A Philosophy of Satanic Ritual Abuse Ministry
It is my belief that ministry to the satanically ritually abused needs to be totally Spirit-led. Ministry should flow forth out of faith in Christ and our oneness with Him. When I minister there are three persons present—the survivor, the Lord Jesus and me. Ministry to satanically ritually abused persons does not have to be difficult as long as we are called by God to the ministry. When we are called, we can trust that Jesus is with us, and as we pray, He will lead us. He is the one who will do the healing.
Probably most, if not all, Christian counselors who minister for SRA/DID would say they are led by the Spirit of God in ministry. However, since “Spirit-led” means different things to different people, I would like to clarify what I mean by the term “Spirit-led.” The best way to do this would be by illustration and example as follows.
When I am ministering to an abused person who has dissociated into several parts (MPD/DID), I ask the Lord Jesus to bring forth for ministry whatever parts of the person (alters) He chooses. He determines which parts I speak to, and He determines how many will present in any given ministry situation. This way I know I’m not breaking into the system in an area that is not ready for ministry where I could inflict damage. Neither am I overloading a deeply wounded person with more intervention than he/she is prepared for at that time.
I like to think of an SRA/DID person’s inner system of alters as being like a house of cards with booby traps dispersed throughout. If I decide where to minister, I might pull a card out from the foundation of the system and cause some structural damage. Jesus alone knows where the core persons and the original person are located. He alone knows when it is best for them to be found by me. Therefore, I do not purposefully go looking for them by asking probing questions of presenting alters. Sometimes they offer information without my having asked. I always consult the Lord before moving in that direction because there can be traps purposely set by the enemy to cause a well-meaning minister to inadvertently trip a booby trap that could send the person into extreme distress.
As each alter presents to me after having been brought forth by Jesus, my entire ministry is directed to that one specifically. He/she is the most important person in the system at that time, and he/she has needs that must be met. After ministering to the alters, Jesus either places them in a safe place within the inner structure of the survivor’s inner world or merges them. It is His decision when to merge, not mine. Then Jesus brings forth the next alter He has chosen for ministry at that specific time. This way I am not penetrating any area of the system that is not specifically targeted by Jesus because I am not making any of these decisions. The Lord is doing the work. Prayer is an important part of SRA/DID ministry. The Lord’s presence is very evident in supernatural ways that astound me. This is basically what I mean by “being Spirit-led.”
When Jesus is allowed to be completely in charge of the abuse ministry, demons only manifest at His discretion. I do not go looking for demons or try to make them manifest. Jesus brings them forth in His timing. In this way I know I can handle whatever comes because Jesus would not bring forth a demon for me to deal with if I were not fully equipped to do so. This gives me a sense of confidence and assurance in deliverance ministry. Sometimes I just ask the question, “Jesus, do you want us to deal with this alter’s demons now?” That’s all I have to say, and it either manifests or He indicates we have more to do before we deal with it. Sometimes I don’t even say that…Jesus just pushes it up at the right time without my having said anything.
This approach is very comforting for the wounded SRA/DID person who is already suffering from painful memories, possible nighttime demonic harassment, health problems and all the other difficulties faced by dissociative persons seeking help. The only demon battles they are forced to endure are those Jesus deems necessary.
Our power over the demons comes from oneness with Jesus not the specific words we say. The more we have allowed the deep working of the cross in our lives, the greater the power of Christ will be in us. Through this oneness we know when to pray and how to pray. He leads us in renunciations when they are applicable. This way our prayers are Spirit-led, and ministry can proceed quickly and efficaciously.
My approach to SRA ministry reminds me of something I learned growing up as a flutist. I was constantly preparing for musical performances. My preparation consisted of every kind of scale, scales in thirds and fourths, all manner of arpeggios and volumes of etudes. I devoured etudes. I did not spend nearly as much time on my concert pieces as I did on the basics. As a result of thorough preparation of the basics, my concert pieces came together under my fingers with ease.
I see SRA ministry as being like the concert piece. The time I spend in prayer, study of the Word and meditation with Jesus are like the scales and etudes. As a result of much time spent in His presence, the ministry flows with ease at His direction.
Those of us who minister for satanic ritual abuse or those who are sensing a call to this kind of ministry need to be very careful that the supernatural manifestations that are unavoidably part of SRA ministry do not distract us from our pursuit of Jesus. We can easily be led into enemy traps of studying occult literature, using human reasoning to find explanations for the phenomena we see, or allowing the time we could spend with the Lord to be wasted on learning about things that are best left to the Lord. A deep study of God’s Word, using a concordance, can uncover many secrets about the spirit world that can be learned in Jesus’ presence without contamination from the darkness of the occult world.
God’s loving concern for us is expressed in this passage from II Corinthians:
“I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor. 11:2, 3).
