The signs people are usually given for a spiritual attack are things like conflict at home, a run of temptation or discouragement, doubt, trouble praying, feeling cut off, sleeplessness, nightmares, a heaviness that will not lift, and physical symptoms.
Each of those is also an ordinary human experience with ordinary causes. Anything in your body or your mind goes to a doctor or a counselor first, and prayer goes right beside that care. You can ask for prayer and book a doctor in the same week, and nobody is asking you to choose.
That order comes from the churches themselves. The USCCB, the Catholic bishops of the United States, says an assessment must determine "the true state of the person," and that only after "a thorough examination including medical, psychological, and psychiatric testing" might anyone be referred to an exorcist.
The Assemblies of God, in its 2019 paper Spiritual Warfare and the Believer, affirms "the reality of spiritual warfare" and says "the wise counsel of godly doctors, counselors, and psychologists can be of assistance." The list most searches lead to, Back to the Bible's twelve signs from April 2023, calls them "possible" signs and says they are not guarantees.
If you only have a minute
First
Anything in your body or your mind goes to a doctor or a counselor, with prayer beside it.
Hearing or seeing things
The NHS says to get medical help, and the routes are in the next section.
What the Bible gives
A struggle named, with the instruction to stand, resist and pray with others.
Words to pray
John 14:27, peace handed over on a frightening night.
This week
Ask your pastor or priest for prayer, and book a doctor too.
If you need help tonight
These are the routes to act on first, each with the country it serves.
- Hearing or seeing things others do not, or frightening thoughts, in the United Kingdom. The NHS page on hallucinations and hearing voices says to get medical help. Use NHS 111 for urgent help, and see a GP for anything ongoing.
- The same, in the United States. NIMH explains these experiences in understanding psychosis, and its page on whether you need help explains how to find care. In a crisis, call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
- If you hear voices. The Hearing Voices Network says many people hear voices and that hearing them does not by itself make a diagnosis. Where voices frighten you or tell you what to do, get help through the NHS or NIMH routes above, and if a voice tells anyone to cause harm, how do I know God is speaking to me has the emergency numbers.
- If your home is not safe. The National Domestic Violence Hotline in the United States, Refuge in the United Kingdom and 1800RESPECT in Australia.
Crisis lines for more countries, Spanish-speaking ones included, are under "Where to go next."
How do you tell if you are being spiritually attacked?
People who ask this often want to know how it feels, and whether the body can show it. Others ask how a spiritual sickness shows itself. The lists that circulate name sleeplessness, a sense of being watched, heaviness, hopelessness, losing the wish to pray and physical symptoms.
Doctors and health services describe many of the same experiences, and they have care to offer for each. The table sets the two side by side as a pointer to the right appointment. Nothing in it can tell you what is happening to you, and a doctor who has met you can tell you far more.
Hover or tap a row to highlight it. Sort by a column heading; a third click puts the rows back in their original order.
| Seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there | Hallucinations, which the NHS says need medical help; MedlinePlus en español calls them perceptions that "parecen reales, pero no lo son," they seem real but are not | NHS, MedlinePlus |
| Hearing voices | Mind says hearing voices can have many explanations | Mind |
| Voices that criticize or command, or fixed, fearful beliefs | NIMH describes these under psychosis and says treatment helps | NIMH, NIMH en español |
| Losing the wish to pray or read, hopelessness, heaviness | Described in depression and in bereavement | NIMH on depression, NHS on grief |
| Waking unable to move, with a sense of someone in the room | GotQuestions writes, "in probably the vast majority of cases, sleep paralysis is just a quirk in a person’s REM cycle" | GotQuestions |
| Fear that loops around sin, evil or being unclean | Religious scrupulosity, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder | International OCD Foundation |
Then there is spiritual stagnation or exhaustion, a dryness Spanish-speaking churches call estancamiento espiritual, when faith feels stuck. NIMH and the NHS describe depression, trauma, grief, burnout and broken sleep as able to dull desire, hope, prayer and the wish for company. One person may read the same season as dryness, as illness, as grief, or as more than one of these, and both can be true at once.
That leaves you free to see a doctor and a pastor or a spiritual director in the same month. If the dryness is what you came for, Bible verses for feeling far from God reads the dark night of the soul and dryness in prayer at length, and if it is bad dreams, Bible verses for nightmares starts there.
Some questions only come up after midnight.
What does the Bible say about spiritual attacks?
The passages people quote most are letters written to whole churches, and each is easier to hold once you know who it was written to.
The best known is Ephesians 6. Paul writes from prison to a congregation, and every command is plural. In the World English Bible:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
He borrows a Roman soldier's kit, the belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword, and the instruction he keeps coming back to is to stand. The passage ends in prayer, "being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints." The Greek words behind "wrestling," "principalities," "powers," "world’s rulers" and "wiles" are palē, archai, exousiai, kosmokratores and methodeiai, and the Bible Hub lexicon gives palē as wrestling, a close struggle. Commentators read the struggle as against unseen powers, against sin and the systems of the world, or both. Bible verses for times of war reads Ephesians 6:12 with John Chrysostom and John Calvin.
