Can children of God be demonised?

When a demon takes over full control of a man, he is said to be possessed by the demon. But not all the attack of demons on people result in possession, the lesser forms of control being called demonisation (Bible Gk word 'daimonizomai' meaning troubled or vexed by demons). The general effect is loss of control in different areas of life, which can lead to possession ultimately. Having very little control of oneself in areas such as a hot temper, sexual obsession, drinking, etc., can be symptoms that indicate demonisation. As demons get more control, other symptoms develop such as scary dreams, seeing things move around in the room, lights going on and off, seeing scary beings, feeling choking, etc. These are warnings that say that possession is on the way.

Obviously, children of God who have the Holy Spirit in them cannot be also possessed by demons. So some people say that such people cannot also be oppressed by demons, because the Holy Spirit cannot live along with evil. But remember that while the Holy Spirit is in us, we also carry around a sinful flesh at the same time, from which lusts and desires tempt us to sin. So there the Holy Spirit is forced to live side by side with our lusts, just as He is in the world even as Satan is the prince of this world!

But we must know that if we are children of God, God has put a wall of protection around us, just as He did for Job. Satan could not touch Job, until God gave permission, each time with a limited scope. God may also give permission for Satan to attack us if He sees it is necessary for our testing.

What we have to be concerned about is that we can foolishly give permission to Satan from our side! The most common way is if we don't deal with sin as soon as we become aware of it. For example, if we become angry, and we continue in anger without repenting, we will be giving an access for demons to get a foothold in our life (Ep.4:26,27 NKJV). Another example is unforgiveness (2Co.2:10,11).

When people who were ardent idol worshippers turn to Christ, but they do not deliberately forsake such old connections with those deities, demons which have been operating behind those idols can still hold on (1Co.10:20).

If we participate in occult activities where people contact demons, such as ouija board, seances, black magic, consulting a psychic, witch, fortune teller, etc., aren't we opening ourselves directly to demons? Don't think you will be safe if you get into such things merely for fun.

But if we keep ourselves clear before God, no demon can get a hold over us. We cannot inherit a demon from our ancestors, unless we have participated with them in demonic vows or activities (Ez.18:20). We are the ones who choose for ourselves, and God respects us as individuals. We do not have to live in fear, but we do have to be careful with our life and also who we associate with. When we need a lifetime to get to know God more, can we be foolish and careless in this matter?