Dec 18, 2017  The so-called attack usually occurs during an episode of sleep paralysis, a condition that's even more common than the incubus phenomenon, according to the meta-analysis.

In the realm of spiritual warfare against demonic spirits, I believe there are 4 basic levels in which an individual believer may have to face – depending on what you may be dealing with in your present set of circumstances and what you may have in your past background.

But before I get into exactly what these four areas are, I want to give you some very basic verses from the Bible showing you the importance that God the Father is placing on that we realize the reality of demonic spirits in this world, and that we not be afraid to engage and cast them out of people when we do run across them in this life.

Here are 8 very powerful verses from the Bible, all showing us that we are not to be afraid of demons, and that we are to directly engage with them if we have to, operating under God’s authority and anointing to be able to do so.

1. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe. In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)
2. “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee … the Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:14-18)
3. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
4. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1)
5. “And He called the twelve to Him, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits … And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” (Mark 6:7,13)
6. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1)
7. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:6-8)
8. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

If you will notice, every time Jesus gave His apostles the power and command to go out and walk with His anointing, He always told them to cast out demons as one of His specific commands – no exceptions!

It has been estimated by many Bible scholars that approximately 25% of the miracles Jesus had performed were Him casting demons out of people. Satan and his demons are not confined to the Bottomless Pit at this time. This event will not happen until Jesus returns back to us in His second coming. Until that event happens, Satan and his demons are still free to roam in the “air” seeking who they are going to try and devour next.

As Christians, we always have to remember that the devil and his demons are already defeated foes. Jesus has already defeated Satan at the cross when He was crucified.

What is now left is that all Christians have to realize that the victory is already ours.

We thus have to learn how to engage and defeat the devil and his demons when they do try to move in on a person or a situation – and sometimes this means a real live deliverance – because demons can attach themselves to people when they do move in for an attack.

And once they do, the only way to be able to drive them out is by the power of God!

Before I get into the four specific areas in which demons will try and come against people, especially Christians, there is one more big debate going on right now in the Body of Christ about how far demons can go with Christians. This debate is whether or not a demon can actually enter in on the inside of a Christian.

Many believe that once you are saved and become born again, that demons cannot enter in on the inside of you. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will literally come in and enter in on the inside of your human spirit at the moment of your conversion with Jesus. As a result of our bodies now becoming the temple of the Holy Spirit, they believe there is no way that a demon or a group of demons can enter in on the inside of your body.

At first glance, this does appear to be a very logical argument. However, what they are missing is the fact that the Bible tells us that we have three, distinct, separate parts to our being. We have a body, a soul, and a spirit. The Holy Spirit is living and dwelling in your human spirit, but He is not living up in your soul or body area.

If a Christian ends up committing a severe, door-opening sin and transgression against the Lord giving the demons full legal right to be able to directly attack him, then what the demons will try and do if they can get away with it is try and enter into that person’s body and soul. They will not be able to enter into the Christian’s spirit because the Holy Spirit is already living in there. But they will be able to enter into the body and soul of that person if the transgression has been deemed to be severe enough by the Lord.

Talk to any deliverance minister who does deliverances on a regular basis, and every single one of them will tell you that demons can enter in on the inside of a Christian, and that they then have to be cast out of them by way of an actual deliverance. In fact, they cannot cast the demons out of a person unless that person is a Christian to begin with, or unless that person is willing to become a Christian if they are not saved.

If an unsaved person has demons living and operating on the inside of them, they will have no spiritual authority to be able to cast the demons out of them. This kind of deliverance is only available for born-again Christians.

One of the things Christians can do to totally safeguard themselves from ever having a demon try to enter in on the inside of them is to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We have an article in the Bible Basics section of our site on exactly what this gift is all about and how to properly receive it.

What happens with this second experience is that the Holy Spirit will release from your spirit and come up and enter into your soul. Once the Holy Spirit is residing in both your spirit and soul areas, then the demons will not be able to enter into your soul since the Holy Spirit is now living in there as a result of having received this gift.

This is why after a Christian gets delivered from demons, a deliverance minister will try and get the person to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – to help safeguard and prevent the demons from ever being able to get back in on the inside of that person ever again.

This debate has been going on for a long time in the Body of Christ and will obviously never be resolved anytime in the near future. The only thing that I can personally tell you is that I have come across quite a few Christians who have had demons literally dwelling on the inside of them and they all had to have the demons cast out of them by way of an actual deliverance.

At the end of this article, I will give you a list of the best books ever written on the subject of deliverance and engaging with demons. Each one of these books have been written by very creditable, anointed men and women of God who have learned much in this area of spiritual warfare. And what you will find out very quickly when reading from each one of them is that they have all found out in the real battlefields of life where this kind of activity does exist, that Christians can draw demons on the inside of them if the demons have the appropriate legal rights to be able to enter in.

