Can demons be the cause of addictions?

Many people either have battled an addiction or know someone who has. Addiction is possibly one of the biggest social problems that America faces right now. According to statistics 48.5 million people ages 12 and older battled a substance use disorder in the past year. 10% of Americans age 12 and older had an alcohol disorder in the past year.

There are no lack of treatment centers in America and many people have attended treatment multiple times over the course of their lives. The big question is, why are so many people unable to get free from the bondage of addiction? Maybe there is a deeper root to it that treatment centers are not addressing. Maybe there is a spiritual root that is keeping people in bondage to the prison of addiction. Demonic spirits are real and cause real problems. One of the main ways demons operate is by creating insatiable temptation from within a person which is why they want to get inside a person. Demons crave expression and need a body to express themselves through. Anyone who has battled an addiction knows the experience of being driven by insatiable temptation which defies logic. Why do people continue to desire things that they don't want to do? The person knows they shouldn't do it but they cant stop desiring it. This is the nature of addiction.

Alcoholism is a destructive force that devastates many peoples lives and the lives around them. The vast majority of people who are addicted to alcohol are basically in and out of sobriety if at all and many will literally drink themselves to death or will die from complications due to drinking. Many people I encounter who are alcoholic over the years have said they feel like its almost like there something or someone that's not them living on the inside of them driving them to drink compulsively. Maybe there is some truth to what they are claiming.

I have been sober for almost 22 years now and have had many experiences with people in addiction as a drug & alcohol counselor and being in prayer and deliverance ministry. The first time I knew that demons were really real and were connected to addiction was in 2005 when I went to a revival church meeting in Blaine MN where I witnessed a traveling evangelist command a demon out of a person I knew. This man I knew was in his mid 30's had been in treatment programs multiple times for drug addiction. This evangelist commanded a "spirit of witchcraft" out of this man and he fell to the ground shrieking and convulsing as the spirit came out of him. This man has been sober to this day and said it felt like his body was being torn in two as the demon came out of him. It was surreal that first time I witnessed a demon come out of a person but I couldn't unsee and unknow what I witnessed that day.

I also had my own experience in 2009 when I was at a deliverance ministry retreat in Phoenix, AZ. They were teaching on generational addiction and the ministry team came around to pray for people. They asked me if I had any addiction in my life or in my ancestral line and I said, "yes, I was in alcoholism and it was heavy in both of my ancestral lines (mother and fathers) but I have been sober now for 6 years" I really didn't think I was in need of any prayer in this area of my life. They said, "well let us pray for you anyway because many times things can lay dormant". I allowed them to pray for me and they broke a curse of generational alcoholism and a demon spoke through me as it left and it said in a low guttural voice "NOOOO, we have been here so long" It was an intense experience for me to say the least. I found out that day that demons can lay dormant which is why I believe that people can be sober for periods of time but eventually the demon(s) brings them back to the addiction and sometimes it seems almost mysteriously and out of nowhere. Many times demons come in through ancestral or generational curses which is why there is a genetic component to addiction. I believe I have been living a life of freedom for almost 22 years in large part because of my experience that day when a curse was broken and the demon was driven out.

Here is another interesting insight regarding addiction and spiritual matters. The Greek word for witchcraft/sorcery is "pharmakeia". Pharma is the root word that is translated drugs. This is where we get the English word pharmacy and pharmacology. Witchcraft is an ancient practice which would include the mixing of potions, herbs, and hallucinogenic plants to connect to the spiritual world, induce altered states of consciousness, and produce trance like states. Isn't it also interesting that alcohol is referred to "spirits". The history of this goes back many centuries ago and referred to the process of distillation and extracting the "spirit" when the liquid was heated and the vapor is collected and condensed, resulting in a concentrated spirit. Quite possibly could this process be witchcraft as well? I prayed for one woman a few years ago who could not stop drinking after several treatment experiences. The Holy Spirit spoke to me (through gift of discerning of spirits) and said it was a "spirit of witchcraft: at the root of her addiction. I told her this and we then prayed to command this spirit out of her and she started vomiting all over the floor. She has been sober to my knowledge since that day of deliverance. I have also encountered "spirits of addiction" when working with people which can attach to any substance and drive a desire for it.

One of the main reasons most treatment centers (including Christian ones) do not have the kind of results they hope for is they do not deal with demonic spirits that are at the root of much addiction and causing the internal temptation to drink or use drugs. Most treatment programs only use the "starve out method" which is to encourage and teach total abstinence and this has some level of success but many times these people are just in and out of sobriety. This is one of the main reasons (but not the only one) people cycle through treatment programs in search of freedom from addiction. Now, many people can also experience freedom just by getting born again, filled with the Holy Spirit and/or having sovereign moves of God which break addiction without driving the demon(s) out. For those who have not experienced true freedom yet, the "drive out method" is many times needed and this happens by dealing with the demonic spirits that are at the root of addiction where the demons which create intense desire and craving are driven out which brings true freedom. This method has a much higher level of success for long term sobriety. I know that I and countless others who have gone through deliverance from addiction and have never returned can testify to the truth that Jesus still sets people free who are captive to addiction and if the Son sets you free you are free indeed.

If you are in need of deliverance from addiction or any other bondage in your life attend our Friday night service at Truth & Freedom Church at 6:30pm or reach out to us on website to set up a private prayer ministry session. (website link is below)

www.truthandfreedomchurch.com

In Christ,

Pastor Rafe Ronning