2 Corinthians 10 was written to a church where some said Paul was "walking according to the flesh." He answers that "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh," and speaks of "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 1 Peter 5 is written to elders and scattered believers facing suffering: "Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith."
James 4:1-10 is about quarrels, desires and humility, and in the middle of it sits "Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, Paul explains a visit he could not make with "but Satan hindered us." And in Luke 22, on the night of his arrest, Jesus says to Peter:
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.
What these give a frightened reader is a struggle named together with what to do in it: stand, resist, stay watchful and pray with other people. Luke gives something more, a prayer already prayed for somebody who was about to fail, and a job waiting for him afterward. The passages describe how to stand in a struggle, and the sleep, fear and voices in the table above still belong with a doctor first.
What causes a spiritual attack, and why me?
The honest answer depends on whom you ask, because the phrase itself belongs to some Christian traditions more than others. Each describes the struggle in its own words, and they weigh ordinary distress and spiritual opposition differently.
Hover or tap a row to highlight it. Sort by a column heading; a third click puts the rows back in their original order.
| Catholic | Satan's power "is nonetheless, not infinite"; temptation is distinct from sin | Catechism, 391 to 395 |
| Orthodox | The passions and the thoughts, logismoi, which "assail the mind" | Orthodox Church in America |
| Pentecostal | "the reality of spiritual warfare," with demonic activity able to mimic mental illness | Assemblies of God |
| Evangelical | A believer may experience "strong temptation, feelings of despair and doubt, and, in some instances, physical ailments" | GotQuestions |
| Reformed | "Deliver us from evil" asks deliverance from sin, Satan, the world and the flesh | Westminster Larger Catechism, question 195 |
| Mainline | Evil, sin, temptation, suffering and pastoral care, without a list of signs | United Methodist, Episcopal and ELCA teaching |
In Catholic teaching, exorcism is the Church's public prayer, and canon 1172 reserves it to a priest with the bishop's express permission. The ordinary Catholic help for fear, sleeplessness and heaviness is close at hand: confession, the Eucharist, prayer, a priest and spiritual direction.
Orthodox writers trace eight thoughts back to Evagrius, among them gluttony, anger, dejection, acedia and vanity, and the OCA describes how a thought that is entertained can settle into the heart as a passion. They also caution against prelest, spiritual deception, especially trusting private visions. Among Protestants, Luther's hymn A Mighty Fortress names "the old evil foe" and puts its confidence in God's Word.
You are in a large company if you wonder about this. Gallup's May 2023 poll, published that July, found that 61 percent of US adults believe in the devil. The psychologist Kenneth Pargament calls reading a stressful event as the work of demonic forces "demonic reappraisal," one of several ways people draw on faith to cope. It is a name for something many people do when a hard season arrives.
People in Scripture who were tested
If every bad day has started to look like an attack, the people the Bible describes being tested may be better company than a list of signs.
In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is in the wilderness after fasting, and he answers each temptation with Scripture. When the devil quotes Psalm 91 at him, he answers, "You shall not test the Lord, your God."
In Job 1 and 2, the accuser appears in a heavenly scene, and Job loses his children and then his health. His friends explain his suffering as his own fault, an explanation the book sets aside at its end; Bible verses for nightmares reads the friend Eliphaz at more length.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul calls his thorn in the flesh "a messenger of Satan," asks three times for it to go, and hears, "My grace is sufficient for you." He never says what the thorn was.
What these give is company for somebody being tested, temptation answered with Scripture, and a reason to be slow with any explanation of suffering, your own included. If the Gospel healing accounts come up, such as the boy in Mark 9:14-29 or the man among the tombs in Luke 8:26-39, some physicians and historians read them alongside illnesses known today, while other commentators hold that ancient and modern categories cannot be matched.
How to pray when you feel under attack
Start with words you may already have. The Lord's Prayer, as churches say it, asks God to "deliver us from evil," and it can be prayed tired, frightened or half asleep.
The passage Bible Nudge offers for peace is John 14:27, in the World English Bible:
Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
Jesus says this on the last evening, after the meal and before the arrest, in a frightened room, and he names the two things his friends feel: troubled and afraid. A few lines later he says, "I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me." It is the one line nearby that speaks of an enemy, and he says it of himself, on the night he is taken.
What it gives is peace handed over inside the trouble rather than produced by you, words for a frightened heart, and words that are still true if you are still afraid tomorrow. Read John 14:27 once, slowly, and hold one question: "What would change if peace were something handed to you rather than something you have to produce?"
The same room looks different in the morning.
Many people also reach for the psalms and ask which ones to pray for protection. Christian pages in English and Spanish point most often to Psalms 91, 23, 27, 46 and 121. Catholics pray the psalms as Scripture and in Night Prayer, and Pentecostal churches often speak of them as declarations of faith. Each is a prayer to say in your own voice.
