How to Use Your God-Given Authority over Demons
In this post I will first examine the methods described in the Bible for dealing with demons. After that I will give some personal examples.
I want to state up front that the basic principle you are about to read is very simple and straightforward. It is not complex, and you do not need an engineering degree to understand it. And while I agree that there are many facets and nuances and things to be aware of, I still say that in its essence, this is a simple principle that anyone could understand in just a few minutes.
How Did Jesus Cast Out Demons
How did Jesus cast out demons?
Simply put, He told them to leave. He gave orders to the demon(s) by faith, telling them to leave the person they were oppressing. He gave the orders relying on the Holy Spirit (Mat 12:28) to enforce what He said because it was God’s will (Acts 10:38).
Some scenarios that Jesus encountered required additional tactics, but this is the main principle. He cast them out by using His authority and giving orders to them.
Here are a few examples.
But Jesus rebuked [the demon], saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.
See full passage at Luke 4:31-37
Notice that Jesus does not pray or go through any sort of religious ritual. He speaks directly and forcefully to the demon that was oppressing the victim. He told the demon what to do.
After the command was given, it appears that the demon had some sort of temper tantrum, but it still left the man just as Jesus told him to.
This is the “normal” scenario. A demon is discovered, and Jesus orders it to leave using His authority. The demon obeys, and the victim is liberated.
Here is an example where there was more of a resistance on the part of the demons, and some additional tactics were employed.
When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
See full passage at Mark 5:1-20
For [Jesus] said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
Jesus began with the same principle. He gave an order to the demons saying “Come out of the man!” In this example, however, the demons seemed to put up more resistance than the other examples in scripture. Jesus took a little more time and gathered more information, but you can clearly see that He is still the one with the authority in the situation. The demons bargained with Him, but they eventually obeyed His command.
Here is another example that brings out another point that is very helpful.
And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
See full passage Matthew 17:14-21
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
In this example, the disciples attempted to liberate the victim but were unsuccessful. Jesus then rebukes the disciples because they failed to deliver the child. This shows us that Jesus expected the disciples to be able to cast out demons, including this one.
After this, Jesus gives an authoritative rebuke and the demon obeys Him and leaves the child.
Later in that same story, the disciples ask Jesus the reason for their failure. They said “why couldn’t we cast it out?” Jesus told them point blank that they failed because of their unbelief (Mat 17:20). The failure was not due to God’s timing or God’s will. God had already provided everything necessary for the disciples to be able to do it. The failure was due to the unbelief of the disciples.
The disciples did not doubt that Jesus could cast out the demon. That was not the problem. The disciples doubted that THEY could do it. That was their own personal unbelief. Jesus went on to tell them that they could overcome this personal unbelief through prayer and fasting (Mat 17:20-21).
The implication is that if the disciples had believed in their authority, it would have worked and the boy would have been set free. And since they had already been doing this for some time (see Mat 10:1), it makes sense that Jesus would expect them to be able to do the job.
How Did the Disciples Cast Out Demons
Although it is clear from scripture that all the followers of Jesus were expected to cast out demons, we only really have one example where we are given any details as to how this was done.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
See full passage at Acts 16:16-19
Paul was confronted with demonic activity that was operating through a slave girl. Paul follows the principle that Jesus set before all of His disciples. By faith he gave a direct order to the demon, using his God-given authority, and the demon obeyed. The girl was liberated, and Paul successfully represented Jesus to everyone present.
So, from this we can see that the way Jesus cast out demons is the same for all of His followers. We are to follow His pattern. Give orders to the demon using our authority, trusting the Holy Spirit to enforce it because it is God’s will.
Examples from Personal Experience
I have taken these principles that I have learned from Jesus in the Bible, and by faith I have stepped out into this arena of setting people free from demons. I never went out specifically looking for demons, but I have never shied away from an opportunity to set a captive free either. And although I am still growing in my understanding, I can say that the authority Jesus provided for us is very effective as long as we believe it.
