Demonic Influence and What it is by Chad Stambaugh

Demonic Influence is one of many abilities that a demon has, as well as one of its most potent ones. In this article I will be addressing what demonic influence is, why it happens, how to combat it, and how a person can go about preventing it. First and foremost, demonic influence is a thought or idea that is projected into the mind of a person by a demon. Most often, if the person doesn’t know what demonic influence is, they will often think that it is their own thoughts and or ideas. It is also very important to remember that no demon can read anyone’s mind; they can only project negative and or harmful thoughts and ideas into it.

*This article is meant to be read as if the person having possible demonic issues has already sought out the proper medical help and has been found to have no mental illnesses of any kind by their doctors. If the person has already seen their general Doctor and a Psychologist, and given a clean bill of health, then it is very possible that a demon is causing the problems if the person continues to have any. However, if the person has not attempted to seek out any medical help from their Doctor, especially a Psychologist, that MUST be done. The person MUST do this first so as to rule out any possible mental health issues as mentioned above that he/she may have that they were not aware of, or may be developing. It is NEVER the job or role of anyone but a licensed Psychologist to try and determine or diagnose whether or not someone has a mental health disorder.

Once the person has been checked out by their Doctors, and given a clean bill of health, a spiritual solution should be looked into. It should also be noted however that a person can have mental health issues as well as a demonic problem. This is because the demon is feeding on the mental illness of the person. This too can be determined and dealt with if the people helping know what to do, and the person continues to see the proper Doctors for continued help.*

When dealing with demonic influence, it will usually continue until the demon has been expelled from the person’s home and life. The best and easiest way to recognize whether or not it is demonic influence is the thought itself and how it makes the person feel.

For example, the person may have a thought or idea that pops into their head that makes the person think; “My God! What am I thinking this for?!” If they do, it is most likely demonic. It needs to be made clear that this will not usually happen until the demon has already established itself and taken a firm hold in the home and or person’s life, and the oppression stage has already begun. It also needs to be made very clear that demonic influence, at times, can also cause the person to carry out certain actions against their self or others. Those actions are called demonization. It is very important to always remember that demonization is an action and not an idea or thought. Of course the idea or thought that is projected into the person’s head is what will cause that action. It can be difficult for people to know the differences between influence and demonization.

There is another easy way to tell whether or not someone is suffering from influence or demonization, and that is how the client reacts to these attacks. If the client reports having thoughts that are like someone telling them terrible, scary, and controlling things then it’s influence. When the client receives thoughts from the demon that tells them to do things to them-self or someone else and the client does it but can’t stop it; that is demonization. When a person suffers from influence they usually know it because they are aware of it as it happens, as well as afterwards.

When a person is suffering from influence they can also fight it if they are strong enough to do so mentally. When the person is suffering from demonization it’s like a nightmare that they can’t wake up from, and they remember everything that they did. Demonization is not to be confused with Possession as no one ever remembers what they did, or what happened while they are possessed; to the person it’s missing time thus they can’t remember anything.

When it comes to demonic influence, it can happen to anyone, including Christians. Usually, when a person suffers from demonic influence it is at a time when they are especially weak mentally, emotionally, or they have let their guard down. Letting their guard down usually falls into the category of a known demonic haunt and the person simply allowed their self to develop a false sense of security because activity in the home had ceased for a period of time, or declined a great deal. This is usually a ploy by the demon so as to be able to strike hard against the person when they do let down their guard. When this happens, the demon will usually attack the person in some manner to weaken them even more, thus influence will usually occur so as to weaken the person even quicker by attacking their mind.

Even though the influence is a projected thought into the person’s mind, it is also still considered an attack based on the fact that it will cause the person to question their own sanity, especially when they are already experiencing activity in their home that usually no one else is experiencing. When a person is going through a demonic haunt or persecution, they are constantly experiencing activity of all kinds; activity that can and will break the person down slowly over a period of time if the situation isn’t dealt with in a timely manner or properly. Once the person has come close to their breaking point, the influence will usually begin to increase even more. As I stated earlier, this usually takes place during the oppression stage.

The most important thing for a person to remember that is suffering from demonic influence is to not allow yourself to feel guilty about it. As soon as a person allows their self to feel that guilt, or any other type of negative emotion brought on by the influence, they will in turn be feeding the demon, thus making it stronger. There are however many ways to deal with demonic influence, which I have written below.

First, the person must remember that the thought or idea is not really their own, but the demon projecting the thought or idea into the person’s mind.

Second, and as I have already stated above, the person must not allow their self to feel guilt or any other negative emotion that is or may be brought on by the projected thought or idea.

Third, the person can rebuke the influence in the name of Jesus Christ until it stops.

Fourth, the person can read scripture until the thought or idea goes away.

Lastly, the person can even sit down and spell Jesus over and over again in their mind until the thought or idea stops; doing these things will actually create a barrier around the person’s mind that the demon cannot penetrate if the person has a strong faith and is concentrating on it completely.

When suffering from demonic influence, the demon is not only trying to get the person to carry out the thought or idea, but, it also wants the person to feel bad and or guilty about it so that they will beat their self-up about it and be drawn into a depression over it. The most important thing a person must do that is suffering from demonic influence is to forgive their self for the thoughts and be reminded that it is not really their own thoughts.

The sooner a person does this, the quicker they can deal with it properly and successfully. Once a person has learned how to deal with demonic influence, they can then learn how to prevent it altogether. To do this, the person can do several things. First of all, they can use prayer. Prayer is in itself a very powerful weapon, especially if you have family or close friends that know what you’re going through and or dealing with. If this is the case, intercessory prayer can be used and it does work very well. Secondly, the person can read their Bible. All demons hate scripture and will get as far away from it as possible if the person reading it has a strong faith in it. You can either read it silently so as to let it fill your mind with what it means, or you can read it out loud to drive the demon away that is causing or has been causing the influence.

In closing, simply knowing what to look out for will go a long way in keeping anyone safe. When a person learns how to deal with demonic influence, they will learn how to recognize it, how to combat it, and how to keep it from happening again. Once the person has learned these things, it is simply a matter of doing them. When they are done, the person will not only be better equipped to handle it, but they will also reduce the chances of it happening again in the future, if at all. Having the home blessed, as well as having a binding done over the person that may have a demon attached to them for some reason will also help to stop any influence as it will expel the demon from the person’s home and life. As with any case, expelling the demon and teaching the person how to keep it from coming back is the ultimate goal, and it will take care of any problems that are demonic in nature.