She's Hearing Voices in the Night

Cinnamon is hearing voices in the night that she doesn’t understand and can’t explain. She explains, “Sometimes, I sit down. I’ll feel really calm, and I’ll start praying. And I feel I hear voices that call my name, “Cinnamon!” And I look around and there’s nothing there.”

She Feels Like She's Going Crazy

Cinnamon is a Christian but has some very creepy things happening to her. For instance, one night she went to bed very tired, but woke up abruptly and was wide awake. She saw a scary figure with glowing eyes and couldn’t move. Right after this happened, a girl in her ex-boyfriend’s family was murdered. She tried to talk to a friend about it, but her friend told her she was watching too much TV and needs to pray more. She also heard an audible voice that told her, “Get right with God!”

A Figure with Glowing Eyes

With the figure, I remember looking around in the room. It was dark, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the figure. I couldn’t pray. I feel ashamed to say that out loud. You know how when people are talking, you still have voices racing in your head. I was completely silent for the first time in my life. I was paralyzed and fixated on it. I remember once the light started coming out, it choked me.

To get to the heart of the matter, I asked Cinnamon some detailed questions:

Q: How are you doing now? Are you going to go to be afraid?
A: I’m a restless sleeper. I’m a very light sleeper because I’m afraid if I have a dream or something might happen when I go to bed. I’m afraid and I know I shouldn’t be.
Q: Do you live alone?
A: No, I live with my boyfriend and a roommate.
Q: So, you’re living with a guy?
A: Yes, two.
Q: Are you having sex with your boyfriend?
A: No.
Q: Do you sleep in the same bed?
A: No, we share the same house. He’s mainly working.
Q: So, he has his own bedroom?
A: Yes, he does. That might be part of a stronghold there.  This happened years before I met the guy I’m currently with now. We are planning on getting married and doing everything right by God.
Q: Is he a believer?
A: Yes, he definitely is a believer. He’s from Nigeria and they are really big on God and the gospel.
Q: When was the last time you had an attack like this?
A: About 3 years ago. I’m kind of sketchy about it. Sometimes, I sit down. I’ll feel really calm, and I’ll start praying. And I feel I hear voices that call my name, “Cinnamon!” And I look around and there’s nothing there. I feel like I’m going crazy. Is it like mental illness or what?

I would say this is spiritual warfare. It sounds like a spiritual attack from the evil one and his demonic followers. We need to clean your house out spiritually through prayer. And you need a plan of action when these things happen to you. Your Bible opens from verse to verse to verse and claim victory. Isaiah 53 would be outstanding.

Peer to Peer: Am I Going Crazy? Does This Happen to Other Christians?

Cinnamon wants to know if she’s going crazy and if this happens to other Christians. How can she deal with the figures and voices she’s hearing? Jesse, Michael, Kelsey, Melissa, Abbey, and David all called in to confirm to Cinnamon, she’s not going crazy, but it’s the devil attacking her. Each one of them also encouraged her on what to do about it.

It’s a Demonic Attack, The Devil Gets a Foothold Because of Sin – Jesse

Jesse – “Right now, I’m in a mental hospital. I’ve been here for 5 years this time. I got ahold of the book, The Bondage Breaker and that’s helped me immensely. I’ve got it right now in front of me. Some things it’s saying to me, is what the early church called demonic activity, we now understand to be mental illness. If I can, I’ll read just a little bit of it so you can get the gist. “Concerning the demonically disturbed Christian. This lady said, there’s no way his problem can be demonic. He’s a paranoid schizophrenic. And goes onto tell if primarily the devil and the secular psychology can’t figure it out, it’s because neither God nor the devil submit to their methods of investigation.” What I’ve learned from this is the devil gets a foothold in your life because of sin. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Put all your thoughts into subjection to the obedience of Christ.” What’s going on is a demonic attack.”

Work on Anything in Your Life that Goes Against God - Michael

Michael – “It sounds like something a friend of mine has gone through recently. He had an experience where’ll he’ll see a figure and have paralysis. I can’t speak for sure what the situation might be for you, but for him, he said there was some strong major sin in his life. He believes, after talking with a religious leader at his local church, that this sin is what brought in this demonic activity.

As he continues to go to God asking for forgiveness, it’s been getting better. So, I don’t know your situation, but if there is anything powerful, that’s against God, then if you work on that, maybe this will go away.”

Put Your Armor On, and Clean Your House Out– Kelsey

Kelsey – “I actually struggled from the same unfortunate fate. All I have to tell her is she’s at war. She has to get on her armor. She has to fight. I used to see shadows in the night and those types of things, and it scared me. It could be because of sin; it could be a number of things. God can answer that for her through deep prayer…spending time with Him every morning. In my opinion, she needs to go through her house and say, “Nothing evil is allowed in my house! In the name of Jesus Christ, GET OUT!” And it has to leave, it can’t stay, because darkness fears Jesus.

