Q&A: Why Do I experience Demonic Attacks More When I pray?

Sisters, we received a question from one of our sisters through the Question and Answer form, and we’re going to take some time to address it now because it’s very important and very timely.

If you don’t know about the Question and Answer form yet, simply scroll down to the end of any page on the blog. You’ll find a section where you can drop your questions. Please feel free to use it. Your questions help us all grow, because many times, one sister’s question is the answer another sister has been silently searching for.

So today, we’re going to be responding to one of those questions.

 

The Question

This occurrence has been happening to me before now but it became somehow consistent during this ‘Activate’ season. After prayer sessions, I will find myself close to or being oppressed by a demon while asleep. At these times, the Name of Jesus has been my ultimate defence and antidote. Please, ma, I am wondering why this occurrence.

 

The Answer

Our sister’s question can be understood in many ways, and that is part of why it is such a good question. Why do demonic oppressions seem to become louder during intense prayer seasons? Why does resistance rise when hunger for God deepens? Why does warfare increase the moment we press more intentionally into God?

Thank you so much, sis, for asking this. It is an honest question, and many sisters have felt the same thing but did not know how to put it into words.

I trust God to break it down into sizeable bits for us all to understand, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

Helpful Everyday Examples

Let me explain it using everyday examples first, so it settles well in the heart.

Take exercise for an example. When someone decides to start exercising after a long time, the first few days can be painful. Muscles would ache. The body feels sore. Sometimes it even feels worse than before you started. But that pain is not a sign of harm. It is not a sign that the exercises are bad. It is a sign that something dormant is being awakened. Ayaaaa! If you stop because of the pain, you lose the progress, and in many cases, you end up worse than where you began.

And what about hunger? When someone has been very hungry for a long time and suddenly eats, the stomach can hurt badly. It would come as if the person would die. The pain comes not because food is bad, right? It is because the body is adjusting to what it has been deprived of. And the solution is not to stop eating forever, but to eat wisely and continue.

Or take malaria treatment as another example. Often, the first few days of medication feel worse than the sickness itself. Yet that does not mean the medicine is failing. Does it? No. It means the treatment is confronting what has been living comfortably in the body. The thing is resisting, and the treatment is also resisting.

I am using these physical examples because God allows us to understand spiritual things through physical realities like these. That is why you would see Jesus use many parables to pass His lessons down.

 

A Real-Life Testimony

There was a sister who had a very painful and frightening experience that had gone on for years. Each time it happened, it led to miscarriage. Almost immediately after that experience, she would lose the pregnancy. Eventually, she gathered the courage to confide in me, and my heart was deeply touched.

As I prayed and sought the Lord, I was led to give her a specific prayer guide to follow for a number of days. I told her exactly what to pray and how to stay consistent. Some time later, when I checked back to see how things were going, she told me the prayers were going well. But she was very scared, because almost as soon as she started praying seriously, the experience became worse. What used to happen once or twice in the night suddenly doubled. The intensity increased.

She was tired. She was frightened. She felt overwhelmed.

I told her very plainly that she could not afford to stop. I told her she needed to stand strong and fight through. I explained that this resistance was not out of place. Something was trying to stop her from carrying life. Something was trying to keep her bound and prevent her from stepping into glory. And when captivity senses escape, it reacts.

At first, she struggled to take this seriously, because the experiences were genuinely terrifying. But by the grace of God, my husband and I did not stop praying for her. We stood with her consistently. And eventually, she gathered strength and returned fully to prayer.

Glory be to God, the experiences began to reduce. They lost their power. They were finally cut off. And she was able to conceive and carry life.

 

Why Resistance Increases When You Begin to Break Free

This is often how the enemy operates. The moment he senses that someone is about to break free, he reacts aggressively. He tries to intimidate, to exhaust, to scare the person into stopping.

Have you read the God Actually Wants You in Captivity post? Read it prayerfully and you will see clearly how the enemy works when he feels he is losing control.

This is why we must be alert and strong. There is no neutral ground. It is either you are with God, or you are being held by Satan. Whenever resistance increases during prayer, it is often a sign that something is being challenged.

Whenever resistance increases during prayer, it is often a sign that something is being challenged.

So when you are praying against anger and suddenly anger flares up, understand what is happening. You are pulling yourself out of a strong man’s grip. And the strong man will not release you quietly. He will resist, because he does not want to account for the loss.

The devil assigns forces to monitor our lives, to ensure people do not become all that God intends. That is why escape is contested. But it is possible. And it is worth fighting through.

 

Don’t Relax at the Gate!

Many times, people finish praying and relax completely, not realizing the enemy is waiting at the gate with temptation, discouragement, mood swings, sadness, or strange attacks. These are reactions, sisters. Be aware. Don’t be in ignorance. The enemy sensed movement and he is standing up to resist it.

 

The Depth of Prayer

And sis, can you see how deep prayer is? You sit down, go on your knees, close your eyes, sing war songs, pray, quote Scriptures, and things are shaking. Ayaaaa. Things are breaking. They are moving.

Prayer is not a quiet activity in the spirit, iya mi. It is confrontation. It is alignment with God’s authority. When prayer is deep, it is felt. Chains feel it. Altars feel it. Strongholds feel it. That is why resistance rises. That is why noise happens. That is how you know something real is taking place.

Never despise those moments. They are signs that you are touching matters that matter.

 

It Helps You See Yourself in the Spirit

When you pray deeply and have these experiences, you begin to see yourself in the Spirit. Prayer reveals you to you. If in that encounter you feel overpowered, weak, unable to stand, unable to speak Scripture, shivering or hiding, it is to teach you. You immediately know this is an area that needs strength. This is where I must grow. This is where I must stay longer before God. Prayer exposes gaps to guide us.

