Fruitful Living
Power over Satan and demons (Part two)
JESUS AND DEMONS1)
The New Testament frequently describes individuals who are suffering from Satan’s oppression and influence due to evil spirits that take up residence in their bodies and gain control of their lives. Throughout the Gospels (the narrative accounts of the “good news” and the true story of Jesus Christ), Jesus shows His power and authority to free people from this spiritual slavery. The Gospel of Mark, describes many times in which Jesus comes in contact with and stands against demons with the power of God: “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” – Mark 1:32-34.
“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. – Mark 1:23-26.
2) In His miracles, Jesus often attacks the power of Satan and demonic forces. Jesus states clearly that one of His purposes in coming to earth was to destroy the works of Satan and to set free those the devil holds as slaves.
3) One way Jesus binds and destroys Satan’s power is by driving out demons (by His authority, forcing them to leave the person’s body and give up control of the individual’s life). But he paid the penalty for our sin. This victory shattered the power of Satan’s kingdom and restored the power of God’s kingdom in people’s lives. Jesus’ work and personal sacrifice made Satan’s defeat certain and gained God’s victory over him.
4) Hell, the place of eternal punishment, torment and separation from God, has been prepared by God for the devil and his demons. “Then He will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” – Matthew 25:41
BELIEVERS AND DEMONS
1. God’s Word teaches that because God’s Holy Spirit lives within each true follower of Christ, a Christian cannot be demon-possessed. God’s Spirit and demons can never live in the same body. Demons may, however, influence the thoughts, emotions and actions of Christians who fail to follow and respond to the leading of the Spirit.
2. Jesus promised His followers that they would have authority over the power of Satan and demons. As we confront them, we must rely on Jesus and use His authority to break the power that demonic forces want to force upon us and others. This means we must wage intense spiritual warfare through the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of God is the only source that frees us from the power and influence of the devil’s darkness and brings us into God’s spiritual light with victory.
3. According to the parable in Mark 3:27 – “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.” Spiritual conflict against Satan and his demonic forces involves three stages of spiritual battle:
a) Declare war against Satan according to God’s purpose.
b) Enter Satan’s territory (any area of life where he has a “strong hold” or has strongly forced his evil control), then attack and overpower him through prayer and God’s Word. By doing this, God will destroy the devil’s weapons of deception and temptation.
c) Take what the devil possesses. This means helping to liberate those who have been enslaved by Satan’s power and helping to restore them to God so that they may receive forgiveness and new life through faith in Christ.
4. As we boldly embrace the authority and power of God, we should take the following steps in our spiritual battle:
a) Recognise that we are not in a conflict against flesh and blood (human persons, powers and purposes). Rather, we are fighting against spiritual forces and powers of evil.
b) Remain deeply committed to God’s truth and to living by the standards of His Word.
c) Have faith that Satan’s power can be broken in any specific area where he might have control. We must also realise that God has given Christ’s followers powerful spiritual weapons for the destruction of Satan’s strongholds.
d) Boldly proclaim the message of Christ and His kingdom (His highest power, authority, purposes and way of life) through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
e) Challenge Satan and his power directly by relying completely on Jesus and taking authority in his name, using God’s Word, praying in the Spirit, fasting and driving out demons.
f) Praying particularly that the Holy Spirit would work in the consciences of people who are spiritually lost (who have not accepted forgiveness from Christ and do not have a personal relationship with God). Only the Holy Spirit can truly convince them of their sin, the truth of God’s Word and the fact that they will be judged by God’s standards.
g) Desire, pray for and expect the Holy Spirit to be active in your life, your ministry and your church through His spiritual gifts (special abilities and empowerment He gives for the purpose of building Christ’s church and encouraging those who are a part of it). Among these gifts are healing, prophecy, tongues, miracles, signs and wonders.
CONCLUSION
It cannot be emphasised enough that we must be in a right relationship with God and fully equipped to do spiritual battle by spending time in prayer and God’s Word. We must have a deep understanding of God and His Word, and we must be actively growing in all spiritual areas of our Christian life. Doing this is important because we are no match for Satan’s powers on our own. Christ’s followers must pray constantly and remain spiritually alert, relying on God’s strength and resources to recognise and conquer Satan’s evil schemes and to maintain a strong faith. They must also rely on God so that when they do come face to face with demonic powers, they will be able to fearlessly exercise Jesus’ authority over them.
This article is culled from the FIRE BIBLE: Global Study Edition.
