Exorcism: The Battle Against Satan and His Demons by Fr. Vincent P. Lampert

Author:Fr. Vincent P. Lampert [Lampert, Fr. Vincent P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emmaus Road Publishing
Published: 2020-09-30T05:00:00+00:00

PLAYING THE DEVIL’S GAME

The Bible presents specific instructions on how to gain victory over the devil. St. Paul admonishes us to “give no opportunity to the devil” (Eph 4:27). St. Peter teaches us, “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Pet 5:8–9a). And St. James says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). The sad truth is that far too many people are giving the devil an opportunity. They are not being sober and watchful in their faith. And they are certainly not resisting him. Indeed, it is my firm conviction that the devil has not upped his game against humanity. Rather, more people are demonstrating a willingness to play his game.

We build our eternal destiny by the choices we make. St. Athanasius teaches us that the human person was created to move according to virtue, but when we abuse our freedom of choice, we move in the wrong direction.1 We are living in a unique moment of human history where many people are choosing to move in the wrong direction. Christianity is being replaced with demonic doctrines and practices that are drawing so many people away from the path to the tree of life. Falling for the devil’s falsehoods, they have lost their focus on eternal heavenly life and are looking at nothing more than what this temporary earthly life can give.

The key ingredient in defeating the devil is faith. “ The more a person lives by faith, the more he is impervious to the devil’s attacks: faith is a fortress that protects man from his onslaughts and that is why he endeavors to bring the believer out of the fortress by dazzling him with a host of illusory enticements, as would a conjurer, and by tempting him to rely on something more sensational than pure faith.”2 Abandoning our faith and allowing ourselves to be enticed by the devil is certainly not something unique to our time. St. Paul in writing to Timothy says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths” (2 Tim 4:3–4).

In the fifteen years that I have been an exorcist, I have identified eight major ways that I believe people can become vulnerable to playing the devil’s game. Some create this opening directly and others do it indirectly. Some play the devil’s game directly when they actively engage in activities that are meant to cultivate a relationship with evil spirits—they know what they are doing is wrong, but they choose to do it any way. Others play the devil’s game indirectly when they engage in activities they perceive to be fun and entertaining, but in reality create a connection with evil spirits. There are countless ways that people can create an entry point for evil into their lives.

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