TOS077 Overcoming Demonic Barriers to Healing (Part 6)—The Lord Healed Them All For audio only PPN
Overcoming Demonic Barriers to Healing with Patti Brunner is Part 6 of the ‘Jesus Healed Them All’ series. Sometimes healings are blocked due to occult barriers. We are reminded in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual forces of evil, such as spirits of infirmity, anxiety, addiction and spirits of fear. There are three types of demonic interference: Temptation, oppression and possession. The most frequent form of oppression is harassment. The enemy wants his victims to think there is no help or hope for them. Prayer may have to be repeated; wars have more than one battle and you may find yourself in spiritual warfare.
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Some people I have met don’t want to hear about spiritual warfare. They don’t want to know that evil spirits exists. I say, if there is a cliff and a sign posted “Danger ahead” and a child approaches it who can’t read, is there still a danger of falling off the cliff? The prophet announces the word of the Lord in Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”.
Welcome to Truth of the Spirit, I’m Patti Brunner. Our subject is “Overcoming Demonic Barriers to Healing”, it is Part 6 of the series “The Lord Healed Them All.”
Sometimes when I pray for someone, I feel like there is a brick wall keeping the anointing of the Lord’s presence from penetrating. Recognizing that helps me change my method of prayer. In the last couple of podcasts I talked about the human barriers of unforgiveness, lack of faith, negative words of authority, grief, emotional injuries from the past, and anger in heart. Sometimes healings and miracles are blocked due to occult barriers. We are reminded in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual forces of evil, such as spirits of infirmity, spirits of anxiety, insolence, addiction, rage and spirits of fear.
Jesus spent a bit of his time removing demons. Matthew 8:16-17, Matthew 9:32-33, and Matthew 17:16-20 are three examples of many. An interesting fact is that Jesus also removed demonic barriers from people who needed healing.
In Luke 13 starting with verse 10 Jesus “was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.” Jesus thus revealed that sometimes illnesses are a direct result of demonic interference and sometimes the demonic influence has to be removed because it blocks the healing. I have used this 1-2 punch method when I sense a block to the Holy Spirit’s anointing. The spirit of fear is common in these cases. This woman was carrying the spirit of infirmity.
Msgr. James Mancini taught me that there are three types of demonic interference: Temptation, oppression and possession. Possessed people are under the control of the devil. To be rid of Possession generally requires a priest and exorcism but all Christians can battle Temptation and Oppression. The oppressed person needs to find out any vulnerabilities or open doors to such attacks. People can open a door to the occult by turning away from God and towards powers of darkness in all sorts of ways. It may be a previous trauma not completely overcome or a past activity in occult sects or a relationship with a person who uses the occult powers to cast spells or invoke curses against them. Horoscopes, Ouija boards, pendulums, tarot cards, fortune tellers are occult activities that open the door to oppression and can end with possession. I’ve even seen the game [Dungeons and Dragons” do the same.]
Oppression also may be caused by an un-confessed or hidden sin to which one is attached.” Are people who constantly commit serious sin under Satan’s control? They may be carrying out his plan but may not have lost their freedom. Even those who act compulsively, whose freedom is impaired, may not be under control by the devil. People addicted to drugs are under a power outside themselves but healing prayer and deliverance from addiction is called for, not formal exorcism. Hopefully, those who have welcomed and entertained the enemy will want the invited guest to go home and will seek God’s help. The most frequent form of oppression is harassment. A person may experience an unending barrage of thoughts, images even voices that bother to a serious degree a person of any age or disposition. Even the saints have experienced such difficulties. St. John Vianney battled the devil’s harassment frequently.
