Manifestations or No Manifestations

When demons are cast out, they frequently manifest in most unpleasant ways: loud cries, screams, convulsions, etc. This happens today just as it did in the days of Jesus. Spirits cry out in fear because they have been uncovered and are no longer secure. They loathe having to leave "their house" to go into "dry places."

Luke 4:41 And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Son of God!"...

Mark 1:26 And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.

Mark 9:26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became...like a corpse. -

Ac 8:7 For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice... There is no need to hide the fact that manifestations occur.

We should not be perturbed if they cause an unscheduled interruption to a church service. Neither should we fear that the unsaved will be driven away by what may appear to be unseemly behaviour. Rather than be afraid or disturbed, we should rejoice that the kingdom of God has come amongst us. While I was conducting a deliverance meeting, without my knowing it, an unsaved couple came to the Lord. Rather than being offended by the manifestations, they themselves began to receive deliverance, one of them having to rush to the washroom to vomit as deliverance was received. They were thrilled at what the Lord was doing in the congregation and for them personally.

They said they would never again doubt the reality of the power of Jesus Christ or the reality of the unseen powers of darkness. When Jesus set the captives free, He did so in public places, a street, a synagogue, a home, a hillside -just wherever the need surfaced. He was not concerned that what was happening was unusual, that religious protocol was being disturbed, or that people were being put off spiritual things because He was not being religiously respectable. He had come to do the Father's will and He was doing it.

John 4:34. God's ways are not our ways, and God's methods are not always our methods.

(John 8:28-29) Jesus said,..."I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him".

He was so in touch with the Father, so conscious of the spiritual realm, so sensitive to what Satan and his hosts were doing that He boldly exposed Satan's work and dealt him a crushing blow.

Although we should not be disturbed by manifestations, neither should we go to the other extreme and take delight in them. I do not delight in seeing manifestations for manifestations' sake. Rather, I teach and encourage people to receive deliverance as quietly as possible.

Many demons leave without any manifestation. When praying for deliverance, we should not look for manifestations or expect that they will always occur. Who wants to see a display of demon power? It is far better if they leave quietly. Deliverance - even great deliverance - can be experienced without any outward or inward felt reactions. Manifestations are not a necessary evidence that deliverance is taking place. One in every three or four people whom I pray for in counselling sessions, never feel anything happening. Yet the Lord can be doing great things. At the end of a sessions they may feel physically tired or they feel no different at all.

They would not know by their senses that any spirits had left them. This is why the gift of discernings of spirits is so important. By the Holy Spirit one can perceive what is happening or not happening inside a person. What is happening outwardly becomes unimportant.

Frequently, Christians come to me having been previously told by a pastor or counsellor that they had no demons. Perhaps the counsellor prayed for them in Jesus' name commanding spirits to manifest, and when nothing manifested, they were told they had no need of deliverance. Or they were told that Jesus' name is all-powerful and the spirits have to obey words spoken in His name. Because there was no response to the command, there were no demons to come out. This type of counsel can be devastating. A young person came with great inner conflicts and began to receive deep deliverance. She told me that three years ago a minister had told her she did not need deliverance.

She confided that because of the enormous struggles within her, she had made no spiritual progress since and had almost turned away from Christian things.

"I've wasted three years of my life because I was told I didn't need deliverance, "she said. In the following mouths, as she began to set herself free, her life blossomed into increasing freedom. My heart goes out to people like this because I know what they have gone through. I was told myself by well-meaning counsellors that I had no evil spirits. In regard to manifestations, people receiving deliverance usually fall into one of three categories:

(a) Those who experience marked, traumatic manifestations.

(b) Those who mild manifestations: sighing, coughing, belching, yawning, breathing heavily, feeling inward stirrings, heat, tension, etc.

(c) Those who feel nothing happening as far as their senses are concerned.

Some people fit into the categories, receiving deliverance in different ways at different times. But I cannot stress too much: deliverance dose not depend on our feelings, but on our faith. If we are speaking to areas of darkness believing that what we say is happening, there is an inside operation of Holy Spirit weakening and breaking holds.

Lets look at each category:

(a) Those who experience marked, traumatic manifestations

This can be very upsetting when it first happens. Some people are embarrassed, and it can be very tiring. Faces and bodies are sometimes twisted into the unusual positions. The advantage of going through deliverance in this way is that you are encouraged because it is easy to see that God is doing something, and usually you feel much better after a breakthrough comes. However, if the manifestations continue, some pull out of the fight because of the cost involved. It is costly to break from the enemy's hold. The cost is high, but the results are glorious.

(b) Those who have mild manifestations

Many people fit into this category. It is perhaps the easiest group to be in because you feel things happening without it being too traumatic, although mild manifestations may cause physical tiredness after long sessions of prayer. When people in the first group learn to control the full manifestations, they may also come into this category.

(c) Those who feel nothing happening

If you are in this group, you are fortunate that you do not have the trauma of outward manifestations. However, because there is no evidence on the natural plane that anything is happening, you will require a higher faith level (especially initially) to believe that bands are weakening and breaking. As you continue in faith, you will notice changes taking place in your life. Spirits will hide if they can. Some people who feel nothing happening decide they have no need of deliverance and don't carry on. Some become cynical.