We, being the frail little things that we are, have problems. In fact we have problems in places we didn’t even know there were places. One of the problems we are rather attached to is fear. We are afraid of the unknown, of rejection, of change, of death, pain and failure. In most cases the fear goes unchallenged. But the biggie is the of fear that is other-worldly. It is identified as a spirit of fear. That one must be challenged and defeated. It is pervasive, like a wind, and often accompanies demons. It was a component in this story of deliverance from Rod Canner

A New Mary
by Rod Canner

I hadn’t even heard about demons and exorcism, that is until a warm Summer night in 1972. I was twenty-two, new to Christianity and living in Nampa, Idaho. I was sharing a bedroom with another fellow on the second floor of an old three-story yellow house that accommodated several other new Christians. It was run by a gray haired, kindly old man and his wife, who lived on the first floor. We called them “Mom” and “Pop.”

My roommate,*Bob, had by the grace and power of God overcame homosexuality. Like Bob, most tenants were there because they needed help. I remember meeting an older man there who had served time for murder.

One of the worst cases was *Mary, who lived down the hall from us. On that Summer night, about midnight, I awoke with an eerie sensation of something evil lurking in my room. I began to feel a coldness like an invisible mist infusing the room, penetrating through my entire being. Within a few seconds, a terrifying scream came from Mary’s room. The ravenous feeling of fear surrounded me. Something sinister was in the yellow house.

“Bob,” I said, "Did you hear that?" But Before he could answer there was a commotion from mom and pop’s room downstairs. Pop was on his way upstairs to see what was wrong. Bob and I rushed into the hall to see what was happening, just as Pop turned on the lights. He entered Mary’s room with us on his heels.

By then everyone in the house was up and wondering what to do, for they all felt an evil chill. Pop, had never dealt with demons before, so he called Pastor Bud, who owned the house. Then he explained what was going on.

Within a half an hour, the pastor and his wife arrived and went straight to Mary’s room. They quickly took control of the situation. They held Mary down to keep her from hurting herself or anyone else, and began commanding the demons, in the name of Jesus, to come out of her. Mary was writhing and kicking in rage, defying them, yelling curses while the rest of us looked on in horror There was no doubt, the battle was with supernatural evil forces!

After a few minutes, I left, retreating down stairs and out onto the front porch where several others from the house had gathered to wait out the deliverance session and pray.

At one point I looked into the living room and I saw what looked like an outline of an invisible cloak-like figure heading up the stairs, sort of gliding. I thought perhaps it was a demon that had been cast out of Mary and was looking for a new place to live.

Some time later, an atmosphere of peace began to settle over the house. Nearly two and a half hours after the battle began, Mary walked out of the front door onto the porch. I have never seen anything like it before. She had an angelic, heavenly glow and sweetness of spirit that would rival the most cherubic infant. The very presence of God was all over her. It was a pitch black night, but Mary gave off some sort of supernatural light. The demons were gone, and the Holy Spirit had moved into Mary, replacing the evil spirits that had been driven out.

I will never forget that night. It remains one of the most terrifying nights that I have ever been a part of. I would never again question whether or not demons were real. They are as real today as they were in the days of Jesus!

About a year after Mary’s demonic deliverance, I bought a little puppy. One day shortly after bringing the little fellow home, I tied a short rope to his collar and tied the other end to a post. He barked, squirmed, growled, and pulled at that rope until I thought he was going to kill himself. I began to command a spirit of rebellion to come out of that dog, but nothing happened. The little puppy just continued to pull at that rope which was fastened to his collar. I thought the dog was going to choke himself to death so I finally let him off the leash. Apparently the real problem was me and my short rope contending with basic doggie nature.

You see, we can get overly demon minded if we’re not careful. Even though they are real, there can be a temptation to demonize everything that comes against us. The need is for wisdom—wisdom to recognize our habits and our propensity to grasp for formulas. Still, the other kinds of fear . . . they also concern me. Which are reasonable, and which are faithlessness?

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