DISCERNING THE DEMONIC REALM
When we talk about being prophetic, we mostly talk about the realms of heaven intertwining with our world here on Earth. We refer to the sweet times where the presence of Jesus powerfully overtakes us. Or when the smells and fragrances of heaven invade our prayer time. Those are all wonderful experiences to be had while enjoying intimacy with God. However, there is another side to the prophetic anointing.
Since prophetic believers are sensitive to the spirit world, not only will we encounter the realms of heaven, but we will also pick up on the demonic realm. All throughout planet Earth there is a battle raging for the lives of men. The Kingdom of Heaven is aggressively advancing in reaching men before the end. The kingdom of darkness is also intense in their mission. Whether we're aware of it or not, there is a world surrounding our world and it is in this world where angels and demons clash to win the hearts of men. As prophetic believers, we will not only discern the demonic realm, but we will see the enemy's strategy.
God allows us at times to discern this demonic realm so that we can do our parts to counter it in intercession. I was in a convention for work once in Las Vegas. The hotel where we stayed had casinos. I was in this convention one evening 'til close to 10pm and as I left to go to my room, I had to go through the casino. Walking through the casino, I almost ran right into a guy who was exiting the men's room. As this man crossed my path, immediately, my spirit man leapt within me and I knew that he was under severe demonic oppression. The man quickly walked away and not knowing what to do, I asked God why He would allow me to discern that without having the opportunity to set the man free. A week later at my home church, a visitor entered the church and just as he did, the same thing happened to me. My spirit leapt and I knew that the man had severe demonic oppression. This time, I knew what to do. I began to intercede for him to come to Christ and at the altar call, he gave his life to the Lord as received freedom. Praise God.
There are several ways that we discern the realm of the demonic:
- Feelings -- You may feel certain things in your spirit that will allow you to know you are discerning the demonic realm. While the feelings range, they almost always are accompanied by a sense that something is not right and is in fact, demonic.
- Smells -- The smells from the demonic realm are HORRIBLE! If you are in prayer over someone and begin to smell sulfur, something rotten, eggs, mildew and smells that are bad, it may be a sign that you're dealing with the demonic. Not all times will that be the case, but when the smell accompanies the sense in your spirit, you know what you're dealing with.
- Touches -- Many times, I get the feeling as if I am being pinched by some invisible hand. This feeling always leaves me alert to the fact that there is a demonic presence. When I begin to discern this, I immediately go to war to run it out. Pay attention to any type of touch that you feel that activates your discernment.
- Sounds -- I was once helping a friend pray over his home. As we were praying in the basement, I kept hearing this wimpy voice crying, "I don't want to leave." I knew that it was a demon. We continued praying until it left. Later that night, my friend woke up in the middle of the night and saw a spirit across the street that wanted to come back into his house but couldn't. That spirit had been evicted. Pay attention to what you hear.
- Sights -- Of course the Lord may give you a vision or open your eyes to the spirit world to see what is operating. God may allow you to see a demonic spirit or something visual to reveal the demonic realm. The enemy loves to try to operate without being noticed and when God reveals visually, it always removes his mask.
- Tastes -- Yes, you may even discern the demonic through the spiritual sense of taste. God may give you an unpleasant taste in your mouth that may be associated with the demonic realm. Let the Holy Spirit teach you how to flow with Him in learning how to understand these prophetic senses.
You might think that discerning the demonic realm is not good, but actually, it is. Once we discern the demonic realm, we usually will know the strategy that the enemy is using to come against a person, ministry, family, city, etc. Once we see the strategy of the enemy, we can attack it in prayer and have the victory.
Just to clarify, I don't believe that Christians should walk around always looking for the enemy. I think we should be heavenly-minded and living a life of praising Jesus Christ. However, as we do that, we shouldn't shy away from winning a battle when God allows us to discern a demonic plan and strategy.
Be Prophetic!!!