Psalm 27 holds fear and confidence together, moving between trust and an honest request for help, which makes it a psalm for a night when you have both. Psalm 34:7 speaks of the angel of the Lord encamping around those who fear him. For Psalm 91 and the old night prayers, psalms for sleep reads them slowly.
Deliverance, and the churches that saw demons everywhere
The Assemblies of God paper describes what it calls demonization. It says spiritual warfare is real, describes possession as Satan taking control at the center of a person's personality, says demonic activity may mimic mental illness, and says doctors, counselors and psychologists can help. In the Catholic Church, the rite is reserved to an authorized priest under canon 1172 and comes after the medical assessment the USCCB describes.
If you want prayer, you can ask your own pastor or priest to pray with you. These traditions keep that kind of prayer in the care of the church's ministers, so nobody is asked to do it alone or to another person.
Some have written about where it goes wrong. A 2012 article by Edwards looks at what deliverance and exorcism mean for mental-health professionals. The Atlantic, in August 2026, reported personal accounts from a charismatic deliverance setting where participants were repeatedly identified with named demons and described the sessions as emotionally exhausting.
People write about it in their own words. One person posted on Reddit's r/Christianity, in a 2025 thread about a deliverance ministry, "I was constantly rebuked right to my face and told im not normal and these demons must ‘come out of me’." The same person wrote, "in reality I wasn’t possessed at all," and "I desperately needed emotional counseling."
In a 2023 thread on Reddit's r/TrueChristian, after an encounter at church, someone wrote, "I decided to leave this church because I didn’t want my relationship with God to be about ‘feeling’ the Holy Spirit."
And people who minister deliverance speak for themselves too. In a 2024 thread on Reddit's r/Deliverance about deliverance and mental health, one wrote, "We here at deliverance are not against the use of doctors." Prayer and a doctor can sit side by side there too.
What to say, and what to say instead
Some things said to frightened people land hard, and you may have said one yourself, out of love. Each has a better line beside it, in our own words.
- Instead of "It is a spiritual attack, not an illness," try "Let's pray about it, and let's get you to a doctor this week too."
- Instead of "It means you are doing something right," try "That sounds exhausting. What would help this week?"
- Instead of "You have a generational curse," try "Whatever is behind it, you don't have to carry it by yourself. Who can we call?"
- Instead of "Pray the medicine away" or "Do not take medicine," try "Keep taking what your doctor gave you, and tell them what you're going through."
- Instead of "Your faith is weak because you are still afraid," try "Being afraid is human; Jesus named fear on his last night with his friends."
Any line that names a relative or a neighbor as the source of the trouble is better left unsaid, because it puts a person you both know under suspicion. Bible verses for nightmares has a gentler answer to "you opened a door to the enemy."
A calm conversation comes first.
If you are the relative of somebody who says they are under attack, or the parent of a teenager who says there is something in the house, the same order holds. Start with a calm conversation. Then a doctor for the sleep, the fear, or anything seen or heard, and prayer together if your family prays. A child's night fears go to the family doctor, and Bible verses for nightmares has a section for sitting at a child's bedside.
Questions people ask
These come up often, and each answer adds something not covered above.
What is the armor of God?
It is Paul's image in Ephesians 6 of a soldier's belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet and sword, each given a meaning such as truth, righteousness and faith. Many people know it in the King James wording: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The image is about standing firm, and it ends in prayer for others.
How common is it to believe evil spirits cause problems?
Quite common. Pew Research Center found in 2021 that 73 percent of Black Americans believe evil spirits can cause problems in people's lives, and its 2023 survey found 83 percent of US adults believe people have a soul or spirit as well as a body.
Can a voice in my head tell me to do something harmful?
Yes, and that needs help straight away. MedlinePlus en español notes that voices may be positive, negative or neutral, and that some command harmful actions. Use the urgent routes at the top for your country.
Should I stop my medication while I am being prayed for?
Keep taking it, and talk to your doctor before any change. The Assemblies of God and the USCCB both place doctors and counselors beside prayer, so you can have both.
Where to go next
If a night feels too frightening, reach a person. In the United States, call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, with help in Spanish too. In Canada, call or text 9-8-8. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Samaritans is on 116 123. In Australia, Lifeline is on 13 11 14. In the United Kingdom, NHS 111 is there for urgent health help.
For Spanish-speaking readers: in Spain, Línea 024; in Mexico, the Línea de la Vida on 800 911 2000; in Argentina, 135 in Buenos Aires and 0800-345-1435 nationally; and in Colombia, Línea 106 where it serves. Anywhere else, Find A Helpline lists services by country.
Tonight, read John 14:27 once with its question. Tomorrow, book a doctor or call your pastor or priest, or both, about whatever has been keeping you awake.
Bible Nudge offers one passage with the verses around it. Find a passage.
Words that come up here
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Spiritual direction. Regular conversation with a trained guide about prayer and the life of faith.