Addiction and Evil Spirits

When we talk about addiction, we need to cover all aspects of it as well as the spiritual side concerning how evil spirits may influence our addiction. Now I want to be careful and to just give you the facts because you have probably heard the expression "The devil made me do it", well the devil cannot make anyone do anything, and the most he can do is tempt us and then take advantage of us should we take the bait. When we practice an addiction long or often enough an evil spirit may get power and control over us simply because we are feeding its lusts through us, and it then receives spiritual rights to be involved in our life due to our actions. When we practice an addiction it is always progressive so the more we feed it, the stronger it will get.

I want to make sure that you understand that we are not talking about the Exorcist here, and you will most likely not be fully taken over by a spirit where you have no control over what you do. But spirits can oppress you and push you to gratify their lusts through you to the point that it can be almost maddening. A spirit gets attached to you and just wants to feel the addiction it craves flowing through your body. Plus demons get more power and authority with the more humans it destroys, so for them it is a win-win situation. For you, it just becomes an obsession and slavery to an addiction that seems impossible to get rid of. Each spirit has it's own character like the spirit of addiction, or the spirit of pornography, or smoking. Its name is its nature.

Now, before you freak out I just want you to know that you can be free from the power of evil spirits of addiction. One way is to take away it's landing strip by healing the old emotional pain and eliminating the need for the pain relievers, another way is to starve the spirit out by simply refusing to practice the addiction. The third way is by having someone pray for you to be set free from these spirits or by praying for yourself. It may help to fast a little before you clean your spiritual house so to speak, but it is not a requirement. If the spirit has gotten a strong hold on you it may take a few strong believers to lay hands on you and drive the thing out. This can be quite an experience, but the spirit is just a spiritual infestation that needs to be evicted.

MK 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

The way that evil spirits are driven out and away from a human is by the power of the name of Jesus Christ and faith. Demons are like spiritual cockroaches and they are attracted to the garbage of our sin. God gave Jesus full authority over all evil spirits, so when we use His name to drive them out then we have the legal right to evict them. But you must do this in faith and believe that God will help you. After I had been involved with heavy addiction for so long the Lord led me to go through a deliverance from demons. It wasn't pretty or fun to undergo, but it was necessary. You wouldn't leave cancer in your body, so neither should you leave the spiritual cancer of evil spirits in your life pushing you to return to your sin. Just pray for God to show you the right time for a deliverance session and He will help you. God will set you free.


LK 11:24 (Jesus speaking) "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."



Also, be sure that you really want to be free from your addiction before you try to evict anything that may be driving your obsession. Otherwise you may be in even a worse situation with evil spirits than before. Remember, you have the ability to say no to anything. If you went to church and someone told you to take off your clothes would you? No you wouldn't, because you would just refuse. Nobody can force you to do anything, the choice has been yours all along. Likewise, nobody can force you to practice addiction, it has been your choice as well, but usually there does need to be some healing to get rid of the old unhealed pain, and there may need to be some deliverance from evil spirits for you to truly get free from the inside out. God will help you with everything at the right time, so trust Him to deliver you from evil spirits.



Here is a prayer you can pray for yourself or others to get rid of all evil spirits;


"Lord God, I repent of my sin that has allowed any evil spirit to have power over me in any way, and I renounce any and all sin that I have ever committed that has attracted any demonic activity in my life. Now in the name of Jesus Christ, I command any and all evil spirits to be bound and to be banished from my life forever. I apply the blood of Jesus Christ upon my body, spirit, soul, and mind, and also upon my home and everything in it. I thank you Lord Jesus for setting me free from the power of evil spirits, and I ask that you would now fill me afresh with your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name I pray, amen".



* NOTE; It also may help to get extra assistance from a fellow Christian that you know deals with deliverance ministry. Also it will help to get rid of anything in the house that has been connected to your addiction, because it is a landing strip (a volition of will) for them the spirits to return. Below is a guide that lists the different stages of spiritual bondage.



A person can deliver self from the following:

Regression . . . going backward in spiritual growth and power.Repression . . . fear, ignorance, or indifference keep knowledge of demons hidden. Satan steals your joy. (Within).Suppression . . . listless, inactive, disinterested. Suppression of feelings. (Without).Depression . . . broken spirit . . . inactivity.Oppression . . . weigh you down with something you are not able to carry. Disease is a weapon of oppression.