Prayer reveals you to you.

And if, in prayer, you find yourself standing firm, speaking boldly, declaring Scripture, resisting and overcoming, then you also know something else. You are gaining mileage in God. Strength is increasing. Authority is forming. Capacity is being built. These encounters become mirrors. They show you your true spiritual state, not the one you assume, not the one people see, but the one that actually exists.

 

Gaining Spiritual Awareness and Discernment

Another thing prayer does is that it opens your understanding to reality. Many people live thinking life is only about daily comfort, food, laughter, small pleasures, and being liked. But when you engage in warfare, you begin to realize that this world is not neutral. There are enemies. There are strategies. There are forces actively working, watching, resisting, and attempting to devour. Scripture makes it clear, but many times it becomes real only when prayer opens your eyes.

As you grow, God may even begin to give you insight, according to your maturity, to inform you. You may suddenly know where an attack is coming from. You may sense that a battle is connected to your family line, your father’s house, your mother’s house, or a pattern that has been repeating. Sometimes specific directions come as clarity to you. This is what to pray about. This is where to stand. This is what to cut off.

The enemy often intends these revelations to threaten us. He wants fear. He wants retreat. But God, in His wisdom, uses the same moments for our good. He uses them to train us, to sharpen us, to focus our prayers, and to mature us. What was meant to intimidate us then instructs us.

 

Stand and Do Not Stop

So prayer does not only change situations. It changes our sight. It builds discernment. It matures the believer. It teaches you where you are, where the enemy is, and where God is calling you to rise to next.

And sis, you cannot avoid warfare in this life. Postponing it does not cancel it. What you avoid today will wait for you later. So the answer is not to fear or stop praying. When the enemy brings heaviness, pain, confusion, or temptation, that is not the time to withdraw. That is the time to stand. That is the time to pray more, not less. That is the time to speak loud, nay, roar.

Satan is not original. He works by intimidation and threats. Once you understand this, you stop being afraid. You recognize his reaction for what it is. You can say, “I see that what I’m doing is affecting you. In the Name of Jesus, I rebuke you.”

The Bible tells us that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. As the pressure increases, you keep praying. Yes, the enemy may intensify, but breakthrough belongs to those who endure.

Jesus Himself faced three levels of temptation before commanding Satan to leave. And Satan left.

The order is simple and sure. Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil. He will flee. He truly will. He wants you to stop. Do not stop. Resist him in prayers.

This is why Scripture tells us to keep on the whole armor of God, so that we can stand in the evil day, and after we have done all, still stand.

 

How to Overcome?

If you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, begin there. When pressure rises, speak in tongues. Do not analyze too much. Do not wait for feelings. Just begin to speak in tongues. It strengthens your spirit when your emotions are tired and your mind feels overwhelmed.

Make sure you are living right with God. Keep your heart clean. If you notice anything small, any attitude, any compromise, any place where your conscience is uneasy, do not ignore it. Go quickly to God. Make it right. Keep your conscience clear before God and before people. Righteousness gives you boldness. A clean heart gives you confidence in battle.

If the Holy Spirit points something out to you, respond immediately. Do not argue with Him. Do not postpone obedience. Let Him cleanse your conscience. Let Him realign you. That alignment matters more than you realize.

Then pray more. Pray again. And when you think you have prayed enough, pray some more. Prayer is not something you do once and stop. In times like these and always, prayer should be your atmosphere.

Get into the Word of God. This is very important. Many things we use are defensive. They protect us. But the Word of God is offensive. It is for attack. This is how Jesus responded to Satan. He did not panic. He did not negotiate. He said, “It is written.” Over and over again. That is why you must know the Word. You cannot use what you do not know.

 

That is why you must know the Word. You cannot use what you do not know.

 

Also, when the enemy comes, do not be afraid of him. He is reactive. He reacts when you move forward. Take the Word of God and use it against him. Speak it out loud. Stand your ground. There is even a place where you laugh at him in confidence, knowing that he is already defeated.

And remember this. You are not alone. Your Father is there. You can trust Him. When the storm rises, do what the disciples did. Reach out to Jesus. He will come. He will step into the situation. He will calm the storm on your behalf.

So stay clean. Stay prayerful. Stay in the Word. Stay bold. And do not stop.

 

Let Us Pray:

Father, I lift up this sister and every woman who has read this post before Your Throne. You see them. You know them. You know the battles they have fought in silence, the fears they have carried, and the tears they have shed.

Oh my dear Lord, I plead, let Your hand rest upon them now in the mighty Name of Jesus. Where the enemy has tried to intimidate, discourage, or wear them down, release fresh strength upon them in the Name of Jesus. Where battles have intensified as they began to pray, let divine breakthrough and succour follow in the Name of Jesus. Let no one who has read these words retreat from warfare in fear. Let courage rise inside of them that they may become warriors instead in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Father, please cover this sister especially with Your wings. Strengthen her heart. Steady her mind. Guard her sleep. Let every attack lose momentum over her life in the Name of Jesus. Let every resistance collapse under Your authority. Let her know, deeply and assuredly, that You are with her and You have not abandoned her.

For everyone who has read this post and recognized their own struggle in it, Lord, meet them where they are. Teach them to cleanse their consciences by the Blood of Jesus and obedience to You. Restore confidence. Rekindle hunger. Renew their prayer strength. Let the Word come alive in their mouths and become a weapon in their hands.

Father, teach their hands to war and their fingers to fight in confidence and trust in You. Let them stand firm, pray through, and come out stronger on the other side.

I declare that no one reading this will be swallowed by the battle. They will overcome. They will endure. They will see Your faithfulness.

I seal this prayer with the Blood of Jesus, trusting You completely that You will do even more than I have asked and prayed, in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.