Hi SI friends,

I have been alarmed by some recent revelations and would appreciate your insight. For the past 2+ years I have been training, preparing for work abroad for the Lord. During this time I have been staying in the places the Lord had opened the door. This has been with friends from church and small group and people God connected me with through Craig's List. 

I have struggled with covetousness and lust from a young age but there have been periods where I was certain I was free, after times on intense prayer, moving to a new location, after obediences that required a real death to self and upon receiving the Holy Spirit. When I received the Holy Spirit, He told me that I would be able to recognize people before they spoke by hearing what spirit was speaking to them. I thought this far off and beyond my understanding but took it by faith that it would come about along with other promises He made me. 

In the past couple weeks I have come to see that this has been already happening through things I have observed. I am currently renting a room from a lady twice divorced (both times not due to infidelity) who has recently begun a fast moving relationship that is quickly becoming physically intimate. For a month after moving in, I had no problems with lust or covetousness. It was a period of wonderful, beautiful freedom and joy. Then it started to hit me. I would be returning from work and a few miles out I would get overpowered by thoughts and feelings, physically and emotionally. I prayed, resisted the Devil, took thoughts captive and claimed the Blood of Christ but in the best case only to temporary victory. Often the morning brought defeat. 

When the new "friend" appeared on the scene, something felt wrong. It started by him bringing dinner to my sickly landlady which lead to movies to snuggling to dancing all night to sleeping on different parts of the wrap around couch to vacationing together. I wanted to speak about it to her but in prayer the Lord forbid me. So I asked if I could pray for her and He allowed me (I don't pray about something unless the Lord allows or prompts me to.) What I discovered in the next few weeks is that when I would get hit with lust and covetousness coming home or waking in the morning that it was linked to my landlady and her friend. I would find them snuggling upon my return or once even arriving to an unlit house late at night. When I made it inside they were suddenly in a well lit front room looking civil. 

Since I started praying for her against the Enemy to resist temptation, the oppression lifts. I may still come back to see him there but they leave the house soon thereafter. Just today, I took a long walk. As I drew close to house I felt a flood of those thoughts again and prayed. There was the man's vehicle in the driveway. I proceeded to make breakfast and in minutes they were gone. 

The previous three places I have lived presented similar experiences. The one before this, I rented a room from a windowed and then divorced friend who freely admitted to his struggles with lust but claimed freedom from Internet and other types of porn. I sensed he was still bound but was not allowed to confront him on it by the Holy Spirit. There were times where I would rebuke the spirits only to hear them reply that they were going to destroy me and would not leave. This friend started to court a multiple time divorcee who he eventually married and the attacks only got worse. 

The place before that, I was renting a room from a nominal Catholic couple who had lived together before marriage. While I was there she became pregnant and what had been a problem before became much worse. Once while the couple was absent for the weekend, I was flipping through the TV shows on their DVR and I found several pornographic films which made me sick. Here was the husband cheating on his wife during her pregnancy with porn. What kind of love is that?

When I first moved here, I stayed with a generous older couple (70+) from my cousin's church. They were very warm and welcoming. They fed and housed me as I got established in the area. Here too I had trouble. In their house they have two TVs that remain on most of the day and one late into the night. I don't get along with them very well spiritually but I love them dearly so I still visit them often. The husband and wife will watch their own programs in different rooms very often. One evening when I popped in unannounced (after moving out), I witnessed the wife quickly change the channel, startled at my arrival.  By this I knew her conscience was defiled and she been watching something she knew she should not. I sat with her a while and it hurt to see this. 

I am sure now that I have had this gift to discern spirits since I received the Holy Spirit but had no idea what it meant. I thought I wasn't learning anything about spiritual warfare but I was. I have seen this in other areas too. I think it would be good to open a discussion on how this gift works and functioned in our lives for the edification of the Body here on SI. 

Jeremy; the purpose of discernment is
to bring things {desires, feelings,
needs} that are not of GOD into the
light and to confront them with the
truth. Every hidden and secret thing
will be exposed and judged.
Take a stand for your beliefs, ideals,
convictions and remain true to them!
Be led by the Spirit and walk in the
Spirit and by faith you will overcome!!

_________________
Martin G. Smith

Thanks sojourner. You are right. I know that the Lord wants me confront my elderly friends but for the others He has told me to pray.