on familiar spirits

Spiritual warfare series
Warfare for your house
Sweeping the house clean
God has given the believer authority
Praying for our children
Victory over possession
Victory over oppression

A snip from my prayer journal from several years back:

In my dream, I was walking up the walk to my new home that I was moving into, and my friend was walking with me. We were walking and chatting, but as I approached the door to unlock it, I had the sudden overpowering feeling that I needed to get in the house and not let my friend in. I quickly got through the door and shut it, locking it again, and looked through the window in the door to my friend who had been left standing on the doorstep.

As I looked her face changed into something very demonic, and an evil grin spread across her face. I started walking away from the door to go check every other entry to the house, to make sure they were all locked as well, as I did not want that false “friend” getting into my new house. I was feeling afraid with a sense of urgency. As I quickly walked, I got out my phone to call for help, and the phone would not work. I was shaking it as I was walking but it would not work. Then I woke up.

The dream did not mean that one of my friends was secretly false, but God had given it to show how a familiar spirit operates. A familiar spirit is a demonic spirit, but one who has perhaps been associated with the family from generations past, or been hanging around since childhood. They are so familiar to a person that the attitude they project seems like a friend or family. They hide their true intention, which is, killing, stealing, and destroying (Joh 10:10), with a veneer of concerned compassion.

In my dream, the house represented the temple of my body. The house was empty. In the dream plot, I was just moving there, so nothing was there or unpacked yet. Be that as it may, an empty house, swept clean, represents the transition in our lives from the old man, who receives “familiar” lying thoughts and attitudes, agreeing with them and acting on them, to the new man, who recognizes lying thoughts and attitudes as lies, and rejects them, barring the door of the “house” to prevent them from entering.

The minor subplot about the cell phone is interesting. Often not being able to speak, or having all lines of communication down, is an enemy-inspired plot twist. He knows the power and authority of Yeshua is in the spoken word, and so silencing speech, however he may seek to do it, is the only defense he has against the latent (and often unrecognized by our own selves) power of the Spirit with which Yeshua has anointed us.

When we open our mouths and speak His word, that power is unleashed which breaks bonds and sets captives free.

Father, open our eyes to see the things the enemy does not want us to see, but that You know is the time for us to see truth clearly. If there are any familiar spirits hanging about from generations past, or even from our own childhood when we did not know better, shine a spotlight on their lying thoughts and attitudes. Bring to mind, bring across our path, the specific word of Yours which is the most effective sword of the Spirit against it. Help us recognize every instance of its attempt to gain entry to our “house”: to our thoughts or feelings, or to our family, and encourage us to SPEAK YOUR WORD which counters it, I ask in the name of Yeshua. Let us not any longer passively tolerate their association, giving them permission to continue their work of stealing, killing, and destroying, but let us stand up and say DEPART in the name of Yeshua! Thank You for helping us!

I find it very interesting that the Father has been teaching us these principles of spiritual warfare as we are approaching the season of unleavened bread, the season of our “house cleaning.”

Continued in …

on generational curses
on generational blessings (coming soon)