The Scriptures say, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Principalities and powers are two names or titles given to spiritual forces, along with authorities, and rulers. Depending on the version of the Bible being used, the words “principalities” and “powers” occur more or less frequently. The King James Version and its derivatives use the words most frequently. Principalities and powers can mean demonic forces themselves or their agents.
Below are examples of principalities and powers at work. They are testimonies of Pastor E.A. Adeboye.
Attacked Overseas
There is this testimony of a young man who was the first person in his extended family to study abroad. He threw a party because it was a great thing in those days to go abroad to study.
At the party there was plenty to eat and drink. But one member of the family was bitter. He said, “So the son of so and so is going abroad to study, alright let’s give him something to carry.”
He truly gave him something to carry in the form of a spiritual attack.
As soon as the man arrived overseas, a little pain developed in his stomach which started off like a joke, but the pain got more and more severe. He went for medical treatment but they found nothing wrong, yet the pain persisted. He suffered throughout his stay abroad, completed his studies – obtained a PhD – and returned to the country to become a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
But the fire in his body kept on burning until somebody told him to come to the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
I remember we were having a programme in Ibadan and he travelled from Zaria, in Kaduna State to attend the programme. But you know the devil is very cunning. As soon as the devil knew he was going to find deliverance, he did everything to block the young man’s way. From Zaria to Ibadan, it took him four whole days. He came on the very last day of the programme. We prayed for him and asked him to wait and listen to the message. As the sermon was going on, he jumped up and started shouting “It’s gone, it’s gone!”
He didn’t care about his status. It is when you don’t have a miracle that you can’t shout “Halleluyah.”
The Devil’s Price
There was a member of the church, who was a baker. He has gone to be with the Lord now. Before he became born again, he was asked if he wanted his bread to be the most popular bread in the city and he said yes. The person gave him something to bury behind his bakery and watch.
The moment he buried the thing, it was as if there was no other bread in the city of Ibadan. People patronised only his product, unless otherwise his was sold out. However, despite his successful business, at least once in a week, there was fire outbreak in his house.
After a while, he tried to find out what was causing the fire outbreak. Although money was coming in but the fire outbreak caused him to lose a lot also. In other words, as the money was coming in, it was also depleting. It was then that somebody asked him whether he had any covenant with the devil. He promptly gave his life to Jesus Christ. When you get help to from the devil, it will surely come at a price.
The Husband-Wrecking Wife
A man brought his wife to me one day and said, “Pastor, my wife is a witch.”
The woman replied, “Don’t mind the foolish man; who is a witch?”
I said, “I’m not minding him, I’m talking to you. How can your husband prosper if you are a witch? And what do you want to gain if your husband is wretched? Why do you want your husband to keep on suffering?”
I said, “If you are a witch and you refuse to confess, God has given me enough power to bind that thing in you. I want you to know that if I bind the snake that is in you, it won’t be able to go out. So it will have to eat where it is and defecate there. And that will be trouble for you.”
She said, “Do whatever you want, I’m not a witch.”
“Do you want me to pray,” I asked.
She said, “Go ahead.”
So, we prayed.
Three months later, when they brought her back, she was as a big as a balloon because the demons had been defecating in her and eating her.
Aborted Breakthroughs
A young man came to us for prayers because he said anytime he was about to achieve greatness, something would happen to stop it. Just at the point of success, something would happen and he would miss it. He thought it was normal until one day, he got a call from Abuja, “Congratulations, you have won the contract. Come and collect the papers.”
“Ah, thank God. A breakthrough at last!” He said.
He went to Ikeja airport, Lagos, and boarded a plane to Abuja.
While he was on the plane, the chairman of the company called the person in charge of the project and asked, “Wait a minute. Have we awarded such and such a contract?”
“Yes sir, we have awarded the contract,” he replied.
But the chairman said, “No, no, no, cancel it.”
Without knowing all that, this man arrived Abuja and went straight to the office, rejoicing.
On arrival there, the man who had invited him said, “Sir, the contract was awarded, that was why I called you, but I’m afraid it has been cancelled.”
It was at that stage the young man decided he needed help. And when he told us his story, we knew at once that it was not ordinary; that there was a curse involved. So we prayed together and his fortunes changed. The next job he was offered was not taken away from him and now he has plenty of work to do.