The Exorcist's Bestiary

“Why can’t I physically say those words?” I’ve had a couple of aggravated and confused participants ask after telling them to repeat a repentance and renewal prayer after me.

“Because the demons know they’re about to lose power when you commit to Jesus in this way,” I responded. “You’re finally starting to believe these words and they can feel it. You’re about to remove their rights to stay here.”

These moments can get intense. On a basic level, the participant can say any words except the core words the demons don’t want them to say. This is a great sign to me about what themes are crucial for the participant to work through. (One of my general rules in exorcism: figure out what demons want and do the opposite.)

Once, a demon kept manifesting right when the participant was about to repeat after me. I’d tell the demon to go away, and if they were stubborn about it, I’d address their spiritual weaknesses to create enough discomfort for them to unmanifest. They would then re-manifest when the participant was about to repeat after me again, and I’d continue the process until they gave up. I’ve also seen them cause participants sudden pain in their bodies in an attempt to stop them. Once, a person suddenly could not breathe. Another time they kept falling asleep with no ability to wake them up.

Regardless of how demons might try to distract during these moments, my job is to move them out of the way so the participant can focus on saying the words. Such moments can also be used to show the participant the importance of my words, especially when they’re caught up in the demon’s lies and struggling to believe me. “Why do the demons care so much about you saying this?” I might ask.

As Paul says, “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This is one of the core efforts that must be made to exorcise demons from a participant.