The scripture 1 Peter 5:8 tells us “Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” If you noticed, Jesus didn’t instill fear of the powers of darkness but lovingly took care of it. We are not helpless to ward off this attack. Instruction about morals and awareness of the forgiving power given by Jesus Christ to His bishops and priests may be sufficient. The Sacrament of Reconciliation works wonders! And like the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Paul tells the Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Let me share a prayer the Lord gave me to use each time we pray for others: “Lord Jesus, we dedicate these moments of prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We implore you to place on each of us the Armor of God. You can learn more in the Truth of the Spirit series recorded from the Armor of God presentations by the Patriarch House Team, episodes 15-23 I’ll put a link in the blog so you can get to that quickly. [Note: also see our menu series & playlists] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgixdsnYKWlTwIcG2JpTZOLc4yd8VpfFl
The evil one lurks in the deepest dark places. Darkness is the absence of light. The Lord keeps him there out of the way. Many times we step close to darkness to bring the light of Christ. Do not allow him to bother you through doubt. Stand in the Lord’s presence and the Lord will protect you.
It’s important that we start our healing prayer ministry with a protection prayer and end it with a cleansing prayer—just like the washing of hands before and after surgery and between “patients” and using protective gloves. I would suggest that you daily put on the armor of God. We also encourage the wearing of blessed objects especially the medal of St. Benedict. Blessings of the Church themselves are intangible—you cannot taste, see or touch them, but just like making the sign of the Cross with Holy Water, they are powerful tools in the kingdom of God.
In the spirit world things have ‘substance’ that can be avoided or removed and thus need to be properly disposed. That’s why the cleansing prayers are very important. Sometimes the person receiving prayer releases ‘attachments’ that look for a refuge instead of leaving. When you become attuned to the spiritual realm you become aware of the harassment we battle. Are you short-tempered after prayer ministry? Try praying a cleansing prayer. After you have guests in your home do you find yourself with new temptations? Cleanse your property not with soap and water but with the name of Jesus. We use the “Cleansing Prayer Following Ministry” by Francis McNutt published in his book “Healing” and in the book Sword of the Spirit. Let me say it for you:
Lord Jesus, thank You for sharing with me Your wonderful ministry of healing and deliverance. Thank You for being present today as I prayed for others. I realize that the sickness and evil we encounter is more than our humanity can bear. So cleanse me of any sadness, negativity, or despair that I may have picked up. If my ministry has tempted me to anger, impatience, or lust, cleanse me of those temptations and replace them with love, joy, and peace. Strengthen me where I have felt weak and clothe me with Your light. If any evil spirits, powers, or forces, have attached themselves to me or oppress me in any way, in the name of Jesus Christ, I command them to leave right now and not return. Now come, Holy Spirit, fill all the void areas in me with Your presence and renew me with Your life, Your love, and Your strength. And, Lord Jesus, please send Your holy angels to guard me and protect me from all harm, accidents, or illness. In Your precious name, I pray. Amen.
Remember, as a baptized Christian I have the authority to make them leave me. We learned the hard way the necessity of cleansing prayers and protection. Ask anyone in ministry and they will have stories of personal spiritual attacks. The enemy does not like what we do and tries to bully us by various roadblocks. With no creativity he used the same blocks over and over. If you are drawing the attention of the evil one, praise God that what you are doing must be on the right track. Don’t be afraid to be a healing minister. The Lord provides all the tools we need. “Read the book—we win!”
In our early days of ministry we had no idea of what we were stirring up as we stepped on the edge of darkness to bring the light of Christ with healing. One night, at the exact same time, my husband and I were each harassed with terrifying dreams and a presence of evil. My husband immediately started praying in tongues. We learned the importance of cleansing prayer and spiritual protection. I now constantly wear a blessed Benedictine crucifix. Msgr. James Mancini, an exorcist for the Bishop of Little Rock once told me and a room full of teens that the enemy is scared of a 15 cent plastic medal of Mary that has been blessed. The Lord fully equipped the Church to win the battle.
