If you don’t believe Satan is real, turn on the news.  Satan is very real, his power is great and demons under his control torment people and cause them to do twisted, evil things,  Jesus knew demons were real.  When He rescued people from the demonic, He was not pretending.  He was not just going along with the people’s ignorance and superstition.  He released tormented people with great compassion and seriousness of purpose.  And yet, Jesus didn’t approach exorcism with  Hollywood sensationalism.  No pea soup.  He didn’t need it.  He had power.

I have witnessed more than one person being released from demons.  Each time it freaked me out.  I knew I was out of my element, and had no clue what to do.  What happened was very real and had wonderful, lasting effects.  But i was a bystander.  On my own, I don’t know much about banishing demons and have no power.

But God does.  Jesus proved it by casting out demons.  He was so effective, the Pharisees accused Him of being in league with Satan!  Jesus quickly demolished that accusation by pointing out that Satan would not work against his own interests (Matthew 12:25-26).

And what He said next, shows us Who has the power to overthrow demons:

“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28)

Jesus cast out a demons by the Holy Spirit; He used the power of the Spirit of God.  You fight spiritual battles by the Spirit.  And God’s Spirit always wins.  That being true, the question becomes, how does one get access to this Spirit of God?  Jesus said it is when “the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The only way to have the Spirit of God is by entering into the kingdom of God.  You do that by trusting Jesus, allowing Him to be your “King.”  Do that, and here is His promise:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)

And:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

When it comes to spiritual warfare, you don’t need pea soup, you need power.  A mentor taught me to approach situations that seem to be demonic with this sort of prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, You are King over all and You have the authority to conquer all evil spirits by the power Your Spirit.  I don’t know whether _______________ is happening because of an evil spirit, but if it is, please Lord Jesus, rescue ______________ and send those demons away forever.  Please fill ____________ with Your Spirit completely, leaving no room for any other demonic spirits.  Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

There is no magic in those words.  But when we acknowledge Who is King and Who has the authority, there is great power.