“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Tim. 1:7

How many of you have ever felt overwhelming fear that seems to come from nowhere and is not based on anything that is a tangible threat?

I have experienced such a spirit several times. Though I can’t for certain say it was specifically a spirit of fear, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the spirit emanated a dreadful fear. There were instances when I could discern a spirit would enter my bedroom and I could feel the most intense fear. My heart would start racing like I was running for miles. The whole atmosphere would transform into a thickness of terror.

In my experience in deliverance ministry, the spirit of fear is one of the more common spirits that people deal with. They would have an irrational fear of things that they shouldn’t have.

The late Derek Prince, a deliverance minister, shared his experience dealing with the spirit of fear:

My release from demons has been progressive, perhaps because of my occult background and heritage. At times I have still had to seek the Lord for deliverance for myself. One of the enemies that has assailed me persistently is a spirit of fear that began in my childhood. In certain circumstances I would be gripped by fear. My stomach would tighten up, my body would grow tense and sometimes my face would turn pale, even though, by the exercise of my will, I could usually maintain outward control, so that people were not aware of the struggle going on inside me.

I remember vividly when I first experienced this kind of fear. I was nine years old, sitting on the back seat of a car going too fast down a steep incline. My whole body became tense, and suddenly I felt a tingling sensation in my feet that worked its way up my legs and seemed to settle in the pit of my stomach. We did not have an accident, but a spirit of fear entered me.

After I was saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit, these attacks of fear diminished but did not altogether cease. Once I came into deliverance, I knew what to do. I would call on the Lord and He would set me free. Yet somehow I did not immediately succeed in keeping my deliverance. In moments of physical or emotional weakness, when my spiritual defenses were weak, the spirit of fear would come on me unawares. As soon as I recognized its presence, I would once again claim and receive deliverance.

…In time I learned how to deal with this particular attack. Today, whenever I recognize the familiar symptoms of fear coming on me, I quote 2 Timothy 1:7; applying it personally: “God has not given [me] a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind[self-discipline].” Then I take my stand against the spirit of fear. When I do this, I am victorious. The spirit of fear can attack me from without, but it cannot enter me.

(They Shall Expel Demons, pgs. 79-80)

The following is another example of a person delivered from the spirit of fear by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Sometimes we are overtaken and overwhelmed by traumatic events.

At a conference on healing, I spoke with a schoolteacher who shared his deep fear of dying. He was in his early forties and, as far as he knew, he suffered from no terminal illness. None of his family had had such illnesses. The fear seemed to have come from nowhere.

As we continued to talk I noticed that he had a very slight stammer. When I asked him about this, he told me that when he was four years old he had been knocked down by a semitrailer. His first memory after the accident was of lying face up, underneath the truck, staring at its wheels. He felt terribly afraid and wondered if he had died. His stammer had emerged soon after that, and he had learned to control it only by concentrated effort. He found that he could not control it in times of pressure, when he would irrationally feel that he was going to die. His Christian faith was in constant difficulties, and he felt depressed at never seeming to “make it” in his Christian walk. He had asked for healing from this fear on a number of occasions, but nothing had happened.

It was then that we agreed that the power behind his fear was, in fact, a spirit which had used the accident to gain access to his life. A simple prayer of authority, commanding the spirit to be cast out of his life, was enough to release him from the persistent thoughts and feelings of death. His stammer virtually disappeared and did not return even in times of pressure.

(Russ Paker, Battling the Occult, pgs. 103-104)

Encouraging scriptures about dealing with fear:

“⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: ⁷ casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” – Psalms 34:4

“⁶ Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27

^“15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” – Romans 8:15

^“13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?¹⁴ But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;” – 1 Peter 3:13-14

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalms 27:1

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can receive Him into your heart, and He can deliver you from darkness and sin and have your name written in His Book of Life.

If you are sincere, you can say this simple prayer to the Father (it doesn’t have to be word for word):

“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. Please forgive me of all of my sins, just as I forgive others. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross, I believe in my heart Jesus is Lord and was raised from the dead and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I repent of my sins and turn to you. I ask this in the Lord and GOD Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”