Biblical Deliverance: The Jesus ModelНамуна

What are the signs of demonization?

How do we know a person might be tormented by an unclean spirit? There are many signs that we see here in this story that can be obvious to individuals who are used to being involved in the ministry of deliverance. However, we should still read the story and see how Jesus handled the young boy.

In this story, we see Jesus did not go out and start commanding unclean spirits to come out of the young boy because I believe it was out of respect for the father and to teach His followers a lesson. Sometimes it is appropriate to slow down and just ask a couple of questions. Look what Jesus asked in verse 21, “So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

You want to do your research and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in these moments because everything in deliverance is not an unclean spirit. Jesus asked the question to see what was really going on. Take your time and ask if this is a mental illness (specifically with a chemical imbalance), see if it’s split personalities or if the individual is just on drugs. Now, the spirit of addiction can cause a person to abuse drugs as well so again we must be vigilant and ask questions.

I also believe Jesus has the ability to heal all of these things above on the spot, however, we want to know how to pray before we start naively praying for the wrong issue. We need to discern and be very prayerful to see if this particular situation is for His glory (John 9:1-3), because of individual sin, or if the person is breaking a natural law that is causing their affliction.

However, as we see in this specific story, this was an unclean spirit because of several things that the father explained was going on with his son and what happened when Jesus performed a deliverance. Listed below are several observations as we look at this scripture. (Please note: This is not an exhaustive list.)

The Unclean Spirit:

• seized the boy. (Overtake or apprehends a person)
• caused the boy to not be able to talk or speak.
• Other terms - Deaf and dumb/Lunatic/mental illness (a.k.a. Mad man)
• caused convulsions and threw the boy to the ground.
• caused foaming or spit-like substances that looked like soap suds. (Too much spit potentially causes coughing or choking.)
• caused the boy to grind his teeth/gnashing of teeth.
• caused the boy’s body to become stiff and rigid.
• caused suicidal tendencies. (He was thrown in fire and water to drown him.)
• caused him to shriek i.e. screams/loud cries.
• caused fits of rage/violence. (can cause unusual strength)
• entered at a very early age.
• oppressed the boy for years.
• was tough to cast out. (Potentially higher ranked, more wicked or more powerful spirit. Stronger in rank/stubborn See: Ephesians 6:12)

After the deliverance, we see that the young boy fainted and looked like he was dead.

Again, after reading the story these are just some of the things that a person can go through when they are tormented by unclean spirits. We see Jesus is really concerned about the family and the person who is being tormented. This should soften our heart and encourage us to not put on a show when walking with someone who is dealing with this. We should really be there for the individual even if this person is not a part of our immediate family.

Prayer

Father, help me recognize when a person is being tormented by an unclean spirit. I rebuke any spirit of fear that might try to come upon me or intimidate me in Jesus’ name. Give me the boldness to walk with my family members or my fellow brothers or sisters in Christ through deliverance. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.