Three full years after Jesus left the carpentry shop in Nazareth and was baptized by John, a final example of Jesus’ power over Satan is recorded (Luke 13:10-17). Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and a woman who had been crippled by a demon for 18 years was present. When Jesus saw her He called her to Him, put His hands on her, and immediately she was healed. The religious rulers objected to Jesus doing this on the Sabbath and Jesus rebuked them as hypocrites. Talking about the woman, Jesus referred to her being crippled as Satan binding her (Luke 13:16).
LESSON FOR TODAY: Sometimes God may lead you to lay hands on the person you are praying for, and on occasion Jesus Himself did this (Luke 4:29; 13:11-23; Matthew 8:15) as did the early church (I Corinthians 1:14f; 12:4; II Corinthians 1:21f; James 5:13-16). Touch can be a way of bestowing God’s power and presence from you to the person you are praying for. It can help God’s power break down the demons’ defenses. It is a way of identifying with the person and connecting to them. Demons hate being touched, so laying hands on a person helps break their resistance as well. Be sensitive to God’s leading in this area and do whatever it is He leads you to do.
When a person is demonized they experience sound, touch, etc. through the host person. Making the person look at you forces them to be aware of the truth you are speaking and not able to hide from it. Touching the person also gets their attention and focus so they are recipients of the truths you are speaking and they can’t hide behind their lies and deceptions. Physically touching someone who is demonized often brings physical pain to the demon which gets their attention and reminds them of whose power is greater. So have the person sit or stand up straight and look at you when you speak so the demons can’t hide and avoid your commands.
When a person allows someone to lay hands on them they in effect submit themselves to the authority of that person. If that person, the one in the position of authority, is open to something demonic then that can pass onto the person on whom hands are laid.
Make sure there is no sin in your life when you lay hands on someone, for when you stir up demonic opposition their first target will be you. Make sure you are walking closely with the Lord. Make sure that every sin is put under the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9). To engage in this form of spiritual warfare is similar to taking the Lord’s Supper with sin in your life for you are opening yourself up to demonic activity or God’s discipline (or both).
By the same token, people who have had someone who wasn’t a believer living in obedience to God lay hands on them have had a demon transferred to them by this. A casual touch will not do this, but submitting to the authority of someone else by bowing your head and letting them put hands on you opens you to them and their power, and therefore any demons that may have access to them. If this has happened this must be confessed and any demons who claim that as access to the person commanded to be gone.
(If I can answer questions or offer personal counsel, or if you would like a free copy of my Spiritual Warfare Handbook, email me at Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org or download it from http://sw.christiantrainingonline.org/. My next book, Spiritual Warfare in the Bible, which is a more advanced treatment of spiritual warfare, is also available there for free.)