Story: The demon formula

Story: the demon formula

Mom was afraid.  She knew her son was tormented by a demon.

How did this happen?  She had divorced her husband because he was a practicing satan worshipper.  In anger, the father taught the son to accept a powerful helper.

Mom turned to Jesus, and was attending a small Spanish speaking church just down the street from our house.  I had attended the English congregation of that same church when I was single.

Ileana and I still knew several of the people in the English congregation, but not many in the Spanish congregation.

Well, Ileana and I had this great prayer idea.  We wanted to test how we could pray for every house in the neighborhood around a church using Luke chapter 10 as our model.

We prayed and decided I should go talk with the Spanish pastor at the church down the street.

I only met with him once, and it was on a Wednesday night when the Spanish church had their family fellowship time for kids and their parents.

As I met with the pastor in his office, several men came to the door and interrupted us. They were in a panic, but tried to act like they weren’t.

They spoke directly to the pastor and apologized to me for their interruption.

The first thing they said was, “There’s a demon possessed boy in the fellowship hall. Will you come and help us to cast the demon out.”

The pastor looked at me.  I think he was observing my calm and confident demeanor.

One of the elders quickly asserted, “Sir, you don’t have to come. You can wait here if you’d like.” The pastor offered the option for me to come with him.

I agreed, and then an elder said, “You don’t have to worry about this.  We’ve dealt with this before many times. We don’t know if this is something you are used to doing, but you are welcome to participate if you’d like.”

I decided not to explain my background, and said, “This is your church, and I’m a guest.  I’ll watch and if you need me to participate, I will.”

I knew I had to submit to Jesus, but it was also important to follow directions from the leadership of that church.

We entered the fellowship hall.  The boy was five years old.  He was sitting on a large sectional sofa in the middle of the room.

Many, if not all of the elders were surrounding the boy and shouting, “In the name of Jesus, get out.”

They had already been at it for 15 minutes or more. The sweat was coming down their shirts.  They weren’t really taking turns, but some were tired and stepping back as others stepped forward.

The pastor joined in, but I noticed that he was very composed as he prayed. I turned and looked at the mother standing in the corner.

I asked Jesus what to do.  I heard the thought to go and talk with the mother.

She had a panicked look on her face as she heard her son speak with a deep male voice that wasn’t his voice.

I distracted her with questions, and she explained that her ex-husband was a satan worshipper.

The boy would came back from his time with his dad, and then have renewed aggression to manipulate the mom to get whatever he wanted from her.

I paused, as we both watched the energy increase again in the room.  The boy was casting spells at the elders with his hands, as the demon spoke out of him.

I felt a compassion come over me, as I said in my mind, “Jesus, it doesn’t have to take long for you to set this boy free.  Will you set Him free.  What do you want me to do?”

I heard a response in my mind, “Turn away from the scene and worship Me, and I tell you what to do next.”

I turned and faced the wall in the corner of the room.  I was next to the mother., and she could hear me worshiping Jesus.

Then, during the second song, Jesus answered me. “Go and turn the boy over and spank him gently, and tell him this, ‘Shut up.’ “

Jesus didn’t tell me to shout the words, so I didn’t. He didn’t tell me to say the phrase “in Jesus’ name” so I didn’t.

I walked up behind the boy, reached over the couch and gently squeezed both shoulders and turned the boy over and spanked him lightly just once.

I spoke clearly and calmly and said, “Shut up.”  I did exactly what I had heard in my mind.

Instantly I knew it was Jesus who whispered those thought to me, because the boy immediately shut up, and froze on the couch.  He couldn’t move.

The palms of his hands were stuck to the couch, and he couldn’t move them.  He could no longer speak.  He was silent.

I asked Jesus what to do next.  I expected that what Jesus started, He would finish.

I heard the thought, “Whisper in the boys ear. Tell the boy that I am so powerful, that with one word I can silence your helper.  Your dad told you the demon was powerful to help you, but I am more powerful.”

I told the boy that Jesus stopped the demon with one word. In Spanish it was one word.  The elders had stepped back, and caught their breath.

They were silent as well. All eyes were now watching what would happen next.

I asked Jesus again what to do next. I heard the thought, “Give the boy permission to speak, but do not give permission for the demon to speak.”

This is where my memory always returns.  As he started to speak for himself, the look on the boy’s face overwhelmed me.

He cried out in desperation saying only these words over and over, “Help me. Help me.”  My heart leapt from my chest with intense compassion and I knew it wasn’t me.

I stayed focused on Jesus and submitted again.  I knew if I was told to cast the demon out, Jesus would most likely lead the boy to Jesus so the demon wouldn’t return.

But, I wasn’t told to cast the demon out.

I asked Jesus what to do next. I heard Him again in my mind, “Have the pastor share the gospel with the boy and ask the pastor to lead the boy to Me.  Bob, you can go home. Your part is completed.”

I told the pastor what Jesus told me, and He immediately began to share the gospel with the boy.  I watched for a second or two, but left right away as the Lord had told me.

I didn’t have to cast the demon out, because when a child gives their life to Jesus, the demon has to go automatically.