Exorcism - A Christian Manual (13 page)

After the Exorcism

After the exorcism it is important for the client to know that maintaining the exorcism is a lifestyle not a one-time event.  Follow-up sessions should be scheduled to help with the new life transitions and to give them support.  There will be attempts by the evil spirits to come back and inhabit the body again as Jesus said that when they leave they will go and grab 7 other spirits and try to get back in (Luke 11: 24-26).   The client must be prepared for this and should anticipate a counter-attack from the enemy. 

We stress that God isn’t expecting them to be perfect but to live a life that is honorable to Him, the best they can.  It is living in the grace and love of God and being thankful for the freedom that they have been given.  It is important to spend time with them after the exorcism to explain that they will sin, but in general, one sin will not bring about a new possession.  It is remembering that we all sin but we can turn to Jesus and receive forgiveness and therefore no anchors for evil will develop.  Here are some basic instructions that we give clients:

1.
     
On a daily basis plead the Blood of Jesus over your home, property, family, and yourself
.  For example, when the Israelites put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes the spirit of death passed over that home, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin,” (1 John 1: 7).

2.
     
Attend church regularly
. Being in church helps remind you of spiritual matters and keeps God in focus. Many people say that they do not need church, but many will eventually not make their relationship with God a priority and will gradually sink back into old behaviors.  Attending church provides a support system of like-minded believers that challenges us to grow spiritually.  Research has shown that people with strong religious beliefs that participate in regular religious activities handle stress better, and are less likely to have mental disorders (Koenig, Ford, & George, 1993; Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2002; Pargament, 2011).

3.
     
Make prayer a big part of your daily life as it will keep you spiritually grounded
…”And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for the saints,” (Ephesians 6:18).   Prayer is a point of contact with God, and the more that we pray the more we will be in touch with God.

4.
     
Read the Bible daily
.  Joshua 1:8…”Do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Reading the Bible keeps God’s principles on your mind and in your spirit; the more that you know God’s Word the more you know God…”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning,” (John 1:1-2).  The better you get at knowing God’s Word the better you will be at recognizing the lies and deceptions of the enemy…”The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1).  Demons will seek to deceive you and lie about God and His Word and the only way to combat their lies is to know the Word.

5.
     
Temptations and attacks will come
.  But if we resist the enemy he will flee from us…”Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:7).  Some believe that if tempted they must be a failure and a disappointment to God.  Temptations will come to all, so it doesn’t mean you are out of God’s will.  Just do not give into the temptations and give the devil a foothold.  So, if you do sin, and you will, acknowledge that you have and seek forgiveness from God and He will forgive you…”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1: 9).

6.
     
Avoid individuals who are leading a life of sin and fellowship with those that are chasing after God
.  1 Cor. 15:33 makes it clear…”Bad company corrupts good character.”  Surrounding yourself with people that want to serve God is essential.  They can help you, pray for you, fellowship with you, and advise you.  Humans are designed to be with others and we will seek out people to avoid loneliness.  We know that the more social support people have, there will be less mental disorders, there will be a faster recovery time after an illness, and they are more likely to live longer (Uchino, 2009).  In addition those that are lonely have an increased chance for depression and suicide (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008).  So it is healthy to seek out relationships with others as long as they are helpful and encouraging relationships.  We also know that depressed people can make us feel more depressed so it is wise to select those that will make your life emotionally better (Hatfield, Cacioppo, and Rapson, 1993).   

7.
     
Make the praise and worship of God a part of your life
.  Psalm 100:4: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name.”  From this Psalm it is apparent that we enter God’s throne room and get close to Him by becoming a thankful person that worships Him.  God loves it when we praise Him and satan hates it.  By praising God we are in His Presence and this is where satan does not want to be.  It is a place of safety and communion.  If you feel oppression coming from a demon you should begin to praise God and it will flee from you.

8.
     
Become a person of faith
.  The opposite of faith is fear-anxiety.  When we are anxious we are more likely to doubt God and His plan for us.  By trusting and learning that all things work for the good for those that love Him, we can relax and let Jesus unfold our lives as He wills (Romans 8:28).  In our anxiety the enemy can sow doubt which leads to bad decisions.  Anxiety and fear are places where satan can work his best. Part of living in faith is being a giving person.  Spend time giving your time and money to a church and/or a charity so that you can show that you honor God by giving to further His kingdom and that you have a heart that desires to serve others.

9.
     
You will sin
.  Even though sin does give the enemy a place in our lives and we know that the devil will come back, we cannot live in terror of evil when we do sin.  Asking for forgiveness and receiving it will break any hold satan may have.  Doing the same sin over and over without repentance allows the enemy a way back in. We have to strive for perfection, full knowing and accepting that we will not get there.  Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

10.
 
