James complained of demonic attacks. One fact especially caught my attention. I asked, “What time do they occur?” He responded, “3am.” I thought, “Ahhh, the demonic hour.”

To discern if someone is possessed, we look for the well-known major signs such as occult knowledge, superhuman strength, knowledge of unknown languages, and aversion to the sacred. But many times these classic signs do not appear until much later. In the beginning, we are attuned to more subtle signs that typically accompany the possessed, such as the characteristics of the alleged demonic attacks.

Satan hates Jesus. The Evil One mocks Jesus at every turn, inverting sacred signs and truths. Jesus died on the cross at 3pm. Jesus called it, “My hour.” In the Satanic inversion, Satan claims 3am as his hour. We find some of the most intense Satanic attacks on the possessed occur at that time. It is likely that, at 3am, he is at his greatest strength.

Carey, too, was possessed. She also described intense demonic attacks at 3am. As the lengthy process of her exorcism continued, she was losing strength and we feared she would not be able to hold up. We were more than concerned. The demons were pummeling her at 3am. So, we decided to start praying with her at 2:30am.

In addition to giving her some relief, I wanted to attack the demons at their strength. They previously controlled the night. Now, with these night sessions, we were on the offensive. For some weeks, the Team gathered at 2:30am. Carey said, “It did fend the demons off a little bit and gave me some peaceful nights after the 3am hour.” At this stage, her getting some sleep was critical.

Eventually, the demons realized that we would not stop praying at 2:30am. So, they started attacking her at 1am. I was surprised it took them so long to adjust. I think they were very surprised we would wake in the middle of the night to help this young woman. They probably figured we would eventually give up; but we did not. In their narcissistic world, they cannot comprehend the idea of charity and self-giving. And since the demons started attacking her at 1am, we then began to gather at 12:30am (the Team was happy to pray earlier!). So, the cat and mouse tactics continued. Happily, Carey eventually made it to the end and is now liberated.

I see many signs of the Satanic inversion in our world today, especially in people’s thinking, although often not recognized. For example, Satanists claim to offer freedom from “tyrannical religious authority,” but it is Satan who enslaves. They claim to promote human dignity and fulfillment, but Satan is the destroyer of humanity. Some witches claim that their spells are really the same as Christian prayers, but the only result of any magic spell is a curse. In Jesus is true freedom and the fullness of human potential. In true Christianity, we find real grace and wonderful blessings.

Be on guard against Satanic inversions. Whenever you hear one, say a simple prayer: “May the light of the Holy Spirit come upon us all and reveal Him who is the Truth.”

Image courtesy of Unsplash.

This post was originally published on CatholicExorcism.org and is reprinted here with permission.