Witchcraft is a common word in our world. It is used by both Christians and non-Christians. It is a word most people use in matters regarding the negative use of demonic influence. Although, the meaning of the word is different from the perspective of non-Christians and Christians but they have a common ground.
So, it cannot be said that the meaning of witchcraft in Christianity is totally different from that of a non-Christian. It is just that one is comprehensive while the other is a bit shallow. We shall take a comprehensive look at what witchcraft is in the two cases and where they differ.
What is Witchcraft?
Worldly Definition of Witchcraft
According to Britannica, witchcraft is defined as the traditional practice of the exercise or invocation of alleged supernatural powers to control people or events, practices typically involving sorcery or magic. Generally, when people talk about witchcraft, it is used to mean that someone is using demonic powers to control or influence people, events, or situations. In most discussions, it is used to mean that someone is using demonic powers to control or influence another person in their action, inaction, or perception of things or other people. Many people see witchcraft more as what a possessor of magic or sorcery does with their capacities over people.
According to vocabulary.com, witchcraft has many meanings that is often different from different part of the world to another. It means that witchcraft can be seen in a different light based on the part of the world where the question is asked. This is in agreement with study.com. It also added that the meanings may have transited over time from what it means in these different parts of the world. While witchcraft can be seen in different demonic ways, it is interesting to find out that witchcraft is linked to folk medicine and healing.
Biblical Definition of Witchcraft
Most of the time, Biblical definitions of things is always different from the definition or view of the world. What the Bible calls anything is God’s perspective and that is what matters. For us to understand what the Bible calls witchcraft, we need to study a few Bible verses where witchcraft is mentioned. This will be accompanied by a brief study on the practice by people that Bible calls witchcraft. These two points of view from the scripture will give us a balanced view of what the Bible calls witchcraft.
In 1 Samuel 15:23, Samuel opened our eyes to something very important about witchcraft. While he chastise king Saul for his wrong actions, he said the sin of witchcraft is the same as the sin of rebellion before the Lord. This means that one of the things we can describe witchcraft with is rebellion against God’s order or ways. If you take a look at the story of king Saul very well, you will discover that he was guilty of this in his lifetime. He started on a good note with God but ended by seeking sorcerers. He abandoned the way of God.
In Nahum 3, the bible described the horrible state of Nineveh and how they got there. One of the causes of the horrible states is seen in verse 4 which is witchcraft. According to this verse, it says witchcraft is used to enslave people. This means witchcraft is a tool to make people submit to order or authority outside their volition. That is, a forceful or subtle way to make people do things that wouldn’t have done in their freedom. If you read through the verses to the end, you will discover that God is strict about the punishment that comes from this.
Also, the Bible is also explicit as to what witchcraft is when it comes to the people who partake in witchcraft and what they do with it. From the Biblical standpoint of view, witchcraft can also mean being possessed by familiar spirits and using these spirits to do things or harm fellow human beings. This way of explaining witchcraft is easier for many to comprehend especially in Africa where demonic operations are common. A few examples in the Bible can be seen in where king Saul sought a woman with a familiar spirit, a lady speaking by divination following Paul, the Egyptian magicians doing things Moses, etc.
Signs of Witchcraft?
Signs are the pointers that reveal that something is present. It means things that you see or perceive that confirm the presence of witchcraft. These signs may be over an individual or group. It can even be visible over a family or nation. Witchcraft operations are not limited to an individual. Some things reflect the operations of witchcraft. We shall be discussing these signs in both physical and spiritual ways in the most understandable yarn.
Physical Signs of Witchcraft
Physically, when people say someone is under the influence of witchcraft, there are some things that they see that make them make that conclusion. Generally, when things are not going fine for people, it is usually viewed that they are under the attack of witchcraft. The belief is that the attack of witchcraft is the reason for things not going fine for them. This belief is most visible in Africa because of the visible spiritual wickedness that is rampant.
Also, whenever anyone is perceived to be unable to control his affairs that should be handled by Him normally being controlled and taken advantage of by another without him being able to resist it. This is better explained in a way that seems like the person has been hypnotized not to be able to resist the control. This may happen in relationships, at work, in partnerships, etc. Irrespective of the situation and where it is happening, it is generally seen as witchcraft in operation.
Spiritual Signs of Witchcraft
Just as people can deduce witchcraft operations via physical or visible things, there are spiritual signs that show the presence of witchcraft. After all the spiritual controls the physical. In reality, before people will see the physical things, the spiritual signs must have come up. Although, spiritual signs often come as a warning ahead but most people do not ignore the spiritual signs which are why they eventually happen in their life.
One of the ways we get spiritual signs about witchcraft is through dreams. Dreams are the spiritual mirror that shows us the position of things spiritually and the likely physical things that may come to pass. There are several dreams that indicate the operation of witchcraft. This may include feeling pressed down without the strength to resist while sleeping, having sexual intercourse in the dream, going about the same cycle in a dream, seeing oneself in a coven, etc. Dreams like this and more are spiritual messages that the operations of witchcraft are on.
