Twenty of my fellow classmates and I sat attentively as our professor spoke. I was in a missions class listening to my teacher, who was a veteran missionary. For thirty years he had served in the country of Kenya in Africa.
One day, while he was living in Kenya, several men from his village came to the door of his home. They told him that there was a woman in a neighboring village who was having some kind of breakdown. They asked if he would be able to go and look at the woman to see if there was anything he could do to help her. He agreed and was escorted to the place where the woman lived. Keep in mind, he was a missionary to a very remote area of Kenya. No Kenyans in the region spoke English. My professor spoke to everyone in Swahili. When he arrived, he found the woman in great distress. She was being held down on the ground by several men. Her arms and legs were flailing and she was foaming at the mouth. My professor had seen it before, the woman was demon-possessed. As he kneeled down over her to try to speak to her, the woman stilled. She looked directly into his eyes, and with a man’s voice in perfect, un-accented English she said, “I know you, and I am opposed to your God.” After she said it, she immediately resumed swinging and kicking.
It is not just this story that convinced me that demons are alive and well in the world, though I’ve heard many stories like it. Demons are shown to have influence and power in the Bible, as well as throughout secular history. Perhaps blatant demonic possession isn’t as noticeable here in the United States, but it certainly is occurring all over the world. I believe that demons, as agents of Satan are active trying to control the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. Though I do not believe that a person who is truly born-again can be possessed by a demon, I do believe that they can be oppressed by a demon. Our best protection against demonic attack is to stay in “on guard” spiritually. Spend time in the Bible and in prayer and avoid being exposed to sin.
Cutting Behaviors and Self-Destructive Thoughts