God—the only True God—is almighty and loving, but spirits of the devil are vile and evil. They are to be shunned at all costs! This was a lesson I learned in 2005. It was a life-and-death experience!

The Devil’s Seed Bed

Like most families in Gao Xiong province of Taiwan, my family believed and practiced the folk religions of Taoism and Buddhism. Every day we paid homage to our ancestors and to Quan Gong, a folk hero. From a young age I acknowledged by default that Buddha was the god of my family and friends, and I accepted these customs and beliefs. As such, I distanced myself from the influence of Christians, finding it hard to believe that the God of the Bible existed.

In 1997, before leaving Taiwan to further my education at a university in Southern California, friends and family gave me objects to bring with me—for good fortune and peace. They consisted of various articles and magical figures drawn by Taoist and Buddhist priests, and a carved Buddha—for my protection—which an older friend had brought from Thailand. All of these I put in my luggage, ready to begin a new life as a 25-year-old college student in America.

I Chose Jesus

A few days after I started school, I met Nick—a Christian who was baptized in the Lord in Taiwan when he was in high school. He had experienced God’s grace in his life, and during the first five years of our dating, I went to church with him nearly every Sunday. Having always enjoyed music and singing, I felt peaceful when I listened to the church music. It was as if I were at a concert. I thought that Christianity was like other religions, with the purpose of encouraging people to do good works. I could not prefer one religion over another. But by the sixth year of our dating, God was opening my heart through the church hymns and songs. I began to want to sing songs of praise, because they filled my heart with an indescribable joy!

The second year after Nick and I were married, I decided to join my husband and commit my life to Christ. At that time we moved from the American church we had been attending and joined Calvary Chapel Chinese Fellowship in West Covina,California. We were blessed by the bilingual teaching of the two sibling pastors, who were respectfully called “Big Pastor” and “Little Pastor.” On November 9, 2003, I was baptized in the Lord by “Big Pastor.”

The following year the church bought property and relocated to a city much closer to where we lived. This made it possible for us to become more involved in the life of the church. “Little Pastor” moved into our community and became our good neighbor. As my husband and I began attending Bible studies and serving together with other brothers and sisters, our spiritual lives began to grow.

The Enemy’s Turf

In March of 2005 we undertook a big project of landscaping our backyard. The project was to be finished in one month. But about this time I began to be troubled by evil spirits. My temper was out of control, I frequently argued with my husband, and I felt sick in my body. I no longer wanted to attend Bible studies, and I lost interest in praying and reading the Bible. I continued in this condition for three months! The landscape project had to be postponed.

Then one day in June I became very tired and fell asleep on the couch in our home. When I tried to rouse myself, I couldn’t move. I saw what looked like an evil spirit come through the door toward me and sit down beside me. In a voice that mimicked my mother’s voice, he scolded me for leaving him. I screamed out in terror! When I was finally able to free myself, I crawled upstairs but I was unable to speak a word.

During a visit with our pastor, my husband told how an evil spirit had troubled me the previous night. The first thing Pastor asked was, “Are you keeping anything related to Buddha in your home?” I had to admit that I was keeping the Buddha statue and other items I had brought from Taiwan—for good fortune. Pastor sensed the urgency in my situation and told me to bring all those items out. He prayed with me and said he would come back the following day to help get rid of the evil items. He charged me to trust in the Lord and be vigilant, because the evil spirit—knowing he was going to be cast away—might return at night to cause trouble.

The Battle Waged and Won

That evening I sorted out all the various items I had kept hidden and put them under the cross in the study. My husband was surprised, because he didn’t know I had them. I went to bed at midnight, but about an hour later, I awoke and saw Nick standing at the window looking at me with sadness in his eyes. Then I rolled over and saw that Nick was sleeping next to me. I knew that the person at the window was the evil spirit. In dismay, I cried out, and Nick awoke immediately. Holding my hand, he told me not to be afraid.

We got up at once, turned on the light, and prayed together. A few minutes later, I felt fatigued and fainted. Nick shook me severely and moved me downstairs. He called Pastor right away. Pastor knew that this evil spirit was vicious, so he encouraged me to stand firm in the Lord. About 2 a.m. he arrived at our house and the three of us knelt down to pray and sing.

During this time, I was going in and out of consciousness. Feeling debilitated, I could no longer resist the attacks of the devil. Pastor continued to use the name of the Lord to cast out the devil. For over an hour the battle continued, until I eventually regained full consciousness. Pastor gathered up the possessed Buddhist statue and other items to throw them away. As he did so, I began to cry bitterly, in a way similar to how people cry when they are parting from one another. After another hour of prayer by Pastor, I was finally calm.

Even though the battle of the night had been long, we went to church the following Sunday. Surprisingly, I had peace. Pastor’s whole family welcomed me like angels. The love of God and the hugs of brothers and sisters brought me to tears when I gave my testimony before them.

I praise God for our good pastor who walked with us through this terrible ordeal. Through it I learned an important lesson: Christians should not keep objects that are opposed to Christ. They are not harmless! Evil spirits have power, and they come to destroy. Only through the Lord’s mighty power was I delivered…and am now kept safe.

Anne Lee was born in Taiwan, came to the USA for her education in 1997, and graduated from California State University, Fullerton. Anne is married and has one son.