At this stage the person will need help from another with deliverance:



Obsession . . . changes the mind (black is white, straight is crooked). Comes through believing a lie, jealousy, hatred. No will power.Possession . . . no mind of your own. Seen often as insanity.

More scriptures to help you;


LK 4:33 In the synagogue (This was someone who went to church) there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"

LK 4:35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

LK 4:36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.


MK 9:23 " `If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

MK 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

MK 9:25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."

MK 9:26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

I Don’t Hate You. I Didn’t Misunderstand You. I Just Don’t Like What You’re Doing

 Imagine the following scenario with me, won’t you please?

It’s 1858, and you’re living in the Wild West, aka Illinois. There’s a pretty hotly contested senatorial race going on between the very well respected Democrat, Stephen A. Douglas, and some lanky dude named Abraham Lincoln. The two men have been engaging in debates all over the state, and they’re coming to your town. You’ve heard these things are pretty interesting, so you decide to go.

The first question is tossed out and Lincoln answers first. His response is thoughtful and creative and he really gets the crowd on his side. After he is done, it’s Douglas’ turn, and he rebuffs most of what Lincoln has said. The language is pretty sharp and pointed, but this guy really believes what he’s saying.

There’s a pregnant pause.

Then suddenly, Lincoln throws his hands up in the air, turns to the crowd in exasperation, and says, “I can’t talk to this guy. He’s just a hater!” Then Lincoln walks away.

That would be such a bummer, wouldn’t it?

Of course, the Lincoln-Douglas debates didn’t really go down that way. Both men were passionate about what they believed in. They had different ways of bringing their points to the crowds they talked to. But neither of them were reduced to to unprofessional-ism on the platform, at least so far as the history books are concerned.

We could learn something here.

Debate, Civil Debate, is Extremely Fun

The fact of the matter is that debate, when conducted with care and civility, is actually really fun, especially if you’re truly passionate about what you’re saying. In the online world, there is plenty of stuff we could debate. We could debate how to follow people or unfollow people on Twitter. We could debate which platform is the most advantageous for parents or for business or for anything else. We could debate all kinds of stuff.

We could, in an ideal world.

Unfortunately, it seems the art of civil debate has fallen by the wayside just at the point when there is a medium that could accommodate it like no other.

Criticism that hits below the belt

Part of the problem is that a lot of people who could throw out a topic for debate instead throw sticks and stones. For example, instead of saying, “I disagree with what you said there,” people write posts or tweet, “Dude, what a dirt bag.” (OK, they don’t say dirt, but I’m not going to use the real word they say here). Instead of saying, “Here is why I think this person’s methodologies could be harmful,” people say, “Hey, you’re an a-hole and I hate you.”

It’s kind of hard to build a civil debate on that kind of foundation, right?

At the same time, though, people who may on occasion receive criticism, legitimate but perhaps sharply worded, have taken to reacting like they are Zeus come down from Olympus. “What? Um, are you saying I’m doing something wrong?” Sometimes people in the online world act as if disagreement is akin to being beaten up. They ask for sympathy when someone criticizes them. Other times still, disagreement is simply grouped into the ,”Well, I guess they hate me” category.

All of these things are useless. They make everybody look like toddlers (and I mean no offense to any toddlers who may read this).

Be open to being imperfect

When someone disagrees with you or criticizes something you are doing, do not automatically put all shields up and assume you are being attacked. Maybe someone has a legitimate point to make. Maybe someone is actually trying to protect you from making yourself look like a jerk, even if they don’t have the best way of verbalizing that.  Here, repeat these things as your mantra.

“I am not being bullied if someone disagrees with me. I am just experiencing someone disagreeing with me.”

“Perhaps this person is offering sage wisdom. I will listen first and call them a hater later.” That rhymes so it’s more fun to say.

“Maybe I am not being misunderstood and maybe someone still doesn’t like this. Perhaps I need to look at this from their perspective.”

Practice saying those things to yourself. I mean, literally, aloud. Here, let’s try it right here. Do you disagree with what I’m saying here? I’m ready and waiting to add to my way of thinking, and I very probably will not hate you after you voice your opinion.

Have at it!

Marjorie Clayman