All mental disturbance today is simply looked upon as psychological phenomena that must be explained in abstract terms of cause and effect. And we agree demon-influenced or controlled people are mentally disturbed. But it goes beyond just mental disturbance. It is the result of opening our minds (human spirits) to the influence of evil spirits.
These evil spirits are living entities or beings capable of speaking to our minds and disturbing us. As God’s spirit uses primarily his written word to speak to us, evil spirits also use words to speak to us. However, Satan’s bible is the vain reasonings of men, their philosophies, traditions, heresies, scientific findings and all uninspired knowledge. Anything that man puts his faith or confidence in that keeps him from vital union with Christ is an instrument of Satan and his demon host.
Though Satan uses the lie as his chief weapon to deceive and destroy man, he also uses much truth and logic mixed in with his lie. He uses the Bible, history, common knowledge, scientific and medical fact woven around his lie to reach man. His lie is often truth misapplied. As God uses pure spiritual wisdom and knowledge to reach men, Satan uses perverted wisdom and knowledge to reach him.
The latter is often simply earthly or carnal wisdom and knowledge that occupies itself with this life only. It is human wisdom that cannot reach God. I Cor. 1:20-21. II Cor. 2:6-8. It is through these two types of knowledge that good and evil, life and death, are produced in man. This is the truth man does not understand and this is why he vainly tries to see and explain his trouble in terms of cause and effect.
I believe most of the insanity in the world is caused by demon forces working on the minds of the weak, the unstable, and the disobedient. Demons will tempt, deceive and lead a human being into sin and then drive him insane over it. People with a sensitive conscience, superstitious nature, and or certain religious backgrounds are especially susceptible to this type of demon attack.
Often, demons move into a person who experiences mental shock caused by any number of things. It could be death in the family, financial loss, divorce, or rejection by someone they love. Those without faith in God or spiritually weak just do not have power to resist the enemy when he comes at a time like that. Consequently, they suffer nervous break-down, depression, and even insanity.
Treatment by doctors and psychiatrists, though often helpful, does not get to the root of man’s trouble. Just love and understanding will help some to face their fears and disappointments and overcome their condition. The psychiatrist or doctor becomes a trusted friend and confidant from which the person actually draws strength and help in his time of need.
The psychiatrist also patiently draws out of the person the things that cause his fears and disillusionment. Although the person may not be aware of it, he experiences a relief in sharing his burden with someone else. It actually amounts to taking some of the load and responsibility off of the person as he begins to lean on someone else.
This is actually obedience to a divine principle that God intends for his people to observe. It is simply helping the weak and sharing his burden of sorrow, disappointment, and trouble. This is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 6:2 where he says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And also Romans 15:1 where he says, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
Though most psychiatrists do not recognize the fears of his patients as being caused by demons, he looks upon it as hallucinatory nightmares that must be exploded as mental myths. This, of course, is what he does when he gently probes into the mind of his patient and uncovers the hidden fears that have been working, undetected for months or even years.
It is the work of demons to take a fragment of truth and through lying deception build a mental prison of anguish and torture from which the person cannot escape by himself. Many of these cases are beyond the help of a doctor or psychiatrist. Their minds are so possessed by evil spirits that it is impossible to break through with psychiatric help. In such cases these spirits must be cast out by the Spirit of God before the person’s mind is free to hear and receive help.
Demons, being intelligent spirit beings, are very careful to camouflage their presence by pretending to be the person they indwell. If asked to give their name they will reply in the person’s name pretending to be that person. Convincing a person that he has devils is one of the great obstacles that must be overcome before he can be delivered.
The human mind is so filled with unbelief concerning supernatural things that it automatically rejects such knowledge. Even after listening to tapes of the demon speaking through them and telling things they have no personal knowledge of, they still find it hard to believe. Having been under the demon’s control so long, the person continues to listen to the demon more than he does those who are trying to help him.
After being forced to manifest themselves, demons really go to work on the person’s mind to convince him that he doesn’t have devils. They will use every trick and subterfuge known by Lucifer himself to convince the person that he does not really have demons. The deliverance of Jane Miller in New Orleans a few years ago well illustrates this truth.
The spirits in Jane would talk out loud and tell her not to believe what Sam Fife was saying about her having devils. They told her it was “the power of suggestion” and that she really was sick. They said, “don’t listen to him Jane, Dr. Reed (her psychiatrist) will make it go away.”
Demons would much rather have their victim go to a doctor or psychiatrist than someone with the anointing of God upon their life. With our society not recognizing the existence of demons, they (the demons) usually have the person’s relatives, friends, doctor and psychiatrist on their side. Such an array is well nigh impossible to overcome. This is why most demon-possesed people end up in an institution.
However, Dr. William Reed, who was Jane Miller’s personal psychiatrist, became a firm believer in demons after seeing what God had done for Jane and listening to the tapes on her deliverance. He was so impressed with her recovery that he asked Brother Sam Fife to speak to the board of psychiatrists of Tulane University and play the tape on Jane’s deliverance.
At a later meeting between the two men. Dr. Reed told Brother Fife that most mental patients manifested the same general symptoms that Jane Miller did. When Brother Fife said that he believed ninety percent of all mental illnesses were caused by demons Dr. Reed said, “I do too.”
But the sad fact remains most of our world is in darkness concerning the true condition of most insane people. For this reason. It is a miracle indeed when one is delivered by the power of God.