Part I: The Biggest Little Word That Can Change Your Life

The Biggest Little Word, Part I

THE BIGGEST LITTLE WORD THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Did you know that Christ gives believers in Him the authority to cast out demons and refuse the influence of Satan? It’s true, yet all too often Christians are put off, overwhelmed and even misinformed when it comes to spiritual warfare which means believers don’t know what is or isn’t spiritually demonic. And if we’re not equipped to recognize and understand demonic influences, how are we to know what to do when someone is affected by them?

Before we dive into The Biggest Little Word that can change your life, we want to mention why we talk about the influence of Satan’s work against God’s children. Simply, it’s a necessary component to understanding and becoming equipped to continue in Jesus’ ministry of healing, casting out demons, and proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is here! At Kingdom Ministries we do not believe that all troubles and trials have a demon behind it however, it is of utmost importance to discern when there is to be able to properly address it.

If we’re not equipped to recognize and understand demonic influences, how are we to know what to do when someone is affected by them?

Based on our experience in counseling and training, we recognize that many personal struggles can actually be caused by past emotional experiences, lies believed or are simply the natural consequences to certain actions. We also understand that we live in an imperfect world of imperfect humans and sometimes things just go wrong. However, that being said, we would be remiss as a Christ-centered and Bible-based ministry if we did not heed what scripture says about Satan and the powers of darkness.

The Apostle Peter writes, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus’ words in the first half of John 10:10 make it clear that Satan has three primary objectives — “to steal, kill, and destroy.”

Knowing that Satan is purposed to rob the good and righteous things God desires for us and promised us through Christ, it is crucial to acknowledge and then test to discern the possibility that Satan could be influencing or causing the trouble in your life or situation. This is especially important to consider when we find ourselves suffering in a way that directly opposes the promises of God or we are continuously in bondage to something that keeps us from Jesus’ declaration in the second half of John 10:10 where Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” That ‘they’ is you and me.

Now that we’ve set the stage for why we address and teach on the demonic influence that can affect us, let’s get into the Biggest Little Word That Can Change Your Life!

A Biblical Approach to Diagnosing Trouble

We believe the Lord has given us a small but powerful tool to help us diagnose the nature of people’s bondage and troubles. That powerful tool is the word “IF.” This little two-letter word provides a means of testing and discerning without assuming, projecting or determining something to be demonic when it is not. With it we’ve discovered and enjoy a wonderful sense of freedom when ministering to people or praying for a variety of situations because we don’t have to have the answers ourselves! This little word liberates anyone who uses this model from having to understand exactly or entirely the nature of the demonic influence themselves…. along with the reassurance that “if” there is any role or influence of demonic forces that it will be exposed.

This little two-letter word provides a means of testing and discerning without presupposing a judgment or determining something to be demonic when it is not.

Once exposed, we’re better able to distinguish between a psychological, physical or spiritual root cause; or perhaps the trouble is simply the effect of human will and living in a fallen world. Not only does this big little word expose the presence or absence of demonic influence, it also provides a means for resolution. Just as a physician is required to make an accurate diagnosis before an effective treatment can begin, we use the “If” approach to bring about God’s restoration of the trouble by first accurately ‘diagnosing’ the problem.

I recently recalled a conversation I had with an Emergency Room RN. He told me that a large percentage of patients seen in the ER come in with complaints of chest pressure and pain (their symptoms). Because the first step in proper diagnosis is to rule out or confirm (discern) the root cause of the symptoms prior to any treatment, they do a series of diagnostic tests to rule out a heart attack or other heart related issues. He went on to say that in many cases, though certainly not all, it turns out to be a pulled muscle, pleurisy, a panic attack, or some type of esophageal problem. From there, they can issue a treatment plan accordingly.

But what if they skipped the diagnostic tests and instead, based on the chances of it being pulled muscles or a panic attack without actually knowing what the issue is? The patient’s root health issue could go untreated and the treatment the patient does receive would be at best a waste of time and resources; worse off, it could cause damage to the patient.

In the same way, we first test for and address any spiritually demonic influences with a similar series of diagnostic tests like the ER physicians, but for concerns in the spiritual realm. Our diagnostic tool is the word “IF.”

With it we’ve discovered and enjoy a wonderful sense of freedom when ministering to people or praying for a variety of situations because we don’t have to have the answers ourselves!

An example prayer would be something like this:

“IF there are any influences opposed to Christ that have influenced or are now influencing [the situation, person, issue] or are associated with the root of this problem, in Jesus’ Name we expose them now in the light of God’s truth and command them to be subject to Christ and His will. We suspend and forbid your activity, cancel the effects of your influence, and send you to Christ for judgment.”

An intervention of this nature will at the least expose a demonic influence if in fact there is one involved. In some cases this prayer model will even resolve it! This type of approach to prayer and personal ministry serves to clarify and help distinguish between what is demonic and what is not.