Different Types of Witchcraft
Witchcraft is practiced in different ways and it is important for us to understand the various methods used in practicing witchcraft. One general way that comes to mind is the use of magic or demonic powers against people or making people do something. While this is true of witchcraft (evident in the definitions above), there are other methods people use to practice witchcraft. These methods may be subtle which accounts for the reason most people do not call it witchcraft. Here are five methods of witchcraft;
Deception: This means everything is put in place to deceive someone. This act is normally carried out for selfish reasons. It is employed when the knowledge of truth may hinder the achievement of personal objectives. For instance, many Pastors deceive members into believing in them as the alpha and omega over their lives. This is to scoop things out of the members.
Intimidation: This method of intimidation is used to make people feel less important or useful. People who use this method intend to downgrade other people so that they won’t see any value in themselves or what they have even if they are the best. Intimidators tend to project themselves to be better even when they are not. This method often infuses fear into people especially those of lower cadre to the intimidator.
Falsehood: This is nothing more than the state of being untrue. It is the practice of fabricating lies and placing them as though it is the truth. People often embrace this witchcraft method to discredit people where it matters especially where they both have equal opportunity to something. So, they use this witchcraft method to get ahead or project themselves as a better alternative to other people.
Manipulation: This witchcraft method is used to sway people into a certain feeling or action. It is all about making people act or feel in a certain way by playing through their emotions or psyche. It often involves a careful plan and execution for the person been manipulated to fall into the trap by using baits which may be a reward or gift as the case may be.
Seduction: This witchcraft method make use of things to attract or tempt people to behave or act in a certain way. It is a witchcraft tool used by women to lead men on. Sexual intercourse is always the bait women put on the ground to get this method to work. Joseph almost fell into this witchcraft method when his master’s wife seduced him.
The thing about witchcraft methods is that two or more of the methods are usually employed to carry out witchcraft operations. Take, for instance, Delilah used deception, manipulation, and seduction to track down Samson and render him powerless. Deception because she was telling lies that his enemies are coming each time he gave her a secret to deceive her as a source of power and the fact that she was not interested in knowing the secret of the power because of love but to bring him down. She manipulated him by making him believe that she truly loved him and that is the reason she must know all about him. She balanced her deception and manipulation with seduction through intercourse.
Sometimes, witchcraft practice is done in phases. What this means is that they may start with a method and gradually graduate to another method depending on what is at stake. For instance, a witchcraft user may start with deception and after deceiving people over a long period of time that he has had them to himself, he may move to the next level to keep them attached to him. That next level can be intimidation and manipulation where he can make them believe and fear leaving him. This is done by some Pastors where members are held in bondage in their minds as though if they leave the Pastor, their lives will be destroyed or evil will happen to them.
It is worthy of note that you don’t necessarily need to use demonic powers to achieve these things to qualify for witchcraft. As you can see in the case of Delilah and Samson, there was no divination involved, it was all about being strategic with these methods. This means any random person can master these methods and use them leveraging the psyche and interest of people. This was the case with Delilah and Samson. Samson loved women, and that was the leverage the Philistines took advantage of to cause issues. It means that witchcraft can be carried out with or without the use of demonic powers to power these identified witchcraft methods.
How to know if you are a victim of witchcraft
Knowing whether or not you are a victim of witchcraft is very important. It is the first step to being liberated if you are. Whenever anyone is under a witchcraft attack, there are certain things that you are likely to experience in your life. The presence of these things is a clear indication that you are under witchcraft operations. You will need to rise up and stop them before things get out of hand. Here are eight things that show you that you are under witchcraft attack;
Discouragement: This is the loss of enthusiasm or excitement, especially about things of God or purpose for your life. If you suddenly notice that nothing excites you anymore or things that used to excite you about God’s purpose for your life lose value or importance to you in a way that you are discouraged about it. This is most likely a witchcraft attack to stop you from achieving the goals that God wants you to achieve for the kingdom. This is what happened to Elijah after he heard what Jezebel said she would do to him. He was so discouraged that he wanted to die.
Confusion: This is when one loses sight and touch with the understanding of things. Sometimes, it can mean that everything is clustered together and you can identify or distinguish things or clear with what next to do. It is a sign that you are under witchcraft attack especially if it is on things that you were once sure of what God says or expects you to do. The devil always uses confusion to destroy people and their purpose in life.
Depression: This is a complex that deals with people’s feelings affecting the way they feel about themselves. This may include feeling lonely, worthless, etc. Sometimes it can be suicidal. If you begin to get depressed about the things of God and your purpose, you are most likely under a witchcraft attack. This feeling may come because of a lack of results as expected. David, Jonah, and Elijah struggled with depression at some point in their lives too.
Loss of Vision: Another thing that can signify being under witchcraft attack is the loss of vision. Which is when a person loses focus on the goal that God wants to achieve through them. That may be because of several attacks or loss of interest. Sometimes, people wake up to find out that they no longer have the drive for any goal in their ministry after some years. At such times, you may see them working against the vision they once communicated to be pursuing in their ministry. It is a witchcraft attack to discredit that ministry.
