The daily news demonstrates how demons working in and thru people say and do cruel things to people. As humans we need to learn to recognize, refute, and resist the voice of demons when they insert their wrongful thoughts into our mind.

Demons are spiritual beings that strive to deceive and to entrap human beings in destructive, tormenting and/or impure thoughts and behaviors. They like to disguise themselves as a person’s own thoughts, feelings, and desires so that people will freely surrender to demonic bondage. Jesus, the Bible, and the writings of other ancient Christ-followers take demons seriously and call on Christians to resist them and to overcome their influence.

One of the important gifts of the Spirit is “the discerning of spirits” which helps us recognize demonic activity in ourselves and in other people and not be deceived by it. We can also recognize demonic activity because it openly contradicts our conscience, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible.

In the Bible we see Jesus exercising authority over demons to bring freedom to individuals in bondage. This reminds me of the tormenting demons Jesus has driven out of my life (some suddenly and some gradually) and I am re-astounded — amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene! As astonishing as that is, it’s also astonishing that Jesus gives Christ-followers, His agents, authority over impure spirits both to drive them out of their mind and heart and to set other people free from demonic torment. One practical way we can drive out demons is to openly, spontaneously, and honestly pray out loud together and allow our heart-felt, Spirit-led prayers to bring us into deeper intimacy with the living Jesus and cause the demons to begin to flee. When people open up and honestly pray together freedom happens and it’s a beautiful thing to watch!

When statistical Christianity replaces mystical Christianity, we’re counting data instead of relying on the risen Jesus. Demons aren’t afraid of religious statistics, but they’re terrified of Christian mystics who maintain a daily, intimate relationship with the living Jesus.

When Christians gather to take turns spontaneously praying aloud from their heart the presence of Jesus manifests among them. They become aware of Jesus and experience His peace. A powerful way Christians can “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together” is to meet for heart-felt praying. Frequently express what God puts on your heart by praying aloud with people.

If you don’t want an ungodly thought, feeling, or desire to be inside of you, then it comes from another source than you and should be persistently resisted. To believe that you are the only source of the wrongful thoughts, feelings, and desires inside you is to be deceived by demons. The desires and thoughts within us originate from three sources: 1) Self, 2) Demons, and 3) God. The quality of our life depends on which source we train ourselves to follow.

If the actual presence of the living Jesus is rarely the center of attention in a church service, we’ve gotten far off track. Many churches now feature Christless sermons — secular-based motivational speeches disguised as religion.