Stay blessed!
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Fruitful Living
Sanitation, hygiene, the morality of public space: Reclaiming Ghana’s civic virtue through faith and policy (Part 1)
In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the noblest of messengers, our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family, and his companions.
I. Introduction: The crisis of conscience in the Filth
The Ghanaian ambition frequently proclaimed by our leaders is to achieve moral and economic excellence across the African continent. Yet, this noble aspiration is daily contradicted by the state of our environment. A single walk through our markets, open gutters, or along the banks of once-pristine rivers reveals a troubling truth: Ghana faces not only a sanitation crisis but a moral crisis.
The prevalence of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, and diarrheal infections can be directly linked to environmental neglect—piles of uncollected refuse, clogged drains, and indiscriminate open defecation (Ghana Health Service, 2023). This has produced a silent epidemic that weakens productivity, burdens hospitals, and undermines national dignity.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Cleanliness is from faith, and faith leads to Paradise” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 223). Thus, environmental decay is not merely a failure of policy but a spiritual deficiency, one that contradicts the very essence of faith and civilisation.
Government interventions like the National Sanitation Day (Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, 2017) and the “Make Accra the Cleanest City in Africa” campaign, though well-intentioned, have largely faltered. After decades of such initiatives, filth persists in our streets and minds alike.
The crisis, therefore, is not infrastructural—it is moral. Ghana’s sanitation problem represents a crisis of conscience, a failure of the Ghanaian to uphold the Morality of Public Space, where personal responsibility and public virtue intersect.
The Qur’an reminds us: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Qur’an 13:11) Our outward environment reflects our inward state. Until we transform our moral and civic consciousness, no amount of external reform will deliver the clean, dignified Ghana we desire.
II. The Spiritual Mandate: Cleanliness as the foundation of faith
In Islam, cleanliness (tahārah) is not a minor ritual—it is an expression of spiritual order. The Qur’an declares: “Indeed, Allah loves those who turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves.” (Qur’an 2:222) This verse links repentance and purification as twin dimensions of spiritual renewal.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Purity is half of faith” (Sahih Muslim, 223), teaching that external hygiene mirrors internal piety. The act of maintaining a clean environment is thus not merely civil duty—it is a sacred obligation.
By Imam Alhaji Saeed
Abdulai, the Author
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“Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore, the law is paralysed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” – Habakkuk 1:3–4 (NIV)
Introduction
Did you know that even in sadness you can worship God in prayer? Yes, you can worship Him in the midst of difficulty through a prayer of lament, and there are many of these kinds of prayers in Scripture. We can find that all the major Bible characters poured out their hearts to God in lament, which I think is necessary in our prayer lives.
Prayers of lament are so helpful when we experience the dark night of the soul. We live in a broken world where things do not always go the way we want. There are times when we sometimes do not know what God is doing in our lives or which way to turn. Bringing before God a prayer of lament can make all the difference in the world because God actually changes us during these times when we pour out our hearts to Him.
Prayers of lament are a form of worship and faith
As an act of love, we worship God even in the midst of pouring out our difficulty before Him. Instead of backing away from God during a hard time or a dark night, confront the pain, worship God with it, and put everything before Him.
Lamentation is a powerful and meaningful form of worship because it places our love for God above even the worst of circumstances in our life. God does not ask us to deny the existence of our suffering. He does want us to collect it, stand in those things, and make Him an offering.
The Holy Spirit, our Comforter, helps us to do this: He aligns Himself with our will and says, “I will help you to will to worship God.” The glory of the majesty of God is that He helps us will and do.” – Graham Cooke
Let us look at an example of a song of lament that has touched many people throughout the years. The Spafford family lost everything they owned in a fire. Making plans to rebuild, they moved from Chicago to France. Horatio Spafford carefully planned the trip from America to France and booked tickets on a huge ship for his wife and four daughters. He was planning to join them a few weeks later.
On the voyage, the ship was rammed by another vessel and sank, carrying his wife and four daughters to the bottom of the ocean. All his plans suddenly were crushed.
In grief and lament, as his ship passed over the watery grave of his wife and four beloved daughters, he wrote this famous hymn, “It is Well With My Soul.”
Many of us know that hymn and have been touched deeply through the words expressed in every verse. Horatio Spafford knew the power of the prayer of lament in that instant. His words have helped many people face their own sorrows in times of grief. He refused to let go of God in the midst of difficulty and grief.
By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee,
the author
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