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CASTING OUT DEVILS
At a meeting in Chicago there was a woman possessed with devils, and wanted to be delivered. Seven ministers, four men and three sisters, were working with her for over an hour but without apparent success. We tried to lay our hands on her but the devils in her would kick our hands away. Big knots came out on her body, on her shoulders and neck the size of a good sized apple. Then we ministers withdrew for a consultation among ourselves—to see whether the hindering cause in casting these devils out, lay in us, among ourselves—to be assured of complete unity and agreement in our midst: And we found that there was perfect unity. That being the case, we said, "We must have the victory, the evil spirits must go." We went back to the woman and worked, prayed and rebuked the enemy for nearly three hours, all to no avail.
Then one brother said, "There must be someone in the chapel sympathizing with her." We began a search looking everywhere to find where the trouble was and behind some folding doors in the prayer room we found a man. Brother Knight said to him, "What are you doing here?" He said, "Can't I stay here?" But he was told to leave forthwith and he went. We then locked the doors of the chapel and in a few minutes the woman was delivered.
She was obliged to go home as her husband went to work at four o'clock in the morning, but he came back the next day and was gloriously saved.
Another case of demon possession happened in Grand Forks. During a meeting we were holding there, a man came to the service who formerly had taken his stand with the church, coming out of a certain denomination, but before long he returned to it again. When he came to the meeting we were holding he was possessed. In one of the services Brother Krutz and I attempted to lay hands on him: He was kneeling at the altar with his back to the pulpit and he was taken up bodily and thrown upon the rostrum against the wall behind the pulpit. I ran after him and the devil said to me, "Now, it will go with you as it did with the seven sons of Sceva." I rebuked the devil and when I got to the man he turned over on his back and slid, head first, off the rostrum toward the seats, knocking his head against the seats until it seemed as though his skull would surely be broken.
I called for help. Eight brothers came and held him so that he would not get hurt. We laid hands on him and commanded the evil spirits to come out of him but they did not come. Then I asked them, "What is your name?" The answer was, "Salvation Army devil." Then in the name of the Lord Jesus we commanded the Salvation Army devil to come out of him. And when they went out it was with such a horrible scream that many women jumped up on their seats in fright and the man's shirt was torn and blood was running from his mouth and he fell on the floor as though he were dead. We let him lie there a little while, then, laying our hands on him, prayed and he came to. This man repented, made his confession and was saved.
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Bro. Drysdale of Grand Forks, who had a stiff knee, was prayed for several times, but got no help. However, in this meeting his limb became so limbered up that he could run up and down the steps like a young man. He got so happy that he forgot his cane and went home without it. On getting home he discovered he had left his cane behind and ran back to the chapel to get it, but when he got hold of his cane, his limb was as bad as ever.
When I was in Minneapolis with Brother E. G. Masters, a lady came to us to be prayed for. She was walking with two canes. She was prayed for and the Lord healed her. And she got around like a young woman. She went home forgetting to take her two canes—and they were beautiful canes! She came back to get them, but when she got hold of them she was just as crippled as ever, and no praying helped her.