How To Cast Out Demons

How do we cast out demons without hurting the already traumatized? The first pseudo deliverance I saw performed on a child wasn’t just traumatic for the little fella, but for the bystanders. Back then, I didn’t know the right way to set a person free, but I was for sure that sitting on a person and screaming was 100% wrong.

Hurting people is a huge concern for me. Not because I’m going to do something crazy like make them drink a weird concoction or physically harm them, but because there are non-crazy ways that we could hurt those who are already hurting.

The Warning in Colorado

I was sitting in a classroom in Colorado when an instructor, Kay Tolman, said, “If you have pride, you will hurt people.” It felt like her words formed an arrow that found its mark inside my soul. I was spending all my extra money on how to best minister to the hurting. The reading and studying meant nothing when I realized that I could actually inflect pain instead of share the cure for bondage if I didn’t deal with the pride.

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Causing more pain to the hurting

There are news reports of botched deliverances and exorcisms where the people being “helped” were harmed or even killed. While it is true that it can physically hurt when a spirit manifests or leaves, we can do things to minimize additional discomfort or pain by avoiding missteps.

Mistakes that cause pain can happen when:

1. Hidden Pride

Last year, we were ministering to a woman with complex trauma, and we were seeing a lot of progress. Excited about what God was doing, the woman went to a special deliverance service in a nearby county. She called us in a panic after the service. The speaker had called her up and had publicly humiliated her. When she began manifesting a demon, they put a camera in her face and treated her roughly. She was anything but set free when they were finished with their “power show.”

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

As I think about the temptation to be prideful, I am recalling a woman who was manifesting a spirit in a prayer room one time. When I told it to leave, it spoke out, “You don’t have the authority to tell me what to do!” It was a spirit of pride. I could have argued with it about my authority. Instead, I humbled myself before the Lord and then asked the spirit calmly, “Does Jesus have the authority?” It screamed and came out of her.

If we have pride, how can we cast our spirits and live victoriously when God opposes pride? Being aware of pride on any level will help us to not harm those who are broken and in bondage.

2. Lack of compassion

Before Jesus did miracles or healed someone, we see in the scripture that compassion would rise up first. Checking our compassion levels will help us minister like He did!

Here’s the check list for effective compassion:

1. If we can’t love the person we are helping, don’t try to help. It’s too easy to hurt people we don’t care about.
2. If we can’t discern the difference between the tormentor and the tormented, there’s a good chance, we are going to hurt the person Jesus loves.

What do I mean by the tormentor and the tormented? Years ago, I watched this four year old girl act so badly that I thought she needed some sound discipline. She was terrible. She’d scream and throw herself in the floor and say bad things to her mother. I was not discerning was was a spirit and what was the precious little girl.

Fortunately, my pastor at the time could tell the difference. He walked over and picked her up out of the floor. He gently said, “Come out of her now in the name of Jesus.” I was shaken when I watched her go limp. She snuggled up into his arms and whispered, “Thank you.”

A friend of mine was shocked when he saw a “deliverance minister” drag a woman by her hair as he paraded her around. Demons were manifesting and twisting her. He was addressing the spirit while neglecting the fact that he was humiliating and hurting the woman. Jesus didn’t model unkind behavior to the hurting. He spoke kindly to the people, while using his authority on the spirits.

3. Lack of wisdom

Five wisdoms a minister will to not hurt the hurting are:

1. Wisdom in authority: While we have the authority of Christ, we do not have the authority over all people. Walking into someone else’s church and being the answer to their deliverance issues will cause chaos. On a personal level, I would never minister to someone’s child without consent from a parent or guardian. We must follow the pattern of authority. Doing so will keep not only the people safe, but keep the minister safe as well.
2. Wisdom in timing: Unless a leader has said to deal with an issue, doing deliverance during a sermon isn’t great timing. Two o’clock in the morning when your spouse and children are sleeping isn’t the best time. So, timing in the sense of when to pray is important. In addition, walking up to a person who knows nothing about deliverance and telling them they have a demon is foolish and is bad timing.
3. Wisdom in application: There can be a lot more to deliverance than telling a demon to come out. Spirits are not coming out if it they have a legal right to stay. Going for the demon’s jugular when there’s unforgiveness in the person or other work to be done is hurtful.
4. Wisdom to know the O.N.D.: Jesus is in charge of the Orchestration and the Navigation to get to the Destination. Thinking we have a say in the O.N.D. is a lack of wisdom. Jesus wants people to be free more than the minister does. He has the scars to prove it. Not trusting God is a huge costly mistake.
5. Wisdom to wield the Gifts and the Fruit of the Spirit: You may get a word of knowledge that a person has been abused, but speaking it out in front of people is not wise or honorable. Finding out that a person is commiting adultery and then shaming them with no love, is not the way to deal with the situation. We need wisdom when God gives us insight into issues to know how to help and not hurt the person worse.

Not listening will hurt people

Even if your experience bucks up against what a person is telling you, listen to them. One of the most influential men I know has a flaw that concerns me. He makes snaps decision on whether an issue is a demon or not without seeking the Lord. One man was trying to tell him that his dreams were not normal. They were terrifying and tormenting. The man quickly dismissed it and said he’d get over it. He didn’t.

Woman left in bondage with a spirit of murder

One of the most mind blowing deliverances I was a part of was a woman who dreamed every night of killing people. When she was a teenage, she knew something was wrong. She could feel the demonic presence. When she went to her youth leaders to inquire about freedom, she was told that she could not be demonized because she was a Christian. Her interpretation? She trusted the leaders and deduced that if she was not demonized, then she was a very bad person.

