When a Demon Attacked My 2-Year Old, I Taught Him to Fight Back!

“Sumthin biten me, Mommi, sumthin biten me, come ere”!

Fear gripped my heart being awakened by hearing these words from my two-year-old son at three o’clock in the morning. This was night number three; nights one and two were the start of a long journey into the school of spiritual warfare for my family. During that season, sleep had become a thing of the past, a priceless commodity, and something I truly needed.

My exhaustion was exacerbated by being about four months pregnant, and the events that were taking place sent my Type A personality, where things need to add up, swirling. My son had experienced nightmares in the past, but never to the point where he was waking up with actual marks and scratches on his tiny arms—not inflicted by him, of course. This was new to me, overwhelming and extremely scary. It was the horror film people go see for entertainment except this was nowhere close to funny.

I kept thinking of movies I had watched in the past of haunted houses and wondered if that was our present reality. Even exploring this as an option just swung wider the already open door of fear in my life. The facts were: we just moved into this home; never had any issues before; I knew the owners who were God-fearing people so as far as I knew; it wasn’t given over to anything dark in nature; besides, even if it was, my husband and I were saved and Spirit-filled Christians, so we should be covered and unable to get attacked like this, right?

What cause does the enemy have to attack a defenseless two-year-old child anyway? What did my son ever do to him? So many questions flooded my mind in an attempt to rationalize what was really happening. I remember thinking, This is just so unfair! There’s got to be rules against this kind of thing; and if there are, where can I find them?

Still grappling with the idea that this was a spiritual attack, I quickly grabbed the most logical concept I could think of. I remember thinking, Maybe it’s not even the enemy, maybe it’s something he ate or some kind of allergic reaction; after all, the devil does get blamed for every little thing anyways. No matter how much I tried to rationalize what I was seeing and sensing, I knew deep down in my heart that what we were experiencing was not caused by some kind of allergic reaction. An allergic reaction could never create the dark atmosphere I was sensing during those nights or be the cause of the terrified reactions my two-year-old was displaying.

Day Three

Extremely exhausted, I stumbled out of my bed and followed the tiny little finger pointing me to his bedroom for the third night in a row. As I was following my son to his room, his eyes were trying to communicate that there was something in there. I have to admit, seeing this wide-eyed two-year-old’s fearful anticipation made me even more afraid. I’m the kind of person who literally over-dramatizes almost everything, so the movie screen of my mind was going ballistic.

Growing up, I hated even hearing adults have conversations about demonic activity or casting out demons. Just hearing the stories would almost guarantee a nightmare about what was spoken. Ever since I was little I used to have unwanted dreams that I was casting out demons or waring against them in some capacity. Outside of my dream life, I was never exposed to any natural understanding of this concept, so it was not only foreign but way too over the top for me to handle. I always told myself that was a ministry I would never get into.

Little did I know almost fourteen years later I would be writing a book on equipping others on how to combat the works of the enemy in their and their children’s lives. This in itself is a revelation because I believe that the enemy gets wind of certain individual’s gifts and calls very early on; and if he can sow a seed of fear to detour that ministry, then he assumes, mission accomplished. He forgets that God’s Word says, “All things will work out for their good,” even the pain of torment.

Those yesteryears are the catalyst that fuels my passion to tell as many people as I can that the enemy is the world’s biggest flimflammer! Here’s the definition for readers who are like, Flimflammer? Huh? Flimflammer: a trick or deception, especially a swindle or confidence game involving skillful persuasion or clever manipulation of the victim. A piece of nonsense; twaddle.

Night Three Continued

Knowing I couldn’t abandon the little person I loved so much in his time of need, I mustered up enough strength to go through the same motions that I did on nights one and two. I turned on his room light, looked under his bed, and opened his closet doors just to prove to him that he was having another horrible dream and that nothing was really in his room. I prayed over him, tucked him in, and said good night, again.

Ugh! Day three’s events continued to days four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and finally to night ten! Sometimes the same things would happen two to three times in a night. One night I remember saying good night to him at least four times. I was exacerbated and completely out of options. I was tired beyond explanation and totally felt alone in this fight. I finally came to a place of complete desperation and felt like I needed some help before I went off the deep end.

Teach His Hands to War

As a result of all the stress, lack of sleep and tears, I remember on day ten crying so hard I got a pounding headache. Has that ever happened to you? In the middle of this pity party and having no more tears to cry, I remember sitting there simply quiet. I was quiet long enough to hear a voice, a still small one, whispering, “Why are you lying to him?”

Huh? Yup, that was my reaction. Then I thought, Wait, after all these days of torment, that’s the most comforting thing You can think of to say to me? Like a good Father, He wasn’t pulled into my tantrum, He simply proceeded as if I never lashed out, and He simply said, “There is something in his room.”

“God, what do You want me to do, tell my two-year-old son that there are monsters in his room”?

“No! Teach his hands to war,” was God’s response. I think my whole body shuttered hearing those words. It felt as if time stood still at that very moment.

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1 NKJV).

You may be cheering and clapping or perhaps this scene may remind you of a good scene from a movie you watched, but that was NOT my reaction. I was so angry, “WAR? Lord,” I screamed, “I thought You fight our battles. Why don’t you send Gabriel, Michael, or some other archangel to help us get rid of this thing attacking my child?”

