by a Pioneer in Africa

Yesterday a fellow asked me if white people can have evil spirits attack them. This question opened a door to talk about the believer's power over demons through God's Holy Spirit. I recounted to him the story of some American friends of ours in the capital. For days their neighbor had been possessed by a demon, crying out uncontrollably. Her relatives had tried beating it out of her, chanting Quranic verses over her, spitting in her face—nothing worked. Finally in desperation they asked our friends if they could help. They said yes. In Jesus' name they prayed over the possessed women, asking God to remove the demon from her. After they prayed, the lady calmed down and, for the first time since she had been oppressed by the demon, was in her right mind.

I then told him that I'm not afraid of demons (not because I don't think they exist, the Bible makes it clear that they do in fact exist). I’m not afraid of them because Jesus has authority over them. I then shared the story of Jesus casting out the legion of demons from the man who lived by the graves. My friend listened intently, and told me we needed to talk about this again some time. In a land where people's best defense against Satan is performing old rituals that are harmful to the body and utterly displeasing to God, it's no wonder that these stories of Jesus' power are a breath of fresh air to some folks.

Two weeks later, the fellow I talked with about evil spirits took me aside and told me, "Do you remember the story you told me about Jesus healing the demon-possessed guy?" I said yes. He then told me about his nieces in town, three girls. He said that they've been very sick, and that they see red demons on a weekly basis that torment them. They have tried everything and nothing has healed them; one of the sisters has already died because of it. He asked if I could come see them, and I said, "Of course!"

Shortly after we arrived, I said, “Yar, before I pray I need to ask you to remove the amulets from your daughters. The force from those amulets is from Satan, and not from God, and they dishonor the Lord.” Yar responded by saying that he thought they were good for his daughters. Then in a round about way he asked me if I was expecting his daughters to become Christians. I then told him that I only wanted the best for him and his whole family, and I wanted to share with them the freedom from sin and demons, which is only found through Jesus.

He thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I will bring the marabou (Islamic amulet maker) this week, and if he doesn't help my daughters then I'll give you a call.”

I think this is an excellent opportunity for the Lord to be glorified. Over these next days let's pray for the real demonic powers behind these amulets to show themselves. Let's also pray that Yar then has the belief enough to call me back.