For my current writing project, I have had the privilege of interviewing a diverse group of godly people from around the world. For the next few issues of the Listening to God Newsletter, I plan to share some stories from these interviews.
But first a word of background. The book in progress is tentatively called Exorcism for Ordinary People: A Biblical and Practical Guide to Deliverance for the Evangelical Church. I would not have attempted such a daunting project without the firm belief that this is what God was telling me to do. Just as demons were prevalent in Jesus’s ministry, demons are present today. We as the church need to learn how to deal with them if we are to be effective in ministry to the hurting people around us.
So, here is the story. The contributor is Andrew Mitchell. At the time, he was involved in a volunteer prison ministry. A few words about Drew appear at the end of the story.
Drew says…
There is no formula
I got pretty close to a group of prisoners. The Lord’s power and presence were there and, by God’s grace alone, they had great respect for me. When I walked in, I had their ear. Again, it wasn’t me, it was God that did that. One evening as I was talking to some of the inmates, from a cell maybe 20 feet from us, came the most god-awful sound that you could imagine. It was terrible. It was not of this world. The whole jail just got quiet for a minute. The noise stopped everybody in their tracks. What should I do? I had no more clue than the man on the moon what to do. Then a couple of the inmates said, “Pastor Drew, you need to go take care of that.” Like, yeah. Right.
But my feet just started to walk over there. And it was like, Yeah, I do need to take care of it. I do need to because I’m supposed to. I’m here. It wasn’t that I wanted to or had a clue what I was supposed to do.
The guy was still making guttural sounds. I walked over and I didn’t know what I was gonna do. Was I gonna say “In the name of Jesus be gone?” But none of that even came close.
There are some rules when you’re in a prison. You don’t put your hands in the bars because then an inmate can grab you and pull you. You just stay this side of the bars. Well, at that point, it seemed like rules didn’t matter. I just felt a strong urge to touch him. I reached around and grabbed him behind his neck and started speaking. I don’t remember my exact words, but I know “peace” was one of them. It was very short. It was not hardly even a prayer. I said, “God’s peace and rest. God’s peace and rest be yours.”
Not a whole lot more. I may have said one or two other things because it’s one of those things that’s hard to remember when you come away. You know? What did I say? What did I do? But, anyways, I did that, and he just went limp. Still standing, he looked at me and said, “I’m tired. I think I need to rest.” And he went down and laid on his bed. He didn’t confess Jesus. He didn’t say anything that we might want him to say in a typical deliverance encounter. But he was obviously freed of something powerful.
About Andrew Mitchell
Drew Mitchell is a fish health specialist. He worked for the US Department of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas Department of Fisheries and in the process became quite well known for his expertise in fish health. Anything that can affect the health of the fish was his area of expertise. He worked with the catfish, baitfish, and sport fish Industries in the southern USA. He is the author or co-author of over 100 research papers.
But more important to him than his credentials in the sport fishing world is the fact that he has experienced Jesus. He says, “I cannot not believe because I’ve experienced his presence in a way that I cannot deny.”
Well, that’s the story. What’s the lesson?
I am sure that pronouncing the blessing, “God’s peace and rest be yours” is not given as deliverance formula found in any book on deliverance. But that’s just the point. Delivering someone from a demon is not about following a formula.
That’s my lesson, what’s yours? Type your comments below.