As I get into the four specific areas where demons can directly attack a Christian, you will see me break this down into two very basic areas. If demons come in for an attack, they will either try and attack you from an outside position, which means they are attacking you from the “air.” When they are attacking you from an outside position, they are not on the inside of your body or soul. These attacks are coming at you from the outside of your being.

The other position that demons can attack you is from the inside position, which means they are attacking you from the inside of your body. And if they are on the inside of your body being able to attack you from this inside position, then something has happened that has given them the legal right to be able to enter in on the inside of you.

Your job will then be to find out what their legal right is so that you can get it properly broken before God the Father. Once you have properly broken all of their legal rights before God the Father, then you can turn around and command them to now leave you in the name of Jesus.

But whether you are dealing with demons attacking you from an outside position or from an inside position – the rules are still the same.

Find out what their legal rights are, properly break those legal rights before God the Father, and then turn around and verbally cast all of them out in the name of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As much as I hate to say this, there is a real war game going on between God and the devil for all of our souls. And in this war game are real, live, demonic spirits who will come after people, especially Christians – and they will try to get away with inflicting as much death, terror, destruction, and oppression as they possibly can.

This is why the Bible is telling us that we are to resist the devil – that we are to cast out demons when and where needed – and that we are to become good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

We are to be as bold as lions, and we are to learn how to walk in the anointing of God so that we can properly use the power and authority that God has already given to each one of us through His Holy Spirit.

The Bible makes it very clear as to what kind of big picture we all have to deal with. Each Christian thus has to make up their own personal mind as to how they will deal with this big picture and the war games that are really going on behind the scenes between God and the devil.

The apostle Paul could not have said it any better when he said that our real battle in this life is not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, which are demons and demon powers.

You can either learn how to rise up and walk with the anointing and power of God in your life so as to be able to do battle against your enemies, whether they be demons or other evil people – or you can choose to hide your head in the sand and let demons and other evil people keep tearing you and your family to pieces.

We have another article in the “Spiritual Warfare” section of our site titled, “Battle Verses of the Bible.” In this article, I give you 100 of the best battle verses from the Bible showing you that God the Father is a “Man of War,” that He does have a war side to His personality, and that He will not hesitate to go into battle for you and your close loved ones if you are willing to stand up and fight your enemies as a true soldier of Jesus Christ.

But before God can go into battle for you, you will first have to be willing to march onto that battlefield and face your enemy head on like David did with Goliath. The choice is yours.

In the “Testimonies” section of our site, we have several powerful testimonies from people who were taught how to directly engage with their enemies, and in several of these cases, their enemies were demonic spirits.

These people were all getting torn apart with what these demons were able to get away with – and this was all occurring because they did not know how to directly engage with them and how to drive them off them and their current situation.

Once we showed them how to go on the offensive and directly engage with these demons, every single one of them received complete and total deliverance – and in most of the cases, deliverance came within 24-48 hours. This is how powerful a thing it really is if you can learn how to go on the offensive against your enemies by operating under the authority, power, and guidance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Now onto the first 2 different areas you may have to face when dealing with any type of direct attacks from demonic spirits.

10:30PM EDT 6/15/2014 When coming under spiritual attack, prayer is your most effective weapon. ( Lightstock)There was a time when someone suffering from a heart attack had little chance of survival because he or she didn't know what was happening and ignored the symptoms until it was too late.Medical advancements began identifying common warning signs such as discomfort and pressure in the center of the chest, pain on one or both arms, and shortness of breath. Spreading awareness of the warning signs has greatly increased the survival rate for heart attack victims.In a similar manner, many Christians seem to be blindsided by spiritual attacks.

When it comes to a spiritual attack, it is crucial to recognize the warning signs for survival:1. Loss of spiritual desire. The goal of any spiritual attack is to turn you away from what God wants to do in your life. That is why the first warning sign of attack is a loss of spiritual desire. We don't live by feelings alone, but there is a difference between doing something merely out of obligation and doing something because you delight in it. When you delight in the Lord, nothing else compares.

Someone passionate for God finds pleasure in the things of God.Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox!.2. Physical fatigue.

The second warning sign is physical fatigue. I know that doesn't sound very spiritual, but keep in mind that we are created beings—spirit, soul, and body. If my body is weak, it allows things to get into my mind (soul), and that allows things to negatively affect my spirit. Many times we face our greatest attacks just before a great promotion or just after a great victory. Keep in mind when you're going through it—an attack could very well be an indication that you are about to be promoted or just had a great victory.3. 'Lack attack.'

