Demonic possession is once again under the spotlight because of recent reports that children in Colombia became possessed en masse during a game of Charlie Charlie. The game, which is played using a simplified, handmade version of the Ouija board, is said to facilitate the summoning of spirits.
Many of us will avoid intentionally inviting demons into our lives by not taking part in activities which openly purport to do this, but we still need to be prepared to defend ourselves against evil which attempts to enter our lives with or without invitation.
The dangers that demons pose
Demons aren't just fictional features of horror films; they're real. We can learn a lot about them from the Bible, and developing an understanding of where they come from and what they do can help us to defend ourselves against them. The Bible couldn't be clearer about the danger that demons pose to us. They seek to devour us by creating distance between us and God. Temptation is one of the most common ways the devil seeks to architect separation between us and our Heavenly Father.
The best way we can protect ourselves against the danger demons pose is by opening our hearts to Christ and giving our bodies as a living sacrifice. With Him in our hearts, there's no room for the devil and his servants to reside.
How they're defeated
Witnessing demonic possession is disturbing, and it can be terrifying to observe the power evil spirits can have over people. But we shouldn't be afraid, because God is far more powerful than they are, and they actually fear Him. On occasions when Jesus drove out demons from people, they recognized that He was the Son of God and cried out proclaiming this: "Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God' " (NIV, Mark 3:11); "'What do you want with us, Son of God?' they shouted. 'Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?' " (NIV, Matthew 8:29).
Jesus has proven His dominance over demons. He has already defeated them. However, He knows they will continue to prey on people until He comes again, so He also counseled his disciples on how to deal with any evil spirits they encountered (Mark 9:29; Matthew 10:1).
In addition to prayer and fasting, as mentioned by Jesus in Mark 9:29, we learn that by surrendering ourselves to God, we can be equipped to stand against the devil and his demons. This is expanded upon in the following verses: 1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7, and Ephesians 6:11–12. As well as revealing to us how we can be on guard to resist the pull of demons—being alert, clothing ourselves in the full armor of God, and having faith in Him—like the examples where Jesus drove out demons, these verses also teach us about how demons fear God. Aside from His greatness, they know their fate once the end comes.
