INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
We currently live in a generation of unprecedented “psychological” problems that manifest themselves in tremendous emotional, physical, and spiritual upheaval. When counseling is sought out, 2 basic categories of help are normally available:
1. Psychotherapy:
Psychotherapy assumes that an individual’s problems originate from false and harmful conclusions residing in the mind, will, and emotions, either consciously or unconsciously. Treatment seeks to alter the person’s frame of reference in their thinking using secular and sometimes biblical concepts. Sadly, many times the best results achieved are the ability to “cope” with the problem rather than finding and remedying its root cause.
2. Psychiatry:
Psychiatry often assumes that an individual’s problem has a medical origin in the chemistry of the body and seeks to normalize these chemical imbalances using appropriate medication. Once again, if there is a deeper spiritual problem causing the medical issues, temporary improvement based on the assumption of a medical issue may eventually yield to a condition worse than the original symptoms, including suicidal tendencies.
When the root cause of a tormented life of inner conflict is an unresolved spiritual issue, all of the best human wisdom and conventional counseling or medication available will ultimately fail, leaving only a sense of hopelessness and despair. But God will not abandon His children!
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need Hebrews 4:16
Those tormented souls who cry out to the Lord in desperation will not be turned away by Him! A godly counselor can help that individual who is tormented by means of prayer, confession, repentance and wise counsel. This assumes that the one being helped is a child of God. But what does it mean, exactly, to be a “child of God”? God’s holy word is very clear about this…
HOW TO BECOME A CHILD OF GOD
1. Agree with the Lord regarding Himself and our lost condition…o ….That God is Holy and Righteous and Just.
"There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2
2.…That I was born into this world with an inherited sin nature antagonistic toward God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23
3. …That my sin deserves death to satisfy God’s justice.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
4.…That Jesus Christ, God’s only Son took on human flesh, lived a perfect life and died in my behalf.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were3 yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
5.... Receive the Lord into your heart.
…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Roman 10:9-11)
.
...Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelations 3:20)
...But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, (John 1:12)
But what if secular or godly counseling fails to resolve the inner torment within a child of God and leaves no logical explanation? If such is the case, it suggests that there is an important dimension to the problem that is missing and it is simply this:
We, as Christians, are in a war… a spiritual war not between flesh and blood, but for the mind, will, and emotional stability of our souls. Surrendering our lives to Christ does not necessarily put an end to the conflict. On the contrary, it only intensifies the conflict.
For we [as Christians] 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 6:12
This above passage of scripture refers to a literal hierarchy of well-organized surrogates under Satan’s command, at war with humanity.
· “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
They accuse us, entice us, and intimidate us. And if they succeed in breaching the walls of our soul, they will have direct access to our mind, will, and emotions. They will then seek to torment us and destroy the potential of our lives until they are defeated or God calls us home. This process of engaging the enemy, freeing the soul from bondage, and maintaining its freedom is the essence of spiritual warfare counseling.
This is a very controversial topic among Christians today and requires great spiritual discernment to divide what is true and what is heretical. May God’s Spirit guide you as you consider the following material…
Warning Signs That Suggest A Need For Spiritual Warfare Counseling
The following list of symptoms have been documented in a multitude of counseling sessions and have the potential to be of demonic origin:
Destructive habits/sin patterns that seem unbreakable despite confession /repentance.
Irrational fears (e.g. panic attacks, phobias)
Feelings of mental paralysis or confusion
Struggle to read or understand the bible
Praying for forgiveness but never getting a sense of being cleansed.
Time Distortions- Memory blackouts, time that cannot be accounted for.
Destructive Dreams- Wake up/feel smothered/paralyzed, night terrors.
Sometimes feeling hot pressure pushing on chest (especially during sleep)
Unnatural sexual urges (homosexual, bestiality, pedophilia)
A sense of something in the room (“presence”)
Mind altering habits- (e.g. drugs / alcohol addictions.)
Condemning voices in head:
Violate scripture-
(e.g. “You’re worthless”)
Vague, unspecific-
(e.g. “You’ll never change”)
Usually in 2nd person
(e.g. “You’re this/that”)
Compulsion to destructive behavior...........(e.g. cutting/ suicide tendencies )
Mental Infirmities................................................(e.g. OCD, bipolar, eating disorders, desperate for attention)
Fascination w/ heretical beliefs
Aversion to Communion/ godly preaching/ spiritual discussions
Poltergeist occurrences
Involuntary actions-
(e.g. seizures / facial tics / jerks)
Uncontrollable internal agitation (“restlessness”)
A few symptoms present do not necessarily mean that they are all of demon origin, but when a significant number of symptoms are present, demonization should be given prayerful consideration as the cause. Seeing the same root problems in our parents and children increases the likelihood of a demonic presence at work in the soul of an individual. Sometimes the outward symptoms are actually surface problems that mask the true hidden root problems (e.g. alcoholism may be symptomatic of a deep sense of shame and rejection). It is the task of a counselor to uncover root problems and lead the counselee to freedom at the direction of the Lord.