The third sign that you are under attack is a 'lack attack.' There are times when it seems that all of your resources dry up at the same time. The enemy attacks in this to get you to take your eyes off of God and put your eyes on money. If he can get you worrying rather than worshipping, you will start making decisions based on opportunity rather than anointing.

Always remember there are two times in your life when you are especially vulnerable to temptation: when you have nothing and when you have everything. Stay close to God in both the good times and the bad times.4. Weak prayer life. The fourth sign that you are under spiritual attack is a weakening prayer life. 'Could you not watch with Me one hour?' Jesus asked His disciples. Then He told them, 'Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak' (Matt. Feeling overwhelmed and helpless.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by circumstances? That could be a sign that you are under attack. The word circumstance comes from two words: circum (encircle) and stance (stand). In other words, you are standing encircled by what's going on.

It doesn't take long for feelings of being overwhelmed to lead to hopelessness. The Bible says, 'Hope deferred makes the heart sick' (Prov. It also tells us, 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen' (Heb. If the enemy can get you to lose hope, he can get you to stop living by faith.

Old habits and lifestyles resurface. The sixth sign that you are under spiritual attack is that old iniquities begin to resurface in your life. What is an iniquity? Some consider iniquities to be those old habits that your soul wants to fall back on when things aren't going your way—things that indulge the flesh.

If this begins to happen, do not ignore the warning conviction of the Holy Spirit.7. Pulling away from Godly relationships. When old iniquities start tempting you, the next sign of spiritual attack is sure to follow: pulling away from godly relationships. Have you pulled out of relationships with people at church or with people in your small group? Are more and more of your friends carnally minded rather than spiritually minded? If so, you are stumbling around the battleground and the enemy has a target on your head.8.

Five 'Do Nots' to Break the Enemy's Attack. Once you've taken a stand against the enemy's attack, here are five 'do nots' you must remember. Do not forget who made you. God created you with storms in mind. He has equipped you and you are going to make it through in Him. Do not forsake the time and place of prayer.

Two things that are vital to a successful prayer life: a time of prayer and a place of prayer. Do not forsake the place of power. Your church is a place of power. Do not forsake the power of partnership. It is good to be around people who have lived longer, done more than you have and can give wise counsel.

Do not disconnect from pastoral protection. I have often seen people under attack whom I wanted to pull close and help, but they refused. Don't wait until the enemy is tearing you to pieces to seek the aid of those in a pastoral role in your life.If you are under attack, you can arm yourself against the enemy's schemes, equip yourself to fight and win!Adapted from 'The Spirit of Python—Exposing Satan's Plan to Squeeze the Life Out of You' by Jentezen Franklin, copyright 2013, published by Charisma House. This book will help you recognize and defeat the strategies of the enemy and help you bring God's deliverance and restoration into every area of your life.

To order your copy click.Prayer Power for the Week of 6/16/2014This week thank the Lord that He has exposed the strategies of the enemy to attack you, and that He has provided the means to recognize and defeat them. Thank Him for His deliverance and restoration in every area of your life.

Continue to totally surrender to the Lord and bow to His perfect will for your life. Ask God for divine connections with those of like mind so that you can unite, agree and defeat the enemy together. Pray for those persecuted for their faith in Christ, and continue to ask for revival and more laborers for His ripe fields. Remember Israel and pray for it to fulfill God's purpose on earth. Lift up our leaders, our military and their families.

Remember those suffering loss due to the natural disasters of wild fires, tornadoes, floods, and other inclement weather patterns. 11:1; 2 Chron. 2:1-4Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox!.Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle.

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Shoutrageous. Comments should not harass, abuse or threaten another's personal safety or property, make false statements, defame or impersonate someone else. Do not question others' faith just because you disagree with them.Follow God on the most fulfilling journey of your life with Encounter the Holy Spirit! Break away from past hurts and press into the One who wants a personal encounter with you.Reach your full potential and be led by His Spirit. In His Presence takes you to a deeper understanding of who God is and how he communicates with us.Receive the power and gifts that come through the Holy Spirit Baptism. Don’t go empty-handed; accept all that He has for you! His power is available to those who ask.Break every stronghold with the power of the Holy Spirit. Use the power of your tongue to declare and decree the Word of God.

Witness heaven move on your behalf.If you are in leadership for any length of time, there will probably come a time where you will need to lead other leaders.Charisma's founder, Steve Strang writes about today's hottest topics affecting the Christian faith.Follow God on the most fulfilling journey of your life with Encounter the Holy Spirit! Break away from past hurts and press into the One who wants a personal encounter with you.Reach your full potential and be led by His Spirit.

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