We had not been long in the house of Bill and Liz when a happy young girl bounded in without knocking before entering. She obviously felt at home with our host while she told them of the day’s events. I thought she must be part of the family, but soon learned that she lived next door with her mother, sister and grandmother. Later during our visit we learned of the struggles this thirteen-year-old girl had experienced with the power of darkness. Thankfully, through the power of prayer and the Word of God, she was able to resist the persistent attacks of the enemy. Her story is real, and we give it as told to us, except for changes in the names of the individuals involved.
The Beginning of the Story
The story begins the first week of October 2011 when at 11:00 p.m. Bill and Liz received a loud, urgent knock at their door. Upon opening the door, they were confronted with a desperate elderly lady who implored them to come next door to help them. She said something awful was happening to her young granddaughter. After looking to the Lord in prayer, Bill and Liz went next door, where they found many people celebrating a birthday, with music and dancing. The grandmother led them to the room of her granddaughter and left them alone with her. Upon entering the room, they saw their young neighbor, Trina, sitting on her bed holding hands with a friend. It soon became apparent to them that spiritual darkness was in the room. The two girls on the bed were oblivious to all that was going on around them, and Trina was relating to her friend some communications from an unknown source. She said to her friend, “Don’t get off the bed, for if you do, the spirit of a woman dressed in red will enter into you.” Recognizing that some spiritual enemy was at work, Bill began reading in a loud voice various scriptures that concerned the Lordship of Christ over the power of darkness. While he read, Trina continued speaking to these unseen spirits. Bill and Liz then prayed very earnestly for Trina and her friend. This went on for about two hours. Finally, Trina cried out and said that the spirit wanted them to open the window so it could leave. Liz opened the door leading to the patio while they continued praying. Shortly afterward, Trina returned to normal; she was tranquil and acted like herself. Bill and Liz realized that Trina did not know the Lord as Saviour. They spoke to them about the Lord Jesus as the One who was able to deliver them from the power of darkness, and then they retired to their house, very thankful to the Lord for His victory in the battle.
The Night of October 27, 2011
As the end of October drew near, it brought a heightened crisis in Trina’s life, for it became apparent that the evil spirit was not willing to relinquish his hold on her. Fifteen minutes before midnight Bill and Liz were again summoned by a frantic knock on their door. The grandmother said that Trina needed help; she was once again being tormented by the evil spirit. After a short word of prayer, they went next door and found Trina’s mother and her aunt sitting on either side of the bed firmly holding her arms so that she would not hurt herself. Trina was fighting wildly against the two of them, because the spirit wanted her to commit suicide. When she saw Bill and Liz enter, she said, “Why did you call them?” Bill began praying in a firm, loud voice, and as he did so, it prompted a heightening of the spiritual battle, but he continued praying until the struggle subsided and Trina began acting normally. Before leaving, they again reminded Trina and the rest of the family that they needed to turn to the Lord as the only power that could free them from this oppression of evil spirits. They invited the family to come to their house to read the Word of God with them.
During the following week, Trina came, and they read the Bible together. They began with the first chapter of the Gospel of John, verses 1-18. The verses were an immense help to her, but she was still fearful that the spirit might return. Whenever Bill and Liz would leave their house, she was even more afraid. She considered them as her safety net in these encounters, because they brought relief and strength to her. The next attack was not long in coming. It was to be the deciding battle when she would realize her need to submit herself to the Lord Jesus and resist the evil spirit, armed with the Word of God.
The Night of November 4, 2011
Bill and Liz had just returned home when at 11:00 p.m. they were again called by the weeping grandmother for help; Trina was again possessed by the evil spirit. They found Trina being held tightly by her mother. She was trying to keep Trina from hurting herself as she violently scratched her body because of a burning sensation on her skin. This went on for quite some time and made them realize that an evil spirit was trying to enter into her. Once again Bill began quoting Scripture, followed by prayer to the Lord Jesus for deliverance. With this Trina began relaxing from the struggle with the evil spirit that tormented her. As she slept briefly they took advantage of the calm to inquire from her mother about Trina’s friends, problems at school, contacts and programs on the Internet, as well as a visual check of her room and closet, pictures on the wall or anything that could be a connection with evil spirits. A few suspicious objects were found, and though they did not seem to be very significant, the family removed them from the house.
After about thirty minutes, Trina began to wake up and cry out loud. She spoke with another voice, a low guttural voice that sounded as if it were coming from her stomach. It sounded horrible! There was hatred and anger in her voice; on her face appeared an evil smile. The oppression of it made them feel they should call another Christian friend to help them in prayer, even though it was 1:00 a.m. While explaining to the other family the urgent need for prayer, they held their cell phone close to Trina’s mouth so they could hear the horrible sounds and know the reality of what was happening. The other couple could not come immediately but promised to pray for them in their home. Realizing that their resource could only be in God, Bill and Liz stayed in the room with Trina until the early hours of the morning. During this time, she carried on a dialogue with the unseen spirit that tormented her. Here are some of her words:
“My mother loves me; you say she does not love me.”
“You say my mother fusses at me all day long. No, my mother loves me and corrects me for my good.”
“You tell me that if I kill myself you will give me everything. You are a liar, for you have given nothing to me, only darkness, and you say I must kill myself.”
“I am reading the Bible with my neighbors, and I have learned that Jesus loves me. He is light and life to me. I want Jesus. I don’t like you; leave me alone.”
“Jesus told me how to become a child of God.”
Victory
At 4:00 a.m. they were all exhausted. Finally, when Trina slept, Bill and Liz decided to go home to get a bite to eat and take some rest. At 8:00 a.m. the grandmother knocked on their door. Nervously she said that Trina was awake and she feared the spirit was going to return to torment her. In spite of being very tired, they prayed to the Lord and then went next door to see what was going on. There they found Trina, not at all agitated, but with a peaceful smile on her face as she greeted them warmly. It was worth being wakened up one more time to see that smile and rejoice together with them for the Lord’s deliverance. He kept Trina from the power of darkness.
Since that series of crises until now, Trina has not experienced another bout with evil spirits. She is dedicated to following the Lord Jesus, her Saviour. She continues to attend weekly Bible studies in the home of Bill and Liz. She is very close to Bill and Liz — like a daughter. When we saw the bright smile on her face as she conversed with us, one would never have guessed what she went through.
We share this true story as the Western mind tends to reject anything it cannot see, including the existence of the “spirit world.” There is a spirit world, both for good and evil. While we need not fear evil spirits, “because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world,” yet we must not give any room for the enemy to work. The denial of the existence of the unseen world is like an open invitation for evil spirits to fill the void. See Luke 11:24-2624When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (Luke 11:24‑26). With subtlety they deceive the human mind. They are the principalities and powers which rule in darkness. But God has forewarned us of their tactics. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:11-1211Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:11‑12)).
D. C. Buchanan, March 2012