Jamin Bradley

Different demons have different weaknesses when they manifest, and it takes discernment to pinpoint each one. I’ve seen some panic and scream when they hear worship music. Some go into great pain over simple touch. Some dry-heave when I ask the person to regain control over their body. Some don’t like hearing tongues.

But all of this doesn’t really matter too much. Torturing demons is fairly pointless because they’ll typically leave without any hassle whatsoever if you counsel the person through the themes that belong to it. You can’t really torture a demon to the point that it leaves (or at least leaves permanently). Indeed, one demon yelled out, “I trained for this!” during a session when my simple touch put him through great discomfort. They would rather put up with pain than fail their mission.

That being said, these tools help pry demons back when they try to get in the way of a person’s healing. It’s typically best to work with the Holy Spirit directly to figure out how to remove the demons. If a demon interrupts by manifesting, causing sudden pain, or finding some other way to get in the way—that’s when you want to push them back so that you can stay focused on what God wants to do (unless you sense the Holy Spirit has forced them forward intentionally so they can be addressed).

There’s no one solution to addressing demonic interruptions when counseling someone. You have to work with the Holy Spirit to sense out those moments. But the most general thing I do during an interruption is command: “Any and all demons get off of the person and stop interfering in any way in the name of Jesus.” I then follow this up with speaking in tongues. Sometimes, these tongues are met by a certain energy that I feel in my body, so I’ll continue to speak until the energy ceases, which seems to create freedom for the session to go smoother. If you’re still struggling with an interruption after that, a good next step is to lead the person through a prayer that helps them stop agreeing with the demon’s thoughts.

For those of you who have the gift of tongues, it’s also a very helpful gift to wield if you suddenly feel yourself under the weight of a spiritual attack. It has come in handy for me quite a few times after waking up from a spiritual attack—especially after a bad dream.