Since she’s at war, she can’t be afraid, because being afraid isn’t stopping it. I’m also afraid of sleeping. I don’t know why but he [the enemy] really penetrates in my dreams, and it scares me because I’m afraid these things are going to happen in my daily life.

I started to take Gaba, which is an anxiety medicine. It’s at food health stores, and it’s not a prescription or anything, and it helps. Take it in the morning and it helps calm you down. I also take Melatonin at night.

I have been tested. I’m not schizophrenic. I thought I was because I was seeing these shadow things, but I’m not. Yes, these things can call out to you, but there’s a voice that’s a smidge higher if you allow it. It’s God’s voice, focus in on that voice. Focus in on feeling overwhelmed with God’s love, joy, and happiness. Think about anything that is good and happy in your life.  Don’t be afraid, get your armor on, clean your house out, and He’ll clean out your heart.”

We Cannot Shack, God Only Honors Marriage– Melissa

Melissa – “My husband and I got saved when we were about 24, married at 24. Prior to that, I was going through some of the same things. I experienced the demonic activity in my home as well. There were 4 of them that held me down, and I couldn’t speak.

Well, I had gotten saved several times, going back and forth to the alter and it’s as if the Lord was saying, you are not going to play with me anymore and therefore the attack came in. So, for her to be claiming she’s a Christian, there’s a gap there somewhere where she’s not following through on what the Lord wants her to do. As the previous caller said, you have to clean your house out, but you have to get it in order first. So, that she’s living with the boyfriend, that has to cease. We cannot shack, God only honors marriage. So, move to another apartment. You can date but living together is not holy matrimony in the eyes of the Lord. Then go back and repent. Ask the Lord to forgive you and begin your walk over.

The demon that came after me, stopped immediately as I decided I was going to do and live as the Lord wanted. And things began to fall into place, I got married, had a child, and then we were elevated in ministry.”

Repeat to Yourself: “I’m a child of God.” - Abbey

Abbey – “I used to have horrible nightmares and I would wake up and be paralyzed, and when I looked up, a black thing would come at me and get closer and closer. I couldn’t yell. I couldn’t move. There was nothing I could do. I was terrified to go to sleep.

At 3:00 am I would go to other places, go stay with family because I was scared to sleep alone. Since then, I sleep with a Bible every day. I was listening to a lot of things I shouldn’t have been. I’ve changed my life quite a bit since then. The only thing that ever got it to stop and move away from me, I would repeat over and over again in my head, “I’m a child of God. I believe in God.

I’m going to heaven.” Then it would stop. Since then, it’s stopped. I have no type of mental illness or nothing like that. I think it was things I was doing in my life that I needed to change. The closer I’ve gotten to God, the better my life has been.”

Make Sure You are Right with God - David

David – “First and foremost, I’d like to encourage her, that she’s not going crazy. Hold onto what the word says in the book of Romans 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

On top of that, if you are going to go into battle, read Ephesians 6:13-17. He gives you the armor to do the battle. He won’t send you into a war without giving you the tools.

"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Particularly use the helmet of salvation. He paid the price. You have the salvation, and He protects you with that. There’s also the shield of faith. Let your faith be your shield. The Bible says the shield of faith can distinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one.

He’s throwing his darts at you, but remember your faith, remember your salvation in Jesus Christ. Remember that He loves you, that He died for you, that He took the beating, so you don’t have to. You do need to clean your house out spiritually. You do need to search your own heart, not for anyone else, but you need to make sure you are right with God. I guarantee you He loves you. I guarantee you; God will give you victory in this if you will be willing to stand up and hold fast to what he has for you.

Did Today’s Episode Get You Thinking?

The Bible says there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality in our lives. So, Melissa got it right when she said, Cinnamon and her boyfriend shouldn’t be living together. Even if she’s not having sex with him, she’s giving the appearance of it, and that’s enough to get a stronghold going. The question for Cinnamon is will she obey or not obey God. She says she’s willing to!

A Few Additional Things to Do:

• When you sense this is happening, put on praise music. Demons hate praise music! So, find really powerful music that lifts up and praise the Lord.
• Every time you sense an attack – surrender your life to Christ.

What advice would you say to Cinnamon?

If you have been in a similar situation and/or have some wisdom to share…we’d love to hear from you. 

Resources for help with Spiritual Warfare:
Blog: Do Not Be Dismayed, God is With Us
Blog: Building Faith, How Prayer Helps Heartbreak
Blog: God Wants to Hear from You, How to Pray
Blog: 10 Reasons to Wait for Sex Until Marriage
Podcast: EP 42: How to Avoid Sexual Temptation as a Christian?
Need to talk to someone? Chat with a HopeCoach at TheHopeLine.