Can Demons Attack Us Physically? - Soul Choice Ministries

There are many examples in the Bible showing that demons do afflict people – sometimes with sickness. I am not saying that all sickness is demonic, but there are more illnesses than one might think that can be caused by a demon.

I will share several true accounts recorded in the Bible. Some sickness is caused by sin, some is not, and some is attributed to demons. Job 2:7 states, “So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.”

I want to first share an experience I had a long time ago regarding a demon who affected me physically. I was lying in bed one night and suddenly I was being choked. I felt a heavy pressure on my chest and sensed a very evil presence. I knew it was a demon. It was crushing the air out of me. I was gasping for air, and couldn’t get a breath. Finally I was able to call out the name of Jesus, and then the pressure on top of me left. I was so relieved to say the least. I experienced first hand that a demon can afflict or attack a person physically.

Lets look at the account of the Demoniac man in the tombs. Mark 5:2-13 says, “Immediately there met Him, Jesus, out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. Jesus then cast out the demons, and the man was free and in his right mind.” This demon-possessed man had supernatural strength.

Another true account is the epileptic boy in Matthew 17:15-18. “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water… And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.” In Mark 9:17 it further states, “And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid…” This demon was violent and numerous times attempted to kill the boy and physically throw him down.

Next is the woman who was bowed over for 18 years. In Luke 13:10-16 it reads, “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself… Jesus said, ‘And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond?’ And he loosed her.”

Satan had caused her not to be able to stand up straight. Also notice that she had a right to be healed because she was a child of Abraham, just as we who are born again.

Here is a man blind and mute in Matthew 12:22. “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him.” It was the demon who caused the blindness and being mute.

The man at the pool of Bethesda is an incident where sin brought on the sickness. John 5:4 reads, “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty eight years…Jesus said unto him, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.” Afterward Jesus finds him in the temple, and said unto him, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” Sin contributed to this man’s inability to walk.

Now sometimes the sickness is not caused by the devil or by one’s sin as with the man born blind. John 9:1 says, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, ‘Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.'” We don’t know what caused his blindness.

Many times a sickness could be hereditary, or caused by poor nutrition or eating habits, or living in fear, worry, rebellion, unforgiveness, and even a person’s own tongue.

Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Our negative words can contribute to what our physical life is like and cause premature death.

1 Peter 3:10, “He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.”

Proverbs 12:18, “The tongue of the wise is health.”

Another reason for sickness brought on by demons causing is found in Matthew 10:1 with the story of the unclean spirit. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”

Notice that disease is connected to unclean spirits. Keep in mind that a demonic influence over a person will promote immorality and sexual perversion.

Another true account is the daughter who was vexed with a demon in Matthew 15:22. It says, “My daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”

In Mark 7:25 it says she had an unclean spirit.

Vexed in this case means “possessed” in the Vine’s Dictionary. Unclean is commonly associated with sexual perversion, or from being sexually promiscuous. Many times people open the door to the demonic realm without even realizing it.

They may watch demonic movies, read books about witchcraft and the occult, have their palm read, play with Ouija boards, participate in a seance, or open the door with the use of drugs, alcohol, or a promiscuous lifestyle. Demons are looking for a way into a person or into their life, and can possess them in varying degrees. A person might not be fully controlled by the demon, but can still be afflicted in part of their body or mind.

A well-known pastor told of an incident he experienced with a man who had terrible shoulder pain. God opened the pastor’s eyes to see into the spirit realm and he saw a small demon sitting on and biting the man’s shoulder. He rebuked the demon, it left, and the man’s pain stopped immediately.

Here are a few verses that teach us what a Christian must do to stay free of the devil.

1 Peter 5-8, “Give no place to the devil.”

In other words, we can give them place. How do we stop giving them place?

James 4:7, “Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Jesus quoted the scripture when the devil came to tempt Him in the wilderness, and then the devil fled. We must have God’s word in our heart to quote it and run the devil off.

Let’s strive to live a life with a genuine respect and reverence for God, a life that obeys His word, a morally pure life, walking in the fear of the Lord. This will keep the door to our lives shut to the demonic realm. We can then walk in the protection of God, and learn to live a life free of oppression and full of life and peace.