I really don’t know, more than a hundred. At many I assisted as part of the team, maybe gently restraining the person. At many, I attended to coach the priest through the exorcism if he was new to the ministry. Exorcism is a fixed rite in a book, but it’s also an art. The demon isn’t passively sitting there letting you read from the book; it is an active opponent. Fr. Fortea says that “A crucifix, even if it has not been blessed, is particularly powerful. It torments the demons because it reminds them of their defeat by Jesus’ death on the Cross.” He says the same of religious images and relics. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” We are blessed to have a growing number of counseling clients who have seen the power of Christ in their lives.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are on the frontlines of this cosmic battle. Jesus introduced His kingdom into the world like a tiny seed (Matthew 13:31–32), and it is growing as people discover the truth of the gospel message and turn to Him. But it’s pushing against a firmly established demonic structure in this world. That structure is fighting tooth and claw against people knowing Jesus personally and growing in His righteousness. This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And God put all things under Christ’s feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things… and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ JesusGreg Brown has served twenty years in pastoral ministry, including twelve in his current position as a chaplain and professor at Handong Global University and the teaching pastor at Handong International Congregation. He also served as a U.S. Navy Reserve chaplain until his retirement in 2022. He ea... More More from this author Published When ministering to the demonically oppressed, we must help the person recognize and get rid of any open doors in his or her life. Fr. Fortea doesn’t recommend this step so that the Church can get your money or out of a sense of tradition. No—he recommends regularly attending church because it helps you to spiritually grow over time, and gives you the support you need to maintain those good choices we spoke of in the previous step. Can a Christian be oppressed by a demon or even Satan? The Apostle Paul relates that he had a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble (2nd Cor 12:7a) and the source of this thorn was actually “ a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure” (2nd Cor 12:7b). God allowed Satan to buffet Paul by some unnamed affliction or persecutors so obviously Paul was oppressed but not just by any one. It wasn’t just a demon by Satan himself, the ruler of the kingdom of darkness. Satan certainly saw Paul as a threat to his kingdom and probably the greatest threat there was at the time because Paul planted churches about everywhere he went. He was entering enemy territory. Demons and Satan are opposed to anything and everything that has to do with Jesus Christ, the blood of the Lamb, the cross, repentance, confession, forgiveness, and eternal life through the Savior. They absolutely detest it and will do anything they can do to stop it but they can do no more than that God allows them to do. Demons are Satan can do nothing beyond what God’s will is which explains why Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift Peter like wheat (Luke 22:31). We can conclude that Satan had to have God’s permission first. When Satan wanted to test Job, “ the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord” (Job 1:12). Now we have at least two people that were allowed to be buffeted by Satan but by no means destroy their salvation. Is Oppression or Possession?

We know from psychiatric settings that people can be extremely strong sometimes, so we would not diagnose possession from strength alone. How should we minister to those being demonically oppressed or even to ourselves, when strongly assaulted and afflicted by the enemy? To answer this, we must consider how the demonically oppressed were ministered to in Scripture. There are various ways. Fr. Fortea says that “When tempted, prayer is our greatest weapon, a weapon as powerful as the greatest army or wealth. The demons know the power of prayer and fear it.” The researchers found that over 1 in 10 people, or 11 percent of the general population, will experience the incubus phenomenon in their lifetimes, Blom said. "That means that there is an 11 percent chance for any given individual to experience this [the incubus phenomenon] at least once during their lives," he added. These spiritual entities are, according to Christian tradition, angels that were cast out of heaven after following their leader, Satan, in rebellion against God. Because of their transgressions, they now roam the earth as they await the final judgment.We belong to God and we are a prized possession! However, in like manner as with termites, our “house” of the Holy Spirit can be infested and tormented by destructive spiritual forces. Other effects that exorcists have noted are marital discord, illness with no natural explanation, the breaking up of friendships, etc, with the purpose of leaving the person isolated. Another of Jesus’ followers, James, sums up the key to spiritual warfare: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you” (James 4:7–8, NIV).

If you need a great example of how to pray, simply look to the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13—it breaks down the art of prayer into easily-remembered parts. While you shouldn’t repeat the Lord’s Prayer verbatim, use it as a guide in your own prayers against the demonic Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. God the Father, increase my trust in Thy Son’s Mother; Our Lady of Fair Love, give me perfect confidence in the providence of Thy Son.

Seek an Exorcist

Oppression can take on the form of an illness, alter a person’s relationships in the form of peculiar and divisive or toxic patterns, or invade other areas of one’s life, such as jobs or finances. There is no manifestation of a demon in the form of the spirit taking over a person’s body or changing his/her voice, involuntary behaviors, or extraordinary strength. Rather, spiritual oppression influences part of a person’s life in perhaps strange patterns of misfortune, unexplained diseases, or repeated severed relationships. Satan’s chief sin, it seems, was pride. He thought himself greater than God, more worthy to rule. And so it is something he is intimately familiar with, and is uniquely capable of working through. The important thing is to focus on human free will and our relationship with God. The demons are not central players here; we give them sway in the world only through our choices. Their job is to tempt us, but we make the decisions to follow those promptings. So, in a sense, they are behind all the evil, but it is we who allow evil to manifest. Follow the Church’s rules. Follow the exorcist’s directions. Don’t speak to the demons, and don’t respond to the demons. Pray. Once an exorcism is complete and you’re free of demonic possession or oppression—the two ways a demon interacts with people—you’re healed. But know this: to prevent a recurrence, any experienced exorcist will ask that you live by the rest of the recommendations on this list, that you make them engrained habits in your everyday life.