I will state again that while there are many factors involved, the single most important principle is that you need to believe that Jesus has given you authority (Luke 10:19). And you need to believe that this authority is effective. If you don’t believe that, then you are going to run into some unnecessary troubles. The main tactic of the enemy is intimidation, so you have to be confident in the authority of Jesus.
Cold Symptoms
My very first encounter with a demon was very short. I was ministering to a lady that was suffering from some cold symptoms. I was commanding the symptoms to leave saying something like “In Jesus name, every symptom leave!” I said that a few times, and then a deep gruff voice responded out of the woman and said “NO!”
The woman was very shocked at what just came out of her mouth. I could tell that even though it was her vocal chords, she was not the author of what was being said. It was a demon.
And I was just as surprised as she was. This was very unexpected. I wasn’t looking for it, it just happened. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was trying not to show any fear or intimidation.
I responded back saying “Yes you will come out!” The demon said “NO!” again. This happened maybe three or four more times, but my confidence was growing as we continued. Then without any fanfare, the demon departed and the woman knew it because she felt it leave her.
My God-given authority over demons has been cemented in my beliefs ever since.
13 Demons
My second encounter happened a few weeks later, and it was a bit more dramatic.
We were at a large Bible study, and we were listening to some worship music as the evening was wrapping up. My wife came over to me and told me that I needed to come help someone.
I walked over and there was a lady lying in the floor and it sounded like she growling under her breath. This lady had been in the Bible study all evening without any problems, so this was really strange. I knelt down and I it became very obvious that there was demonic activity taking place.
I began to forcefully command the demon to come out of her. At first there was very little response, but then the lady started moving around and her face started contorting, and then out of her mouth came a low and gruff “NO!”. So I said “Yes you will come out of her right now in the name of Jesus!” As we went back and forth a few times and some people decided it was time to leave the room. But a few other ladies knelt down and joined me by interceding.
My wife stood back and was praying in the spirit. As she prayed, the Holy Spirit revealed to her the actual name of the demon that I was battling. I do not remember for sure (this was many years ago), but I believe the name of the first one was “fear.” When my wife got this information, she came and told me, and I started saying “You spirit of fear come out of her right now in the name of Jesus.”
Having the Holy Spirit reveal the name of the demon increased my confidence that the power of God was present to set the lady free.
After maybe a minute, the demon came out and the woman stopped moving and just relaxed. We kept praying, and then she started moving and growling again. I started telling the next demon to come out, and it started arguing again just like the last one did. This one was actually saying things like “I HATE YOU!” in that same deep, gruff and creepy voice. I would respond by saying something “Good, I hate you too. Now get out!”
My wife once again had received revelation from the Holy Spirit regarding the name of the demon, so she came and told me and I commanded it to leave. And just like the last one it departed. The woman once again seemed to relax a bit. And then it started again.
We repeated this process as each demon began to manifest. All in all, I believe there was a total of 13 demons that came out of her, and the Holy Spirit was faithful to reveal the name of each one. They had some names like “hate,” “anger,” and etc. And one of them was named “lethargy.” I definitely remember that one because it seemed so very strange. I don’t recall the rest.
Obviously, I was not expecting any of this because I had never seen anything like this before in person. But once it was over, I was more convinced than ever that the authority Jesus gave us is powerful and effective.
I don’t know that I did everything right, or that everything we did was necessary. But in the heat of the battle, you have to act on what you believe, and what I believed was that Jesus gave His followers authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).
Roaring
A few years later, after dozens and dozens of demonic encounters, we had another notable occurrence. A young lady came to our home for prayer and counseling. As we talked I noticed something odd going on, and I asked if I could pray as if her problem was spiritual in nature. She agreed.
I began to come against any evil spirit that was harassing her. As I spoke, she leaned her body forward, leaned her head back, and then she let out this very loud roar, like some kind of large beast or monster. And then right after that, she slumped over and the oppressing spirit had gone from her.