When I told her that she could be free, she was very angry. She’d lived over a decade with the tormenting spirits. She was wonderfully set free. All the killing dreams stopped. The sexual fantasies she never wanted in the first place stopped. After that, she was determined to make sure she listened when loved ones told her things that are hard to hear.

Opinion Mistakes

The following are some blanket statements that well meaning people have made that have hurt God’s people:

1. “It’s not trauma, it’s a demon. What you are experiencing is a demon, not brokenness.”

I cringed as I watched a well-known and respected young man of God make a blanket statement about those with complex trauma. He categorized every “voice” in a traumatized woman’s head as a demon. Honestly, I wish it were true that trauma could be cast out.

In comparison, we can remove a splinter from a persons hand, but we can’t remove the bruise. Demons attached to the trauma can be removed, but not the trauma.

Trying to cast out trauma doesn’t heal the trauma, it only hurts the traumatized.

2. “Jesus” cast out the demons with one word. I’m going to speak a word and you will be totally free.”

Jesus did something no one had been able to do before. He used His authority in just His voice to make the devils go. A young man got it in his head that he was only going to command a spirit to come out one time. When he did, he assured people he was praying for that they were finished and would never need deliverance again and told them to stop asking.

How does progressive healing work?

Can Jesus set a person totally free in one moment? Yes, He sure can! However, making a blanket statement without hearing from Holy Spirit can hurt people. what about the thirty year old woman who is willing to give Jesus the failed marriages, the childhood abuse, and even self abuse. She can be free from all that entails. However, what if she isn’t ready yet emotionally or in her faith to give Jesus the fact she aborted her child? Maybe she needs to take steps in her healing? Jesus allows for that! He is nigh the broken and is very patient. We should be too! Deliverance can be a beautiful process that is led by the patient and wise Holy Spirit!

Peacocking men and women strut around shaming those who aren’t free in one command. They’re ignorant in the fact they may be hurting the ones Jesus relates to the most.

3. “You don’t have to do anything, you will be free and there’s nothing after that.”

It’s not true that we don’t have some responsibility. Some of our roles are to:

• We must close the open doors to the enemy. Ephesians 4:26-27
• We must renew our minds Romans 12:2
• While Jesus already paid for our freedom, there are guidelines we must follow to appropriate the freedom. For example, you can’t harbor unforgiveness and be free simultaneously. Unforgiveness itself is a bondage. Matthew 16:15

4. “What you’re going through cannot be a real thing.”

Maybe what we hear isn’t a “real thing.” But, not listening to understand is a mistake to avoid. There’s a case we had a few years ago where we could never get a breakthrough. I believe it is because my bias to what I thought was wrong and my inability to hear what the woman was saying hindered the process.

She found me on the internet and contacted me because she had an unusual trigger. As long as she didn’t eat, she was fine. The moment she ate, she would be overcome with what she thought was temptations to do drugs and other things. She said she could not resist, so she was starving herself. I could not wrap my mind around this really happening.

A resolve to listen to understand

I did not have the experience to deal with the issue. I also had not yet learned that just because I haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Yes, she could have been mentally ill. She could have been making it all up. However, it was real to her. My regret is that I didn’t seek wise counsel. No, I probably could not have taken her on as someone I ministered to, but I should have listened better and sought the Lord and wise counsel on it.

Since that time, I’ve learned many unbelievable ways that people are tormented. Why don’t more people talk about their night terrors or uncontrollable urges? Perhaps it’s because we need more people who listen and pray before making conclusions.

Click to see 7 Reasons You Aren’t Free.

Tips to cast out a spirit without hurting the person

After you’ve checked yourself on the above issues, here’s a handy checklist to help get out the nasties without hurting the person. The following scenarios would be in a situation where you’re sitting with a person in a private setting:

1. Love: Love the person and talk to them like a normal person.
2. Coaching: If possible, explain anything you do before you do it. e.g.: “I am about to command fear to leave you now. I’m not talking to you, but the actual fear. When I tell it to go, your only job is to release it. If you feel it come up, don’t push it down, let it leave.”
3. Be Kind to the person: Do not do what would normally hurt a person. Do not grab their hair, force anything into their mouths, or hinder the person’s will in any way. If you wouldn’t want it done to your child or yourself, don’t do it to other people!
4. Don’t Accuse: If the spirit delays or is resistant, don’t blame the person. Don’t challenge their faith or make any accusations. That’s the devil’s playbook.
5. Don’t Assume: The only thing you can assume is that Jesus wants a person to be free. He is faithful. Don’t assume the person knows your heart. Don’t assume you know all they’ve been through Be patient. Be kind.
6. Respect their will, but make sure to clarify what their will is: If a person wants to be free and then they say, “I’m done. Forget this.” It is possible that they aren’t the ones saying that. Just doublecheck and call their name and say, “Lisa, I want to talk to you. I just heard you are done. Is that true?” If they want to take a break, then do it. But, it is possible that as a spirit is about to be expelled, it will come up and call a halt and try to trick everyone. Checking with the person assures that you are lining up with their will for freedom.
7. Mind Your Own Salvation: Have your own life in order. Walk in forgiveness, shun sin, embrace the gifts of the spirit, flow in the fruit of the spirit, and treat the person you’re ministering to like Jesus would.
8. Take authority over pain causing spirits: If a spirit is causing pain, a simple command to, “Stop hurting them now and loose them in the name of Jesus,” will help. You can also encourage the person, “I know it feels bad now, but it’s almost over.”

Lastly, listening to Holy Spirit is the best we can do for a person in need. He will guide us in ways to speak and behave that will not harm others. The prayer ministry is powerful because He is in charge. The biggest mistake we could make is forgetting that He is the power and the heart behind every deliverance.