“Welcome to witchcraft season. This is the time of year when people start attacking and accusing you for no reason, rebelling against authority, and otherwise walking in the flesh. Take authority over it in the name of Jesus. Don't bow to the intimidation and manipulation. And by all means, don't tap into it! I'll be writing more about this next week.”
On Oct. 2, I offered that simple exhortation on my Facebook page. Of course, I was flooded with responses from the saints—some of whom were battling witchcraft in that moment and some of whom had never heard of spiritual witchcraft. I believe witchcraft is one of the powers in the hierarchy of demons Paul listed in Ephesians 6:12. Just as the Holy Spirit is the power of God, witchcraft is a power of the enemy.
Webster's Dictionary defines witchcraft as an irresistible influence or fascination—and the Bible warns us not to be bewitched: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified” (Gal. 3:1)
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Obviously, there is a spiritual force that the Bible is warning us about. It causes us to take leave of our senses. Witchcraft releases strong confusion against our minds so that Jesus is not the clear focus of our lives. Once that happens, we are more vulnerable to the vain imaginations the enemy whispers to our souls. We have a responsibility to know about this spiritual wickedness and guard ourselves against it. With that said, here are eight signs you are under a witchcraft attack right now.
1. Confusion: Witchcraft makes you question yourself, question your friends, question your leaders—question God. When witchcraft attacks, it's difficult to make sound decisions, you may forget your keys, forget important appointments, or even forget what the Word says. When strong confusion hits your mind, you can be sure it's not coming from God. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33).
2. Trouble paying attention: When witchcraft attacks, it can feel like your mind is scrambled like an egg. You have trouble staying focused on the tasks at hand. Your mind wanders to and fro. You just can't keep a train of thought or pay attention to what you are hearing or reading. It can be difficult to hear from God and discern the devil. We must walk in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
3. Wanting to hide in your cave: I like my cave. I like being alone with God, but when I feel tempted to hide in my cave rather than face the world—when I feel like David when he said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:6)—I know I'm under attack. When Jezebel sent a messenger of fear with a word curse threatening Elijah's life, he ran scared and left his servant behind, sat in a cave and wished he was dead. That's a witchcraft attack.
4. Forgetting who you really are: You are a child of the King. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). You are blessed coming in and blessed going out. Everything you put your hand to prospers. That's your legal position. But when witchcraft attacks, you feel like a worthless worm. You forget who you are in Christ, have little to no interest in the Word, church, praise, worship or the like. You may feel guilt, condemnation or self-pity.
5. Discouraged, depressed and ready to quit: We all get discouraged from time to time, but when witchcraft attacks, you may just want to throw in the towel; send your resignation letter to God; quit, give up, cozy up in bed and pull the covers over your head. The devil comes to wear you out (Dan. 7:25), yet the Bible commands us not to grow weary in well-doing and promises we'll reap a harvest if we don't give up (Gal. 6:9). There's the tension, but let's be clear. The devil is trying to steal your harvest. Don't let him.
A final word: As I said in my Facebook post, this is the time of year when people start attacking and accusing you for no reason, rebelling against authority and otherwise walking in the flesh. We all need to be careful about tapping into spiritual witchcraft and releasing word curses against others and ourselves.
In part two of this article, I'll share three more signs that you may be under a witchcraft attack and give you a list of specific scenarios that will open your eyes to the attack. For sake of space, if you want to learn how to battling witchcraft attacks against your mind and body, read my article “Overcoming Witchcraft Attacks Against Your Mind and Body” and check out my book Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, co-founder of awakeningtv.com, on the leadership team of the New Breed Revival Network and author of several books, including The Next Great Move of God: An Appeal to Heaven for Spiritual Awakening; Mornings With the Holy Spirit, Listening Daily to the Still, Small Voice of God; The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Jennifer's Periscope handle is @propheticbooks.