We have dealt with several other ones that behaved like this over the years. We command them to leave in the name of Jesus. Then they seem to want to shout or yell as they are coming out of their victim.
There are many other strange events that I have witnessed. Sometimes it is quite bizarre, and it can be rather unsettling. Other times it can be quick and uneventful. But in every case it is very invigorating to see the authority of Jesus in effect to rescue one of His sons or daughters from the power of the enemy.
Final Thoughts
I took what I learned about Jesus and the authority He provides, and I began to act on it. I have lost count of how many times I have been involved in these situations, but I would guess it is well over 100 by now.
The vast majority of them are over very quickly, without much drama. The person will immediately experience a weight or burden lifting off of them, or their pain or other symptoms disappear, or their mind will become clear and their senses will return, or a variety of other experiences will take place. This the case most of the time, and it only takes a few minutes of acting on your authority to set them free.
However, I do not want to give the impression that everything always ends all neat and tidy. There have been several unfortunate cases where we did not succeed in setting the person free. Sometimes we learned that this was due to the fact that the person did not actually want to be free. But sometimes we had no explanation and we were just baffled.
I am not God, so I do not know everything, and I do not have all the answers. I am still learning and growing.
But I can say this with absolute certainty: If you are a Christian, then Jesus has given you authority over every demon that exists. And your job is to believe that and act on it. And the simplest way to act on it when you encounter a demon is to give orders in the name of Jesus that are consistent with God’s will.
Hello Neal – Just checking in to tell you, again, how much we appreciate your teaching ministry. Your clarity and simplicity has “Holy Spirit” written all over it. We are listening now to your fall class, and plan to use a number of your videos in a discipling class we are starting. We’d appreciate your prayer for spiritual protection and God’s hand of guidance over that. Praying that 2019 sees even more fruit from your ministry!
Thank you Sue! That is so encouraging. I really appreciate it. I will be praying for you and your new class. I am sure it will go very well. God bless you!
That was very good teaching on using your authority and casting out demons that gave me understanding may God Bless you and your ministry thankyou! I will reading your page you are a blessing!
Thank you!
Thanks for the teachings!
Amen! Thank you!
This is so clear and simple. I can see the gift of teaching operating so powerfully in your life. I thank God for your life, Neal. My spirit totally agrees with what you are teaching here. God bless. Keep teaching.
Thank you Caleb. I appreciate the encouragement. Be blessed!
These two posts are excellent. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to print these out and keep them to read and act on. Prayers for boldness and the like. thank you
Thank you Bert! I pray God uses you mightily to advance His kingdom!
Great teaching on how to cast out demons made simple. I have been wondering why the complexity when it comes to this subject. read many books but this teaching has set me free on using my authority in Christ to cast out demons. Again blessings to you and your teaching ministry
Thank you Patrick. I am so glad you found this to be helpful! Be blessed!
God bless you for this . It is so refreshing to see how the word of God is your sole key,not 5 keys etc. The Spirit is not an author of confusion. Once again God bless you richly dear brother
Thank you! I appreciate that. Be blessed
Thank you for sharing this teaching. I have also read the one before it and it has been very helpful. I have a question. Does the person have to physically be with you and do they have to agree or ask for deliverance? I have a daughter who is not living with me and will not speak to her family right now. This happened after she eloped with someone she hardly knew. I see demonic activity in the form of deception and false religion. How can I deal with something like this? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Donna. That must be a difficult situation, and I am sorry.
In Mark 7:24-30 Jesus demonstrated that our authority over demons will work whether or not we are physically in the same room or location with the demon. So yes, our authority will work from a distance because we have been given the same authority by Jesus (Luke 10:19).
However, we are never given authority over another person’s free will choices. It is a very delicate area to try to pray for someone that doesn’t want you to. On the one hand, God’s will is freedom for everyone. But on the other hand, God gave everyone the ability to make choices for good or bad. And I think we need to take great care that we are not trying to control people because that doesn’t lead to good outcomes.