Daily put on the full armor of God
.  Ephesians 6:13-19: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with Truth, and having put on the Breastplate of Righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; in addition to all, taking up the Shield of Faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.” I pray this each day as a reminder of what is important to God as I go out into the world. 

11.
 
Walk in love
.  “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven,” (Matthew 5:44-45).  Being a person of love and forgiveness is important because you will be persecuted unjustly.  After the exorcism many will try to do right but there will be people sent by the enemy to hurt them even though they are innocent.  At this point many will become discouraged and angry with God.  They may be serving God for the first time in their lives and will not understand what is happening.  They may feel God has abandoned them and feel like giving up.  It is important to clearly spell out that satan persecuted Jesus, the apostles, and anyone that seeks to live for God.  They must expect a hard road and rejoice that they have been chosen to suffer because it means that satan doesn’t like their progress and notices that they are living a life with Jesus.  Jesus said in John 15: 18, 20… “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first…if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.”      

Chapter 6

Why Exorcisms Fail

Unfortunately not all exorcisms are successful.  There are times when the exorcism breaks down and the person is not set free.  It is important to cover these issues because every exorcist will face them.  There is a battle between the power of God, the power of the evil one, and the human will.  God can always set us free; however, there are human weaknesses that can hinder the exorcism.

In some cases you may have to stop the exorcism midway through when the demons don’t appear to be leaving and ask the client what is going on.  For example, a man wanted to be delivered of perverse sexual desires and we started the exorcism and nothing seemed to be happening.  We continued on for about 30 minutes and finally stopped.  I asked the client what was going on and he said nothing much.  I began to ask more questions and really wanted to get to his desire and willingness to completely walk away from the sin.  When I asked if he was going to completely stop talking to his old sex acquaintances and get rid of all viewing of porn websites, he nervously said yes.  He said that he hated it and wanted us to take it away.  When I said that he had to work hard, he didn’t want to hear it.  He finally admitted that he couldn’t get away from the sin, and he wanted it to just disappear.  We stopped the exorcism at that point because his will to stay clean was non-existent. 

1.
     
The client secretly does not want to be free of sin
.  There are three levels of the mind but I will talk about 2 here.  The conscious mind is in reality and processes what is going on in the here and now.  The unconscious is a part of our mental activity that we are largely unaware of.  These are deep thoughts that guide us without always being completely aware of them.  For example you don’t have to remember how to walk, eat, or ride a bike each day-we simply get up each day and do these things. The memory of how we do these things is in the unconscious and we don’t need to make these memories conscious in order to successfully do them.  We can have 2 opposing thoughts at the same time.  In an earlier discussion you can have a client say at the conscious level that he wants to be free of a perverse sexual sin, but deep down he really don’t want it to go away.  The deepest desire will always win and you must detect if there is a split in their motives.

2.
     
Some use exorcisms as a quick fix when they feel bad or are in a bad situation
. Some want to blame all of their problems on a demon.  They come to an exorcism hoping to get rid of the demon and everything will be just fine.  They also believe at some level that they can pretty much go back to the way things were and if they feel bad they can just get another exorcism. God does not honor this approach and the client will deteriorate as the exorcisms become ineffective.  I did see a woman like this that had a horrible past.  She was sexually abused as a child and grew up angry and violent.  She was in and out of group homes and juvenile detention, and eventually ended up as a drug addict and a prostitute.  In one of her incarcerations she got saved and started to turn her life around.  When she got out of prison she got a job, got married, and had several children.  However, she never received counseling or an exorcism and when under stress she would disappear for several days.  It was later found out that she was on the street doing drugs but her family had no idea.  After several disappearances her pastor decided that she needed an exorcism.  She went through one and immediately felt better.  Things went along fine for a while, but new stressors hit (her child needed surgery and she got fired from her job) and she disappeared again.  This time someone saw her on the street and her husband and pastor went and got her.  She went through another exorcism and felt better.  However, after more stresses she disappeared again.  When she came in to see me she asked if she could go through an exorcism rather than counseling.  When I asked her why, she stated that counseling took too long and exorcisms are faster and she feels better right after.  This is not how to approach an exorcism.

3.
     
There are some who will not confess all of their sins
.  The client may either be embarrassed by the sin and not want to confess it or he might not believe that the sin is really a sin.  If they won’t acknowledge that the sin is wrong then they cannot be forgiven and set free.  It is important to be as open and non-judgmental as possible.  The client must feel safe in confessing their sins and that you will maintain absolute confidentiality.  In addition, the exorcist must be able to confront the clients’ concept of sin if it does not line up with the Word of God.  One woman visited a white witch (one that casts good spells to help people) once a week and refused to stop seeing the witch as she saw her as someone that was saving her life.  In fact, the witch referred her for the exorcism.  The client was having other problems and that was what she wanted to focus on.  After several attempts to point out that God forbids seeing a witch and He sees it as sin, I terminated the exorcism process because I knew it would not be successful because she would not stop seeing her.