Msgr. Mancini uses the old ritual for blessing of holy water and salt that includes exorcism. He said if the relics of saints are available, they may be touched to the afflicted person, and to bring the person to the tabernacle, if possible. It may also help to discern whether the victim is oppressed or possessed. And that’s the first step most exorcists do. Monsignor Jim and another of the exorcists in my diocese have also blessed salt with the Church’s exorcism prayer for us to sprinkle around our property and I keep some in my salt shaker. I always take some with me when I travel and use it to ‘cleanse’ and bless my hotel room. Holy Water blessed with the exorcism rite could do the same thing.
Another important thing for healing ministry: If you become tired and cranky or judgmental – do not offer prayer until you are refreshed by a cleansing prayer. The cleansing prayers are very important. Another important lesson we learned is that each person needs to pray the cleansing prayer as an individual. It seems the enemy is a stickler for legality and requires spiritual authority to pay attention. Priests and ordained ministers have been given spiritual authority in the world by the Church. We Catholics laity have a narrower spiritual authority. We have authority over our own lives. Parents also have spiritual authority over their children. We have been instructed by our bishop as lay people not to place our hands on the top of the heads of people we pray for who are not immediate family for our own protection because the Enemy knows it is a reserved authority of ordained deacons and priests. The Lord himself reminds us in Luke 10:19 that He has given us power over forces of evil. We must boldly exercise that power. Spiritual warfare allows the overcoming of the threats, harassments, and temptations of evil and sharing the victory of Jesus Christ.
Through the Holy Spirit we can discover root causes of the “brick wall”. Human beings experience non-diabolical evil in the kingdom of self; in negative human forces (such as guilt, resentment, hatred, jealousy, revenge, etc.), also as the result of traumas, being sinned against, and emotional crippling. Diabolical evil bears the marks of the enemy who is a liar, a murderer, an accuser, a tyrant, and a pretender. Even when enemy is not the source of evil in our lives he claims credit and aggravates evil situations. Negative forces in humans have to yield to repentance, inner healing, and authority. The Lord can give a charism of discernment of spirits to recognize when oppressive spirits are lurking.
An effective way to deal with interfering spirits is to use spiritual authority to bind them mute. Binding the spirit and cutting off its communications renders it ineffective. Sometimes spirits of infirmity attach to family bloodlines such as spirits of addiction. Having a mass intention for an ancestor can help stop generational familiar spirits in a process called “Healing the Family Tree”.
When you sense that someone is ready for a cleansing from oppressive spirits it is proper to lead them to repeat or say by themselves setting free prayers to rebuke the spirit and send it to Jesus to deal with. Do not have the person you are praying with start casting out spirits immediately because if spiritual and inner healing does not take place first, Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew 12: 43-45:
“’When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but it finds none. Then it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.’”
When whatever has attracted the spirit is dissipated or healed and permission to be there is revoked by the individual, the spirit will have to leave.
Should lives’ need repentance, pray that the person receives the grace needed rather than laying a course of correction. Speak to the infirmity itself only in Jesus’ Name. You have been given the authority by the Name of Jesus to do so. Specifics are good – especially if revealed. Love, love, love! Do not instill ‘fear’ of the ‘power of darkness’ yet carefully, lovingly, make sure the person who needs prayer also receives help in these areas.
Our duty as healing ministers is to help those who are harassed and to help identify when deliverance might be needed. Our calling is to help Jesus heal the underlying cause that attracts the demonic. Healing prayer ministers are not deliverance teams; deliverance is a separate calling and ministry. But training is important. Fr. Norbert Rappold, an exorcist of the Diocese of Little Rock, recommended the books “Deliverance Prayers for Use by the Laity” by Fr. Chad A. Ripperger, PhD., and “Deliverance Ministry” by the Doctrinal Commission for Charismatic Renewal.
Neal Lozano’s book “Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance.” is also used by some as training for deliverance ministers to help them comprehend the power an individual has in choosing to get rid of their own infestations. It has been very successful as he and others have been Catholic missionaries to areas that are steeped in witchcraft. As culture trends to seek darkness for answers instead of the Lord we need to be educated so as to be aware of deliverance ministry even if we are not individually called by the Lord to that ministry. You might be surprised at the stories I’ve heard from local residents in our little town. Again, if in doubt-don’t cast it out! Bind it mute and harmless with the blood of Jesus by the name of Jesus and encourage spiritual and inner healing first.
