By Jordan Burgen
Question:
“I have a very complicated, deep, uncomfortable, scary question…I have had a rough go of things the last couple of years and have been desperately seeking God’s help with depression, anxiety, anger and pain. My family and I just moved back to Colorado…and there is no doubt that the Lord has brought me back here for many reasons.
I have absolutely no reason to feel the way I do and in fact used to be the happy go lucky kind of gal- Not a worry in the world.
My question for you is about spiritual warfare. I don’t know or have much knowledge on any of it and there is a lot of gray areas for me. So here we go...
Witches, voodoo and demons. I know demons exist, but am wondering about the witches and voodoo? What does God say about all of this and can you share some references? I also am wondering what your knowledge is on healers. Have you ever came across one, is that even legit!? I seems like very scary territory that I have recently found myself in.
I have a friend who is a catholic. (I have no clue if Catholicism will be significant) She has a healer friend who is also catholic. The healer works/prays with 100+ saints to get rid of dark energy. I went and saw her... She spoke of witches, voodoo dolls and demons. I was NOT expecting that! In fact, I was expecting essential oils and prayer. Do witches exist and if they do, are they a form of demons?
This lady does not accept money. She just looks through your eyes and sees significant marks or ways about your body. She knew nothing about me but knew exactly where I was hurting and could also see how my daughter and son felt. Her descriptions were accurate. After she sees you she and the saints pray for you. She says she gives the Lord all of the glory in this and is very humble and kind. I am supposed to go back and see her on Saturday.
I just want to be clear on whether or not this is right by God. Does He give certain people gifts to heal? My understanding is that Jesus was the only one that healed the sick...?
I would love some references, prayer and hopefully be able to learn more about all of this so I know exactly where to draw a clear line enabling me to stay on the right side, no questions. I am rethinking what is right here and I just don’t know.”
In short, yes, there are people in the world that practice what the Bible calls “sorcery” and “witchcraft”, which I would say voodoo would fall under. There are references to these people throughout Scripture, but the one I want to bring up is in the New Testament in Acts 16:16-19. This passage talks about a slave girl who had a “spirit of divination” in her and allowed her to tell the future, which brought a lot of money to her owners. She followed Paul and some other believers around for a few days, pestering them. Finally, Paul uses the power of Christ to cast the spirit out. What is important here is that it was the spirit inside of her, that had possessed her, that was causing the sorcerous behavior. In other words, there was a demon in her that was providing the supernatural power she was showing.
The Bible mentions in many places that we are not to dabble in witchcraft, sorcery, or consult with those that do, such as mediums and witches. Sure, there are a lot of fakers out there just trying to get money, but there is a contingent of people that really do have access to these dark things. The danger here is that when we consult with them (psychics, witches, mediums, etc.), we are going outside of God’s kingdom and trying to get answers from a source that is not from God. Demonic or not, this is not a wise choice. Demons, being supernatural beings, have supernatural abilities that they can use to lead us astray. A demon will never have your best in mind for you.
As for healers, there are many people in the Bible other than Jesus that had the gift of healing. In the example above, Paul showed the ability to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus. This is a form of healing. Acts is full of examples of the apostles healing people’s physical and spiritual ailments through the power of Christ. Acts 3 tells of Peter healing a lame beggar. Acts 5 speaks of many people being healed by the apostles. Paul even raises a young man from the dead in Acts 20. The point to note here is that it wasn’t actually them doing the healing, but the Holy Spirit in them. They, alone, had no power. God used them to perform these miracles for His glory. In each instance, God gets all the glory.
Now, in regard to the lady you are seeing, I cannot give a complete recommendation, as I do not know her or her practices. I’m also not too familiar with Catholicism and their healing practices. I would encourage you to be careful. Catholicism does put a lot of stock into “saints” which is a title given by them to deceased people who God used in great ways during their lives. However, we do not believe these people have any special powers now that they are dead any more than any other dead person would. We do not believe in praying to saints. They had no power in life nor in death that wasn’t given to them by the Holy Spirit, and we have direct access to Him, so there is no reason to pray to St. Peter or Paul or Mary. We have a direct line to God because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and in our hearts. The Bible does talk about the intercession (prayer) of people in heaven. And prayer has great power, and the people who have died before us do still pray on our behalf (Revelation 5:8) along with the angels (Revelation 8:3-4). I do not know if the people in heaven can hear us when we pray to them, though. I honestly don’t know. But I do recommend asking others to pray for you, and the people in heaven already are. The “saints” that these verses are referring to are actually us. When the Bible refers to a saint, it is referring to anyone, dead or alive, who has been set apart by God and has put their faith in Christ.
I do believe that the Holy Spirit does still use people in miraculous ways, even in the area of healing, and this lady you have found may very well be one of those. I’m honestly not sure. So, go into this with a lot of prayer and pray directly to God to reveal to you whether or not she is legit.
I hope this shed a little bit of light on your questions, and do not hesitate to respond with more! I’m sure this presented many more. Thank you for your email!
