The Exorcist's Bestiary

“I wish you would tell me plainly what the Black Riders are,” Frodo requested of the elf.

“Is it not enough to know that they are servants of the Enemy?” answered Gildor.

It’s hard not to feel like Frodo when you’re doing deliverance ministry. You simply don’t know all the rules at play. You don’t know what type of demon you’re removing, what it can or can’t do, how it got there, or the exact path to remove it. You may know general concepts to remove it and paths that have worked in the past, but every new person brings dynamics to the field that you don’t always have a box for.

And the funny thing is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t necessarily care to explain anything to you that you don’t need to know about the enemy. While it’s not a hard rule, I find that the Spirit generally shares what is necessary for the case. Whatever knowledge you learn during a session is then added to your deliverance toolbox for future discernment.

Like Frodo, we want to know all the details about our enemies. But I think God sometimes replies like Gildor: “Is it not enough to know that they are servants of the Enemy?” That is enough to stay motivated in our fight against them without becoming too fascinated by them.