need to begin to rebuke the enemy and command him to take his hands off of us. In the name of Jesus we should cancel any assignment of the enemy against us and command any unclean spirit to leave and never return. If we feel that we cannot muster the faith or the righteous anger to stand against the enemy, then we should ask others to command the enemy on our behalf. 

Indicator Two

You are experiencing a season of physical and emotional exhaustion, even though you are being reasonably responsible with your health.   Maybe you are experiencing lingering illnesses that are not clearly diagnosed and for which treatments have not been affective.  Perhaps, you get treatment, feel better for a while, but then revert back to the symptoms you have been dealing with.

In the gospels, men and women were often afflicted by spirits of infirmity that mimicked real diseases and conditions and gave life to those things while attached to the person. Blindness, deafness, muteness, seizures, back trouble, etc.  were all dismissed and the person healed through deliverance.  Others with the same symptoms were healed from physiological conditions or disease, but it seems that nearly as many were afflicted by a spirit of infirmity.  No treatment will bring lasting healing as long as the spirit is present.   If there have been traumatic injuries from violence, abuse, a car wreck, etc., sometimes spirits of trauma settle into the wound or injury and keep in from healing correctly as well. It is always wise to command a spirit of infirmity to depart whenever there is an illness or infirmity in a person.  Sometimes, we cannot be certain if a spirit is operating, but it is wise simply to cover that base to see if any spirit is present. 

More Indicators Next Week