Not all things familiar are beneficial — or friendly.
Case in point: “familiar” spirits.
In the Bible, we see repeated mention of them. But what are they?
In the parlance of many deliverance experts, familiar spirits are negative entities that hide behind the mental and emotional dispositions of their targets (or perhaps one should say, “victims”).
“These spirits operate inconspicuously within the fabric of people’s mindsets or other avenues,” says author Kynan Bridges (Overcoming Familiar Spirits), and, he says, always have a “nefarious assignment.” This is evidenced, says the author, “in the pain and havoc they produce in the lives of their victims.”
Bridges claims spirits are assigned to particular family lines and “instructed to watch its members.”
More specifically, they attach to particular areas of a person’s life. The Lord also seems to be alluding to such when he uses the term “unclean spirits.”
They’re well acquainted, it seems, with our patterns of thoughts and behaviors. “Unless these spirits are forced to leave by the authority and power of God, they are able to attack family bloodlines for generations,” warns Bridges. “Imagine you owned a property that was in the process of being developed into apartments. Then, random vagrants moved onto that property and began to live there. Now imagine that these ‘tenants’ begin to wreak havoc and destruction, tearing down walls, destroying equipment, and [sullying] everything.”
There’s one difference: unlike tenants, spirits are invisible. The enemy’s profound weaponry includes darkness and secrecy.
As the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians (6:12), “For we 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.”
Many are destroyed, as Hosea (4:6) adds, “many people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
We open portals to such entities, it seems, through trauma and ignorance.
Of course, sin and bad habits — shortcomings of any sort — are also openings.
Once in, they pierce and cling like a burr, and like a burr, they irritate; they cause pain; they sting and their wounds can lead to infection (or perhaps better said, infestation).
We are all targets.
Without Christ, we are entirely susceptible.
You know that new chiché: “I’m spiritual but not religious.”
“Many people all over the world are settling for a counterfeit version of faith,” notes the book. “They go to conferences and motivational seminars to learn how to use the power of the mind to achieve success in their relationships, businesses, and careers. Most of this instruction seems very harmless, but it can be much more diabolical than people fathom: positive thinking, chanting, channeling, and visualizing are all methods taught at these seminars. These are also tools used in the practice of witchcraft.”
“I distinctly remember watching a session on the internet from a very popular motivational speaker who told the audience members to lift their hands and ‘let the universe flow through them.’ The Lord revealed to me that the people in that auditorium (all fifteen thousand of them) were inviting spirits into their lives. These familiar spirits would initially seem to bring blessings, but then they would begin to bring curses and destruction.
“This is the reason why you will find that many successful businesspeople who incorporate such practices to achieve success often end up with broken marriages, fractured families, and even failed health. Why? Because their success was accomplished through demonic powers.”
For now, just this piece of advice: don’t become paranoid, but know where in your life darkness may be operating.
[resources: Overcoming Familiar Spirits]