The Catholic Church takes the idea of demonic influences very seriously. Each bishop, around the world, is an exorcist by the right of his apostolic ordination. In my diocese, as in many, the bishop has delegated this authority to particular priests to serve the Church. If someone is possessed, they are your man to call—and many do. Possession is when a demonic being has been given control. Possession may not always manifest continually but when evidence suggests or indicates possession referral must be made to authority, those delegated in the diocese for formal cases.
An exorcist once told me that it is very rare for a baptized Catholic to be possessed. The Good News is that Baptism is a great way to get rid of those sorts of things. Baptized children of God can have issues with oppression and other interference. There is much in our society today that is a gateway to evil spirit attachment. Know this that evil cannot be one with God. It is the law. Heaven has no place for him. Evil wants to take over your hearts as a dwelling place; that is why the enemy tries to corrupt and banish, to get rid of our love for God.
Monsignor James Mancini on several occasions has taught me about our strengths as Christians and ways to combat the enemy. He says:
- Know your strengths
- Christ has overcome the prince of darkness and every evil dominant force.
- Christian living and spiritual growth heals our vulnerabilities to diabolical interference.
- The Christian must use armor and spiritual weapons in the mop-up phase of spiritual warfare.
- Dealing with specific needs for deliverance.
- Negative forces in human person (Guilt, resentment, hatred, jealousy, revenge, etc.) yield to repentance, inner healing, and authority.
- Bondage from a possessive relationship to another person living or dead is a deliverance situation.
- Harassment from a spirit through temptation or disturbance may require help of faith community.
- Oppression from an outside source (person or spirit) that controls a part of a personality is rare but serious.
- Exorcism by a delegate of the bishop is reserved for possession instances – when total control of the personality is exercised by a force not identifiable as the person.
- Immature Christians should not enter into deliverance ministry but should be instructed in using the strengths in Christian community.
Monsignor Mancini “encourages partnering prayer with charismatic people who have the Holy Spirit charisms of words of knowledge, prophecy, or vision and interpretation to uncover such openings.” “He encourages prayers for stripping away the deceits of the enemy under which the afflicted person may be. Pray that the Light of Jesus and the Holy Spirit fill them. Pray especially that the virtue of Trust in God may replace any self-reliance or attacks of despair or futility (favorite weapons of the demons.) The enemy wants his victims to think there is no help or hope for them. Prayer may have to be repeated; wars have more than one battle and you may find yourself in spiritual warfare.” This is great advice, by a now retired priest, that has been an inspiration to establish and train priests in our country assigned to exorcism by their own bishops and was first presented in a symposium report on Spiritual Warfare in 1983.
Temptation is a common exposure to evil. As we see in scripture even Jesus was tempted by the enemy. I think most people have an understanding that there is a force of evil continually trying to encourage us to be sinful. A strong defense is a good offense. Frequent reconciliation, Eucharist, prayer and formation help us to recognize suggestions against a well-formed conscience. In this area, the help of other Christians is a blessing and may be necessary. In scripture, James 4:7 says ” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Monsignor Mancini taught: “There are temptations from Satan; others can certainly help us resist and defeat the enemy, by prayer, encouragement and right teaching. The influence of good companions makes a difference for seriously tempted people as do encouragement and the assurance of God’s actual graces for those willing to repent and accept the saving work of Jesus.”
Even the most perfect of men, Jesus, battled the temptations of Satan in the desert. Can we expect any less?
Today’s broadcast is taken from my book, “The Lord Healed Them All.” And the scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. I invite you to subscribe to my podcast on audio or YouTube. It’s free and it makes it easier for you to come back next time for part seven, “Efficacious Prayer in Healing”. Because remember, there’s more; with the Holy Spirit, there is always more! Amen.
