When the Struggle Is Not Against Flesh and Blood
A reported account of one minister's early encounter opens a study on how Scripture frames the unseen conflict believers are called to face.
Christianity Today reports that Jake Kail, then 22, says he encountered his first demon in 2005, while praying downstairs with a troubled visitor in his family's Pittsburgh home. Accounts like this unsettle some readers and steady others. Scripture does not settle the argument for us, but it does give us a frame.
Paul writes to the church at Ephesus: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). The claim is sober, not sensational. It names a real conflict without inviting us to obsess over it.
The instruction that follows is practical. "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Ephesians 6:11). Notice the posture: stand. Not pursue, not provoke. Stand.
Today, read Ephesians 6:10-18 slowly. Where in your ordinary week are you asked simply to hold your ground? What does being "strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10) look like there—not in dramatic terms, but in patience, prayer, and truth?
The full report is at https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/10/deliverance-ministry-demons-jake-kail-charismatic-influence/
Sources
- The Traveling Minister on a Quest to Fight Demonic Oppression — Christianity Today
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