Read Deuteronomy 18:9-12 from your Bible.
In the above scripture we see a group of spirits called familiar spirits. The Bible says it is an abomination before the Lord; these spirits are enemies of God yet most people do not know how to address them. If you are consciously or unconsciously involved, you become an abomination before God.
Read Isaiah 8:19-20 from your Bible.
If the Lord condemns association with familiar spirits in the above verses, He does more stringently in Isaiah 29:4:
“And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.”
Familiar spirits have something to do with the dust of the earth. Practically in all tribes in Africa, the problem of familiar spirits is a serious one. What makes it more serious is the fact that most people don’t know that they belong to them.
And so, because of this unconscious membership, there are lots of problems.
I have seen someone seeing visions from familiar spirits, likewise I have seen someone prophesying through the power of familiar spirits. And people believed these prophecies and visions without knowing that familiar spirits were responsible for them.
Familiar spirits are a class of dangerous spirits. The major characteristics of these spirits is familiarity. They are familiar with the personalities.
Familiar means well-known. When a person wilfully or ignorantly associates with an evil spirit, the covenant is binding.
When a person has formed a relationship with any spirit, which is not the Spirit of God, the person has a familiar spirit.
One night a fellow went out to ease himself. As he came out a breeze blew on him and he fell down. By the time he got up he began to see visions and prophesied. This thing became so strong that a lot of people began to recognise him in his church. But this fellow was a careful and honest person. When people asked him how he came about his power of vision and prophecy, he frankly told them what happened to him the night he went out to ease himself.
After he made this confession, a senior pastor took him and locked him up for seven days of prayer. As the prayer got underway, this man vomited a small tortoise. Immediately he did this, all the ability to see visions and prophesy ceased.
Our people have a clearer idea of this matter than we Christians. For instance, if you go to Ibo land in Nigeria and mention familiar spirits, the Igbo man would tell you, “Ogbanje”. So also do Yoruba people have names for them.
The greatest danger, however, comes when a person belongs in it without knowing.
This is because whether you consciously or unconsciously belong, you will be regarded and treated as one of them.
Any one who becomes a communication agent for evil spirits has a familiar spirit.
However, familiar spirits can be cast out in the name of Jesus according to Mark 16:17. (Read it from your Bible).
Nevertheless, for this to be possible you must give your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God so you maybe able to stand against the wiles of familiar spirits – Ephesians 6:10-11
To be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might is to be strong in the Word and be filled with the Holy Spirit always. To put on the whole armour is to wear the various aspects of the armour.
Subsequently, I will be taking you through series of teaching on “war against familiar spirits” and at the very end of the teaching, I will be sharing two parts of deliverance prayers that will liberate you from the power of familiar spirits and dismantle them from the root.
Shalom!
#pstnath
