We have been given the vicarious authority over the dark spirits in this life to cast out demons and devils by the authority of Jesus Christ. Demons and devils are the ones stirring up our hearts to anger and mischief. They also stir up anger in our children’s hearts toward other family members, bringing great contention and strife into the home, where fights break out.
We need to learn to use the authority of Jesus to cast these evil ones out from our homes and restore peace.
When growing up, I remember fighting with my siblings, and out of nowhere, things would escalate into full-blown fights at times. What I know now that I didn’t know then was that dark spirits were working on each person, stirring them up during arguments, kind of like a spring being wound up in a clock, and that spring would get so tight and it would cause things to explode, and thus bring strife into our homes. (Read the post, ‘under the influence’, where this is illustrated more perfectly.)
I remember reading the story of a paster that used to work for the FBI, and he became famous for having a reputation where he would be called into situations where there would be great domestic disturbances between spouses who were ready to take blows at each other and he had this ability to walk in and calm things down and actually bring dialog into the room and change the whole dynamic. He became famous for it.
One time, he was asked by a co-worker why he was so good at this. He replied that it wasn’t him but God that brought down the level of contention in the room. He said that whenever he would enter into a room where he could feel the hostile contention, he would simply say in his mind; “I silence all voices in this room that are not from God or of God, and I do it in Jesus’ name.” (the reason the contention was there in the first place was from demons and evil spirits in the room stirring everyone up to anger against each other) He had faith that when he would say these words that God would bind the opposing voices, giving him time for things to calm down, and that they always did.
Uttering this simple phrase would shut the mouths of all the dark spirits in the room so that they couldn’t feed the minds of the humans any longer with contentious uproar. With their mouths bound, it would immediately stop all the contention, and everyone would calm down, so they could then just talk to each other, and he said that this fixed it every time. It was no trick, it was just God in action.
I distinctly remember my own situation that illustrated this same concept several years ago.
At the time, I was working for a ministry trying to preach the word of God. I found over time that I would get stirred up to anger over trivial things, really insignificant stuff, but somehow it would easily beset me and stir me up in a crazy manner that would hinder my ability to see success.
In my frustration, I would head into my pastor’s office, who was the acting manager overseeing the entire project, because I wanted to yell at him. Each time before I walked in, I would rehearse my talking points so I could go into that office with a good argument.
What I didn’t know was that my paster was doing the same thing that this FBI agent did when I entered the room. My pastor said that he could feel the frustration and contention coming in with me, as if someone or something were entering the room as well. It wasn’t just me, and with that, he would bind that unseen voice and shut it up, and so when I would go to open my mouth, I couldn’t remember anything that I was going to say or do. The spirit of God shut everything down. We would talk calmly, and he would rebuild my confidence with words of support and encouragement, sending me back out of his office to continue my ministry.
It took me doing this about 4 times before I figured out that the moment I would walk through his door, I wasn’t going to get one word in. Not because I couldn’t speak, but because my mind would go blank, and the spirit of the Lord would hit me so hard that all I could feel was peace, and sit quietly in it. I wanted peace, but when I was on my own, I was letting the devils come and contend with my thoughts, so I began to go to his office frequently to complain.
Darkness does not like light, and it won’t remain in it either. That doorway was a threshold where I would step into the light, and my dark spirits around me, which were stirring me up, could not pass to the other side.
We need to take authority over the darkness of this world. Those demons and evil spirits seek to bind us, stop us, and inhibit us as they work to destroy us. Jesus gave us His Authority by way of the atonement. We have this ability to cast out devils just like he did.
There are many types of spirits out there. Spirits of Fear that stop us from doing anything because we fear something. Spirits of anxiety that wind us up so that we are unable to do things effectively. Spirits of hopelessness that make us think our situation is hopeless. Spirits of depression, that help us to feel worthless without value. Spirits of contention, that stir us up to anger to contend one with another.
So, what do you say? What do you do? Here is something that was given to me that you can say:
We need to speak out loud and declare our intent with purpose.
Say out loud…. “Spirit of _(contention or spirit of anger)_”. fill in the blank.
“I speak out loud, ‘peace’ be still, over me and over my family and over my house. I silence all voices not of God or not from God within this house in Jesus’ name. I command this spirit of ______ to leave me, my family and my house. Spirit of _______ I take authority over you, I resist you, I rebuke you and I bind you by the authority of Jesus Christ. Spirit of ______ you must leave all this places now. You are not welcome here, and Jesus gave me the authority to use his name. Spirit of _______ I bind you here now. The Bible says that what so ever is bound on earth shall be bound in heaven, and I command the ministering angles to take this spirit of _______ to the abyss and chain it up in Jesus’ name, we thank you father for sending your son Jesus Christ who gave us this authority in Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
*Carolyn Dennis has been a resource for some of this information…