I sat a few inches from our TV in our living room at my college dorm. Stupid TV… it was the old style- box and bulky. It was Halloween night and since we had no remote I had to sit and change the channel with my finger!!! What a peasant! Oh the pain of having to actually use the TV without a remote! I was flipping through the channels… 

And then I saw her. She was hideous…

On this Halloween night, “The Exorcist” was on. I sat a few inches from this demonic possessed face that screamed in terror. 

My first instinct was to go get Troy…

“Get behind me satan!” I screamed and tried in desperation to turn the  channel without meeting her possessed eyes. I then spent the next hour crying and quoting scripture out loud talking to my grandma over the phone…

And no I am not ashamed. I am a chicken. I don’t do scary movies. Documentaries are my jam. 

While this is funny story, we are about to get real serious real fast… so buckle up and please read until the end. 

Have you ever read a book that intrigued you from the very first chapter?

“This Present Darkness,” by Frank Peretti was a very popular book in the 1980s. It was released in 1986 to be exact. Now I have to warn you, this book is “out there.” It deals a lot with demons and angels and the spiritual realm we can not see, and it gets deep into this. So if you do not want to read it- don’t. However, this book is quite interesting and made me think- there really is a realm out there that we, with our human eyes, are not observing. There are really demons. And there are really angels. It’s biblical.

“ For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) 

The Bible makes it clear our fight is not set here on earth.There are two forces that are constantly at war- good and evil, heaven and hell, satan and God. But God has already won! 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

In Perretti’s book each angel has a name. This is Biblical as we see in Luke 1:26-38, 

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God…”

So here we see that the angel sent to announce Jesus’ birth had a name- Gabriel. 

Perretti, however, takes it a step further and gives the demons names as well. 

Now, stay with me here. I know the church is not big on talking “demons,” but we are in a spiritual battle here people. And angels and demons play a huge part in that. And I am also not saying that this book is entirely “biblical.” It is fictional in nature, but it deals with a very real concept- spiritual warfare. 

It got me to thinking, “Why wouldn’t demons have names?” 

If angels have names, and satan has a name, and God has a name, then demons must have names. I am not going to act like I know what these names are. In fact, I don’t care to know exactly. But Perretti offers a unique perspective. Not only does each demon have a name, it has a name of a struggle or a sin. 

For instance, complacency. This demon has the influence to make people lose motivation for life. He seems to be quite powerful in our world today. murder is another demon. He is hateful and full of rage. 

addiction, greed, fear, lust.

Now that I am older, I understand that sin is not just sin- it is darkness. Each time we choose to sin we are masking the light of Jesus inside of us.  Have you ever felt the darkness in sin or been around someone you knew was suffering with it? It’s terrifying and heavy on your soul.

Let me ask you a question that might scare you but hear me out. 

If we believe that satan is real and that demons are real, why would we think they were dumb?

They are not. They are the epitome of evil genius. They strategize, they plan. They scheme.

If angels have assignments and God has plans, I can ASSURE you satan and his demons do as well. 

John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly.” (ASV)

We imagine these influences and spirits running here and there- kind of like ghosts in a commercial. No particular path, just chaos.

No. 

he will hit where it hurts. he will study your weaknesses. he will send those forces he knows will influence best whether that is lust, fear or addiction.

Now am I saying that everything we face is demonic and evil? No. 

But spiritual warfare is real. 

It is time the church recognized that we are in a battle not against people- but against the forces of evil and our weapon is prayer, God’s Word and standing strong with each other. 

satan doesn’t want you to know his tactics. he doesn’t want you to recognize this. he would rather you pretend demons and evil didn’t exist. That would make his job a lot easier. 

Nothing becomes more powerful than when you deny its existence and ignore it. If you knew you had a severe wound but you chose to ignore it, would that make any sense? No! So why do we treat evil like we do? Like it doesn’t exist and it isn’t real only to have its affects fester in our society.

If you are wondering, “Lisa what do I do with all of this information. This is strange…” And honestly, it was to me at first and sometimes still is. 

But I have used it to pray against specific influences for specific people. For instance if you have someone you know has an addiction, you can pray specifically against that influence. If you know someone who struggles with an eating disorder and feeling ugly and less than, you can pray against the spirit of self-hate. If you know someone who struggles with suicide, pray against the influence of suicide. If you know someone who struggles with the influence of pornography or sex you can pray against the spirit or struggle of lust.

Name your demons. Name your sins. CALL THEM OUT.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NIV)

Are all of our struggles demonic influence? No. The are things like physical and mental illness that are very real. So don’t think I am saying everything is demonic influence.

I suffer from anxiety and depression because I suffer from anxiety and depression. I suffered a reaction to a medication and it was a physical chemical imbalance. Not satan. But do I think satan knows this is a weakness for me? Oh yes. And do I think he strategizes around it– oh yes.

Another thing that struck me about this book, the strongest weapon was prayer. Prayer scared the demons more than anything. 

It sounds crazy, but if spiritual forces are at work in people’s lives, good or bad, imagine if we took the time to call them by name in prayer and pray for that person specifically? 

When we talk with our Creator God and we lay things at his feet we are not promised our prayers will be answered, but if we come with a contrite heart- they will be heard. 

And nothing scares satan more than a group of dedicated Christ-followers who will prayer and act on their prayers, knowing that even if God doesn’t answer how they want, they will still be faithful. 

There is a poem that is one of my favorites. It is called “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is about a group of soldiers that followers their leader into death (knowing they will die.) He seems to have made a mistake in battle, but his men are so loyal they follow anyway. They admire this leader so much they would rather give their lives than change direction.

Now this may not be the BEST example of the point I am trying to make, because as we know God does not make mistakes.

but what if satan knew God had an army that would follow Him no matter the cost. Even to the point of death? 

If you really wanna say, 

then take out your Word of God, get alone with God and pray… and be specific in your prayers for people!