And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils. . . . — MARK 16:17

Almost twenty years ago, the Lord appeared to me in Rockwall, Texas, and laid the finger of His right hand in the palm of each one of my hands. Afterward, my hands began to burn as if they had a coal of fire in them. Then Jesus gave me instruction for ministering to the sick in those days. He said, “When you minister to the sick, lay one hand on one side of their body and one hand on the other side of their body.”

I would always lay my hands on the body wherever the problem was. If it was a woman needing ministry, I would have my wife help me. And if she wasn’t with me, some older women in the church would lay her hands on the woman’s body, and then I’d lay my hands on her hands.

Jesus said, “If the fire in your hands jumps from hand to hand, then there is a demon or an evil spirit in the body.” Notice that Jesus didn’t say the demon or evil spirit would be in the spirit; it would be in the body. And as I obeyed the Lord in ministering to the sick, I did find that on those occasions when an evil spirit was present, the fire would jump quickly from hand to hand like heat waves.

Now if I cast a demon or an evil spirit out of someone in a healing line, people would get all confused and walk away saying, “Why, that beats all I’ve ever seen! One of our Sunday school teachers had a devil in him,” or “One of the deacons had a demon in him.”

No, the devil can’t get in a Christian. The spirit, the inward man, is born again. A Christian can’t have a demon in his spirit. He could have one in his soul, because his soul—his mind, will, and emotions—hasn’t been renewed with the Word of God. He could start worrying and open the door to the devil. And certainly we know that a demon could get in and oppress a person’s body (although all diseases aren’t the work of an evil spirit). But a Christian can’t be demon-possessed.

Confession: I keep the door closed to the devil. I guard my heart and my mind. I meditate on the Word of God. I meditate on truth, not lies.