“Deliver Us From Evil: Deliverance in Africa” by Victoria Croy

Deliver Us from Evil

My experience with deliverance in Africa

by Victoria Croy

Deliver us from evil- a line in a prayer that many of us are familiar with and memorized as children. A prayer so repetitively spoken that we are unresponsive, unenlightened and unconcerned with what we are actually saying.

We like to acknowledge evil exists in our world, but write off the reality and depth of it. We especially do this by ignoring the one who causes it.

The one who is a deceiver, a thief, a master of disguise, a destruction bringer and skilled liar.

Not that he deserves fame and glory, but he does need to be acknowledged and rebuked.

I have put-off writing this article on my missions experience in Africa for months. Not because I doubt and question what I saw or believe, but because I have feared the opinion of those who might read it.

But, I am now ready to write…

It was our second day of ministry with Great in Christ Church, in Lusaka, Zambia. There we stood, sweating through our clothes, as there wasn’t much retreat from the 100 degree, parched and dusty air of sub-Saharan Africa. Prayer service began at 10am in this simple, concrete brick church. Around noon, Pastor Brian asked everyone to pair off and pray for each others individual needs.

Two fellows and I were a few minutes into prayer when we heard a commotion at the front of the room. There was a young local girl, maybe between the ages of 20 and 24, who wore a red dress. She seemed to be angry and was throwing a fit. Several people surrounded her trying to calm her down.

This girl was a stranger to the church, as she had never set foot in this building before. Her mother, a new member, had been attending and in prayer for her daughter. She sought advice from the pastor for her daughter’s recent scary and severe behavior changes.

She said that her daughter had been getting into a lot of trouble, picking fights with people, threatening suicide and threatening to hurt other members of the family with weapons.

It soon became apparent that the fits she was displaying during prayer, weren’t fits of her own, but a manifestation of demons who were oppressing her.

Everyone in the building began to pray for her. Five people tried to hold her down as her contorted body kicked, spat, writhed and screamed. In addition to these behaviors, she attempted to bite and choke those nearest to her. Her hands and feet clenched tightly, as if she were cast for X-Men’s Wolverine role and claws were going to grow out from them.

I felt no fear, only a need to defend her by interceding and engaging my authority in Christ.

After an hour of prayer to no avail, my teammate Andy went towards her to anoint her with oil and pray over her. As Andy tried to place his oil-covered hand on her forehead, she shrieked back in fear.

As people sat at her side and prayed for her directly, the demons in her responded back to those individuals with threatening phrases like, “I’m going to torment you,” “I’m going to torture you,” and, “It is too late for her.”

There was no life behind her eyes as she laughed at, and mocked, those who were praying for her.

This went on for 2 to 3 hours.

Pastor Brian said the enemy was getting too much attention and glory in this situation, that we needed to continue on with the service. As the weakened girl lay on the ground asleep, at the front of the room, we continued on with the service.

Everything resumed as normal, as if there wasn’t a girl who lay at the base of the stage, limp.

Once the service was over, people said their goodbyes to each other and made their way home.

As the crowd cleared out, prayers ensued for the young girl, by leaders appointed by Pastor Brian. After just a few short minutes, the girl was free from her torment. The spirits that were oppressing her, left. No more screaming, no more spitting, no more threats.

She got up and walked home with her mother, a normal woman, healed of affliction.

Deliver us from evil- a line in a prayer that Jesus himself uttered. He understood what it looked like to battle evil. He acknowledged the existence of the enemy and rebuked him.

During Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, he was tempted by the enemy. But his battle technique was rooted in his identity and his knowledge of scripture. He too stood firm, did not fear and practiced his authority.

And the enemy backed down.

Just like he did for this tormented girl when believers activated the authority given to them by Christ.

There is a spiritual world. We are spiritual beings. We shouldn’t be surprised or afraid when spiritual things happen in our lives; we should be afraid when we don’t notice them.

“They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” (Mark 1: 21-28)

About the Author~Victoria Croy

Victoria is a 29 year-old native of Huntsville, Alabama. While attending the University of Alabama, she was a member of the varsity Women’s Rowing team, where she was the Senior Captain, and graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing and a Masters in Sports Management. Upon a call to missions, she began fundraising, gave up her career as a Human Resources Executive for a large corporation and sold her car. She left the states in September of 2015 and has been serving all over Europe and Africa. She is currently in South America (Colombia), where she will spend the next four months before returning to the US in August.

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