Breaking Demonic Habits
Apostle Humphrey Mtandwa
When a demon leaves a person, that is the beginning of deliverance. The Bible speaks and says that when an unclean spirit leaves a man, it goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none. Then it says, "I will return to my house from which I came," and when it comes back, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. It then goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and the last state of that person becomes worse than the first (Matthew 12:43-45).
The challenge when a demon goes out and comes back is that it is no longer operating alone. It has shifted in influence. It has partnered with other spirits and returns with greater strength and greater access. But one of the biggest reasons it is able to return is because although the demon left, the habits remained.
You were delivered from a spirit of lust, but you still maintained habits of looking at negative images or consuming content that fed those desires. Yes, you were delivered, but if you sustain the habits, if you sustain the culture, then when that spirit returns, it finds access. You struggled with lust before, but now there are different tendencies and stronger weaknesses because the enemy found the same doors still open.
There are what I call demonic habits that have to be broken.
I will use the example of the fasting that we have been doing. When you are fasting, you wake up hungry because you are used to eating. Your body has learned a habit. If you yield to the desire, you will eat and break the fast. In the same way, if you yield to old demonic desires and habits, you give access to things that once had influence in your life. Someone may have been delivered from smoking, but the habit remains. The urges remain. The patterns remain. What must be dealt with after deliverance are the habits.
This is why the Bible speaks about being transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). Deliverance removes the spirit, but renewal removes the pattern. Renewal teaches you a new way of thinking, a new way of responding, and a new way of living.
One of the things I love doing before deliverance is teaching people. Before we go against the spirits, are you ready to walk in the discipline necessary to break the habits that gave those spirits access in the first place? Many people have been delivered, but they sustain the culture. They have been delivered, but they sustain the habits.
That is why demons that control families can sometimes influence one person and then spread their culture throughout the family. The demon has not possessed everybody in the family. It influenced one person, and that person taught others habits, attitudes, responses, and behaviors that reflected the nature of that spirit. What began as a spiritual problem eventually became a learned culture.
There are demonic habits that have to be broken.
When a demon leaves and goes into dry places, it understands the habits it left behind. It knows the person's weaknesses. It knows the doors that once gave it access. It knows that if the person returns to those images, those desires, that anger, that bitterness, or those influences, the door can be opened again.
The demon was cast out, but access is given back through the habits that remain.
That is why renewal of mind is so important. Renewal of mind teaches you new habits. Just as bad habits are learned over time, good habits must also be learned over time. If you were spending your days consuming content that corrupted your spirit, begin spending time in the Word of God. If you were feeding lust, begin feeding your spirit. If you were spending time under negative influences, begin spending time in prayer and in the presence of God.
There must be a season where you intentionally develop new habits.
The prophet Jeremiah was given a mandate by God not only to root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down, but also to build and to plant (Jeremiah 1:10). Many people focus on the uprooting, but they forget the planting. When God removes something from your life, something new must be established in its place.
For this reason, after deliverance there must be consecration. There must be dedication. There must be time in the Word. There must be time in prayer. There must be a deliberate effort to establish a new culture in your life.
I remember when I started running. The first few days were not easy. My legs were painful in the morning, and my body resisted the change. But after some time, the habit became part of me. What was difficult became natural because the habit had been established.
The enemy understands this process. He watches to see whether you will continue in the new path or return to the old one. That is why the Bible says, "Neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). If there is anything in your atmosphere that sponsors the old habit, remove it. If social media is feeding the old nature, remove it. If friendships are feeding the old nature, distance yourself from them. If environments are feeding the old nature, separate yourself from them.
The enemy cannot force his way in. He looks for access.
Many people desire freedom while remaining connected to the very things that keep opening the door. If you are serious about freedom, then you must become serious about developing new habits.
The next season is not only about deliverance. It is about learning new habits. It is about adopting a new culture. It is about establishing patterns that sustain your freedom. Pay attention to the teachings. Pay attention to the Word. Pay attention to prayer. As you do so, you will not only experience deliverance, but you will walk in lasting freedom.
True deliverance is sustained when old habits are broken and new habits are established.