I never felt so alone and ill-equipped to fight anything as I did that night. How can I teach something to my child I myself didn’t understand? Furthermore, how do you teach a two-year-old to fight and stand against an invisible monster that only saw fit to visit us in the middle of the night – like a coward!

Do Not Disturb, Class in Session

Being taught in the middle of the battle most definitely raised my level of attentiveness and eagerness for the instruction. I remembered asking the Lord for the words to say, my response after picking myself up off the floor was, “Okay, if You give me the words say, I will surely say them, but pleaseeee just teach me, so I can teach him.”

That night my spiritual warfare training commenced. We had a long road ahead of us; but to know that help was on the way gave me a spark of hope that my soul desperately longed for.

Immediately after this conversation I remembered purchasing a book a few months previously by well-known author Cindy Trimm, titled The Rules of Engagement. I hadn’t started to read it yet, but at that moment I felt like I needed to find it and read it. So I got up from the floor, grabbed the little book, and began reading out loud while walking the halls of my house. In and out of my son’s room I walked quoting the spiritual warfare prayers written on the pages of that small but mighty prayer manual.

I must have read those prayers for hours; first very quietly, scared, and timid. I was still afraid because I didn’t feel like I was walking those halls alone. I sensed a large, eerie presence hovering around. My overactive imagination didn’t help either by painting images of ugly things jumping out at me. All of this was new and oh so strange, but being a determined person by nature, I would not quit that night. I felt like I was on the verge of victory and knew for the sake of my son, I had to continue until there was peace.

Only God’s twins, grace and mercy, got me through those nights. I constantly reminded myself of the Scripture where God declared that He would never leave us nor forsake us.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV).

I wrapped my mind around these words until the greatest presence in my life was no longer fear and torment but rather peace and the loving arms of my Father.

Victory and Stillness

After hours of praying and declaring, I remember suddenly feeling a quiet peace, then a stillness evaded the room. It was finally still enough for me to go lay down and finally try to sleep. The next time I opened my eyes my two-year-old son was standing over me asking for something to eat.

Yes! It was morning and we made it through the night: Victory #1.

The battle was on after that night. I can’t tell you the night terror did not come back; it did, but when it did, I was better prepared. Through those attacks I learned how to pray on another level, declare the Word of the Lord, and teach my son that he had a host of heavenly help ready to be deployed on his behalf. During that season he learned the following two Scripture verses that just so happen to be two of his favorite Scriptures that he still quotes to this day:

No weapon formed against me shall prosper and every word that rises up against me I shall condemn (Isaiah 54:17, paraphrased).

God has not given us [me] the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

My prayers turned from “God, what is happening? Lord help me!” To, “Satan, I bind you and every demonic force that is attacking my child and home. You have no legal right or authority in our home, and I command you to go in the powerful name of Jesus Christ!”

Even though we claimed victory over that particular terror, somewhere within me I knew there were more battles to come. From that point on I began educating myself on spiritual warfare and how to strategically fight the enemy to ensure constant victory.

By no means am I professing to be a spiritual warfare expert or want to portray that my story is the only way to defeat the enemy. It is fourteen years later, and I am still learning new weapons of warfare. It’s been an amazing journey and have learned through biblical studies coupled with life experiences that as children of the Most High God, we have the authority to overcome every attack of the enemy that tries to infiltrate our lives.

I believe the Holy Spirit has prompted me to write a book for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and any relative or guardian who was or is in the same position I was in when my son was two years old. Small But Mighty is that book. As a parent or guardian, Small But Mighty will give you an understanding of spiritual warfare in a practical manner. This book will get you to a place where you are not making comments like the following regarding spiritual warfare, “Well maybe she/he should not have eaten that pizza after eight o’clock.”

There’s nothing worse than being attacked yourself, but another level of panic comes when one of your children is suffering. We owe it to ourselves and our children to learn how to combat the enemy if he comes. The Word says that the enemy’s purpose is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He is literally prowling around, seeking people to devour (1 Peter 5:8). including our children. The enemy does not care about the age of our children. If he can attack them while they are young and even in the womb, which we will talk about later, he most definitely will.

The enemy’s job is to prevent children from focusing on God’s love and purposes for them, to steal their destinies, and to potentially avoid getting his tail kicked later on in their adult life. The next time he comes to attack you or yours, you must be equipped and prepared for battle. You would never show up to a gunfight, gun-less, would you? Why do saints feel it is okay to live our lives without understanding our weapons of warfare—yet still expect to overcome?

The time of not knowing is over!

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (Ephesians 6:11-18 NLT).

Nine times out of ten when someone mentions the words “spiritual warfare,” Ephesians 6 will shortly be quoted afterward. I love to look at the Word of God as a diary heirloom handed down to generation after generation detailing eternal strategies on how to win daily. The Bible is very clear that if we do not put on the armor of God, we will not be able to stand firm against the wiles of the devil. There is no way around it, we must learn every piece of armor so well that putting it on becomes like second nature.

Teaching your children these spiritual concepts can be challenging, especially if they are younger, but every day is an opportunity for you to reinforce these concepts in their lives. The park, home, and the car are all classrooms. The idea is to constantly look for opportunities to share lessons that can be taught to your child during their everyday lives.

Sharee Dorsett