Disorientation: This means the loss of sense of direction or not knowing what to focus on anymore. The devil is a master game player, he can use a lot of things to make people become disoriented in their ministry or things of God just to keep it at a halt. This includes people losing out on who they are in Christ, what they stand for, and what they are meant to do for the kingdom especially when they have once worked in this knowledge before.
Despair: This is the lack or absence of hope. It is a state where people no longer have any need to have faith in God, a course, or their purpose. This state of the mind is sometimes accompanied by fear. There are several people who do not believe or have faith in a better tomorrow. Elisha’s servant despaired when he saw the people coming to attack his master. The same thing with the children of Israel faced the red sea and Pharaoh’s chariot was coming behind them.
Defeat: Defeat is another thing that may signify that you are under a witchcraft attack. Getting defeated is not the issue, it is how that defeat is handled. There are two sides to this; one is the actual defeat and the other is feeling defeated. There are people that are not defeated but feel like being defeated. The latter is a witchcraft attack out rightly while the witchcraft for the former preys on what to do after a defeat. You need to remember that God can lose a battle to win a war. So, don’t allow the witchcraft attempt via this.
Withdrawal: This is when people take themselves off what God has for them or things of God. Sometimes without any reason and it may be for the flimsy of excuses that you can ever think of. All they want to achieve is to get out of God’s things or the purpose God has for them. When it happens in any of the stated ways above, it is a witchcraft attack and you must rise to do something about it as soon as possible. It can also mean that the devil wants to use it to separate a Christian so as to destroy him. This is because the devil knows there is strength in the togetherness of brethren in Christ.
Remedy for Witchcraft
Being attacked with witchcraft is not really the problem. The issue is how you handle the attack. Witchcraft attack does not signify the end for anyone except the person who accepts that it will happen like that. We must know that the devil will attack, it is our duty as Christians to resist the devil and fight from the point of victory that Jesus has given us already. This means that there is a remedy for anyone who may be under a witchcraft attack. In this piece, we shall describe three major remedies for witchcraft.
Discernment
Discernment is the divine ability to distinguish between divine and demonic. With discernment, you can be able to tell when something wrong is going on while it seems right. For all Christians, discernment is a tool that we all must strive to have and use appropriately. How is discernment a remedy? Well, with discernment, you will be able to deduce the operations of demonic in your life. There will be an understanding that the things happening is not of God. Once you get this spiritual alert, the next thing is to seek out what exactly is wrong. Discernment is a means to an end because it will alert you that the happenings in your life are not of God. What you do with that spiritual notification depends on you.
Control Your Appetite
When it comes to the attack or operations of witchcraft, one’s appetite must be checked and put under control. If not the enemy will take advantage of it to prosper the witchcraft attack on one’s life. If you do not find a way to silence your appetite, it will be used as bait to ensnare you in the witchcraft attack. The consequence will not be good. Prevention is better than cure so as not to live with regrets. That was what happened to Samson. Imagine if he had controlled his appetite for women, he won’t be falling in love with the daughter of the enemy in the first place. This is more of a preventive measure rather than a remedy but it is important to keep this in mind.
Prayer
In Christianity, prayer cannot be overemphasized. It is needed for everything as far as you want to succeed in the Christian race and life generally. Once you detect you are under a witchcraft attack, you must brace up to pray. With prayer, you can end any attack on your life and send back all evil arrows to the sender. Prayer is both a preventive and a remedial tool to stop witchcraft in your life. So, pray against all forms of witchcraft that may be present in your life. Make sure the prayer points are direct.
The effect of prayer on witchcraft
Since prayer is the main remedy for witchcraft, you need to understand how prayer works on this issue. This is because if prayer is not well done, the issue will persist until it is too late when the satanic agenda must have been realized. The effect of prayer on witchcraft can be seen in many ways. First, it turns on our spiritual sensitivity with which we can be able to sense the actual source of the witchcraft and the method used. With this, we can be able to pray the exact prayer points to unseat powers that be used in enhancing the witchcraft attack.
Prayer opens us up to the revelation that will equip us with the knowledge and insight to fight witchcraft. Battles like that of witchcraft is better fought with insight and revelation. Spiritual battles can continue as long as the cause and the enhancer remain secret. But with revelation and spiritual insight, we can know what prayer to pray and steps to take to end the witchcraft. This is by far the greatest impact prayer affords us when the issue of witchcraft.
Conclusion
Conclusively, witchcraft is the use of emotion, psyche, or spiritual power to make people feel or do something in order to achieve an objective. This objective is often detrimental to the person being attacked with witchcraft. Sometimes bait is used in the process to get the person to act, speak, or react. In any case, prayer can be used to end witchcraft. More importantly, it is not out of place to use prayer to prevent operations of witchcraft even before it comes. Remember that you don’t have to go through the pain and bad consequences that witchcraft can bring. Let your altar be hot so that it can burn off every shaft of witchcraft that the enemy may want to throw into your life.