The Names of Demons

A fine young woman came to me and asked if she should confess to the church that she had lied to various members and ask their forgiveness. For years she had lied to people unable to stop the habit. Even though she now had been a Christian for two years, she still had not been able to control the impulse to lie. But during the service the previous Sunday, she had been released from a lying spirit and now she was free to speak the truth.

This evil spirit had a name and a particular function to fulfill. It was a lying spirit whose function was to compel the young woman to lie. All evil spirits that come into our lives are like this. They have a name and a function.

One day someone came wanting to be delivered from spirits of pride - a rare thing because spirits of pride usually hinder the person from admitting his need. As we prayed naming the area, the spirits began to manifest. Use your imagination and think for a moment of someone that is proud and arrogant. Well, this is just how the spirits manifested. The person sat upright in the seat, puffed out her chest, lifted her head proudly, and began to sniff, sniff, sniff. It was so humorous that for a moment those of us counseling could not control our laughter.

The name of this spirit was pride, and its function was to make the person arrogant and aloof.

There are various names of spirits mentioned in the Bible. For example:

Unclean spirit

Deaf and dumb spirit

Blind and dumb spirit

Spirit of sickness

Deceitful spirits

Spirit of distortion

Spirit of harlotry

Spirit of divination

Familiar spirits

(Mark 1:23)

(Mark 9:25)

(Matthew 12:22)

(Luke 13:11)

(1 Timothy 4:1)

(Isaiah 19:14)

(Hosea 4:12)

(Acts 16:16)

(Leviticus 19:3 1 )

Through personal experience, through counseling and praying with many others, and through the operation of discernings of spirits, I have come to the conclusion that the list could go on indefinitely. 'lb list every type of demon, you would have to list every type of sin. Also there are spirits behind every negative emotion - fear, sorrow, loneliness, rejection, etc., etc.

This does not mean that every negative emotional response stems from an evil spirit. Being sorrowful does not necessarily mean that you are bound by a spirit of sorrow. We all experience both positive and negative emotions. However, many people, through not knowing how to handle negative pressures, open themselves to spiritual bondage.