Based on what you said, if it were me I would pray for opportunities to speak truth and wisdom to her. I would also use my authority to destroy any plans of the enemy against your family. And I would pray for God to send other laborers across your daughter’s path that can speak truth and life to her to help her see Jesus and his good plans for her, and to see his truth that leads to freedom.
I hope some of that is helpful. I am praying for your daughter now.
Be blessed!
Thank you so much Neal for your response and prayer for my daughter. This is the difficult and confusing thing about authority is that we don’t have it over people yet it is people who are causing pain and problems. There is also different opinions on authority. I feel like how can I experience abundant life if my family is broken and my heart is broken as well? Some say don’t let the enemy steal for you or ruin your family. But what can I do if they are making those choices and I cannot use my authority over them. It is difficult to watch this happen in my own family and satan having a heyday and I cannot do anything about it. She just had a baby the other day, my first grandchild and I had to find out through a friend. I do and will continue to pray for laborers to be sent to talk to her. Thank you again Neal. God bless you.
This post and the other one leading up to this has been a great blessing for me this morning. I feel that I have found a step forward by reading it. I was awakened tonight with a horrible dream of lust. I don’t want to pollute the minds of any not going through this so I won’t go into details, but I do have a question.
Hebrews 12:4 KJV
[4] Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
So my question is that even though we have power over the enemy, how do we resist the urges of the flesh when they come upon us? I can say that 90% of the time I can withstand the adversary but there is times that he wears me down. And then I fail the Lord. I have seen miracles in others happen so many times and it’s amazing when it happens. And I have cast demons away from myself numerous times, but what tools do you know of that may help in resisting the devil? I guess another way of saying this is that even after Jesus cast out demons he says many times, “go and sin no more”. So to further or growth with the Lord I would love to hear any wisdom and revelations you may have about keeping demons out after the casting out.
Good bless you brother!
Hi Russell. Thank you for your comment and the kind words.
I am sorry to hear what you went through in your dream. I want to answer you the best I can, but I want to make sure I am answering the correct question. I believe you are asking me about strategies and tools for resisting temptations that come from the enemy.
Before I answer, I want to make one statement that I hope will be helpful. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, but he never sinned. This means that it is not a sin to be tempted. Just because you are tempted with thoughts or feelings or anything else, it doesn’t mean that you have sinned. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted, but he never sinned. Sin happens when you choose to embrace the temptation and participate in it. So just because tempting thoughts at you, that does not mean that you are doing anything wrong, and you should feel no guilt or condemnation about that in any way.
That being said, I believe that Jesus set the example for this when he was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. He answered direct temptations with scripture, and he spoke out loud and rebuked the devil. I believe that this goes along with passages like 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and others. If you are tempted with some kind of thought or idea, then speak back to it and say something like “No, I do not participate in that. I am the righteousness of God.” You can come up with your own scriptures to use that fit your situation.
We are promised in James 4:7 that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. But if you happen to fail from time to time, you have to remember that Jesus already took away all of your sin, and that you are completely forgiven. Do not let the enemy add condemnation on top of whatever already happened. In your heart you do not want to sin against the Lord and he knows that.
I hope that helps. Be blessed!
Hi Neal, my daughter Elizabeth has been on medication for years and couldn’t help at all. Her behavior sometimes would change as if there’re demonic forces controlling her.
She’d always feel angry without any reason and cause.
She’d always on the street exposing herself on direct sunlight from noontime till her skin gets burn which is not normal to see.
And people would say ..she’s lunatic..
At night she’d always stay on dark side of the street exposing herself to cold weather.
Please pray for her ..She needs deliverance..
Hi Vince. I sent a prayer to you by email. I trust that things have improved. God bless you and your family.
