Sleep Paralysis

I received this email quite some time ago from a woman in South Africa:

I feel like I am going crazy… I am suffering for night terrors, and often wake up (or on the edge of sleep) with someone watching me sleep…
I had similar dreams as a child, and also remember seeing ‘things’.
Help? Please?

I receive quite a few messages like this.

The phenomena of night terrors and waking up with someone watching is quite common.  Shockingly common in fact, and it’s called sleep paralysis. And it’s not relegated to people who see in the spirit realm. Lots of people experience it.  Scientists have tried materialist explanations, but as demonstrated elsewhere, these solutions fall short.

Demons come and attack people in the dead of night. They sometimes assault people physically. They sometimes assault people sexually.  Sometimes they press on people’s chest. They feed off the fear and terror they encounter.

Now let me be clear: night terrors aren’t always the result of demons. Night terrors can be the physiological result of a young child’s rapid development. Some hallucinations can occur due to a sudden, severe and rapid fever or other chemical imbalances.  I’m not talking about those.

I’m talking about actual night terrors  and visions of demons with a spiritual causation. I’m talking about sleep paralysis. The human body is a deeply complex organism tied to its spirit in mysterious but real ways. Spiritual influences can impact the body, and physical influences can impact the spirit.

My reply to this email was this:

Thanks for writing! You are not going crazy. There is help for you!

It sounds like a spirit is oppressing you. This is not unusual, unfortunately.

I don’t know what your beliefs are, but dark spirits will submit when you take authority over them in Jesus name. You don’t even have to have much faith in this (although belief is helpful). There’s just power in that name (which is why many use it when they cuss).

So this might seem weird, but try this prayer before you go to sleep. It works best if you say it out loud, as if there was a physical intruder in your room. You don’t have to yell or get any religious symbols or anything. The power is in the name, not religion.

“By the blood of Jesus Christ, I bind every evil spirit that is in this room and command them to flee right now and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends them. By faith, I claim that this room is covered under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and no evil spirit can enter it.”

And then pray this,

“God in Heaven, I ask for your protection over me as I sleep. I ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus.” Then take a deep breath, and feel God’s peace over you.

If you wake in the middle of the night, and feel the presence, just say these words (you can even think them, because sometimes the fear is so great people can’t speak), “Go away in the name of Jesus.” It will submit. Sometimes, in the case of my daughter, she had to say it more than once. But trust it.

Please let me know how things go.

A few days later, I received this reply.

Hi Doug,

Thank you so much for replying to my email.

I have tried the below below suggestions, and it seems to be working! I am actually managing to get a proper nights sleep now without any night terrors.

I do have quite a lot of questions. I should add that I’ve considered myself to be atheist … So all of this does not make sense to me, and really makes me feel like I am insane! I’ve experienced so much that it is causing me to reassess my beliefs (or lack thereof)…. (emphasis added)

…and she had additional questions.

So, here we had an atheist say a prayer she didn’t really believe in, using the name of Jesus, and the demons left.

And her experience caused her to challenge her own theology and search for a theology that makes sense. Experiences can do that, you know.

There is power in the name of Jesus. There just is. The demons believe, and tremble, because Jesus is Lord. Not everything is subjected to his rule and reign yet, but eventually, it will be. See the Kingdom Conflict page for more on this.

Do not fear. Only believe.

Here’s the rub: unless you are actually in Christ and Christ is in you, you will be wide open to spiritual attack. The demons may flee in the moment, but ultimately, they’ll return.  To be truly set free, you need to not fear, only believe in Jesus, and you will have true life.

When enemy spirits attack, your faith will prevent them from being able to latch on. Fear and other things in essence creates a hook for them and for them to influence you.  The key to deliverance is bringing truth to lies you believe and setting your life on faith in Jesus.

Jesus once delivered a man from many demons, and the man wanted to follow Jesus. But Jesus’ instructions was to stay put, go and tell everyone what Jesus had done for him.

And he (Jesus) did not permit him (to go with Jesus) but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.(Mark 5:19-20 ESV, parentheses mine).

The act of telling others how Jesus set him free maintained his faith in Jesus, and kept this man free from demonic opporession. Get it? It’s about activating your faith!

When God sets you free from spiritual oppression or your sin or anything else, tell others. Walk your faith out each and every day, and doing so will seal the deal, and prevent the spirits from having a hook to latch themselves on you again.

If you suffer from nightmares or sleep paralysis, take authority over your bedroom and over your sleep. If spirits come and assault you at night, tell them to “Go away in the name of Jesus!” Speak it with authority. And when they flee, tell someone about it the next day.

Always remember, whom the Son sets free is free indeed, and their ain’t no chains gonna hinder me!

Spread the Good News about what Jesus has done for you!