Hi Neal, thank you for all of the content. I came to my faith in Jesus and repentance a few years ago but I have yet to find a group to fellowship with. You mentioned in one of your comments that the demonic spirit spoke through the women and she may have be surprised, On several occasions when I am talking to a believer who truly follows Christ, I have had a voice speaking through me and it is very strange. Also I have a son whom is Autistic, he’s an adult (nonverbal) who I believe could be oppressed/possessed. He absolutely hates when I pray or try to pray over him. Alot more I can said. Please lift us in prayer. In the name of Jesus Also my youngest son needs prayer. He’s an adult Also. Thank You. -Kimberly & Family
Hi Kimberly. I am sorry to hear this. I am praying for your family right now as a type this reply.
In Jesus name, I come against any plans of the enemy to affect Kimberly and her family. I command every unclean spirit to leave her children. I cancel any assignment against them. No weapon formed against them will prosper, and no evil will ever overtake them. By faith I declare them all to be free from all demonic influence in Jesus name amen.
Hello Neal,
I’m so grateful to have discovered your blog today. I am a born again believer 9 years now. The lord has put in my path many who have needed healing and deliverance. Recently I surrendered my will to Gods will for my life and have driven across the US from CA to NJ praying for peoples healing. In the last few days I have been sick with Covid which I believe is a spiritual attack. I have been fasting praying, playing worship music and casting out spirits. Although my symptoms are better and the house I am staying in has calmed down and is more peaceful, I’m still sick. I believe I need help. Would you pray for me please. Thank you and God bless you more.
Hi Julianne. I am praying for you right now as I type this.
Father thank you that healing is your will. Jesus, thank you that by your wounds, Julianne is healed. Holy Spirit, thank you that you are there with Juianne right now with all of your healing power. In Jesus name, all sickness leave Julianne’s body right now. May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. There is no covid in heaven, and I command all covid symptoms to obey God’s will and leave her now. Amen.
Hi Neal, this is such an informative blog, thank you. Lately I have been struggling with something like moving creatures in my body, especially my back which I believe it’s demons for months now I have been in spiritual warfare, it’s been hectic. Is there a way you can help me with deliverance, I experience nightmares every single night and wake up with a heavily pounding heart, I have aches over my body, it’s alot. Please help me.
Hi Maretsepile. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing problems.
I am assuming you are a born-again believer. Whenever you are experiencing anything that you believe to be demonic, it is very that you use your authority just like Jesus showed us in the Bible. Tell the demons to leave you and to leave your body. Order them to leave you alone in the name of Jesus.
If you are looking for additional assistance, you can use the Contact page on my blog and it will email me directly.
I am praying for your full recovery right now.
Neal
Hi Neal
Please can you help me understand how to pray Properly.
I pray and give thanks and ask for forgiveness and praise and ask for purification and ask for understanding and just basically give thanks for all the blessings and the gift of salvation and all my blessings, but then it comes to asking for healing for somebody I find it hard to rebuke a Demon. And command the Demon to come out and for sickness to go and to rebuke any unclean thing why I am actually praying to God the father! I find it disrespectful, I hope you understand what I’m saying. I’m not very good at explaining.
Should I be praying to completely different prayers?
(I don’t know why that Demon just come up in a capital letter,) sorry, I cannot spell very good so I am talking text .
God bless you and thank you for serving the Lord
Hi Lizzy,
I believe that Jesus already forgave all of our sins, as stated in many places in the Bible. I have a whole article about that here:
All Sins are Forgiven
So, I thank God for forgiving me rather than asking him to do something he has already done.
If you are a born-again believer that has received salvation, then you have already been made pure (See Hebrews 10:10 and Hebrews 10:14 for example).
So I thank God for making me clean, rather than ask him to do something he has already done.
When it comes to healing and casting out demons, Jesus gave us power and authority to do these things on his behalf. Jesus wants people to be free from demons and sickness, and so he gave his followers power and authority to execute his will on his behalf. We are not told to ask him to do it for us. We are told to do it on his behalf, using the power and authority that he supplies to us.
Here is an article that talks about that in more depth: Jesus Healings – Speak to the Problem
And here is a video that explains it as well: How Christians Do Miracles
I hope that helps!