This topic usually causes many to raise their eyebrows and turn away. But we need to remember that this was a very real part of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was confronted by many evil spirits that were manifesting through people in several ways. One evil spirit spoke through a man in a temple. A legion of spirits spoke through two men that were insane and living in the tombs. Scripture also records that an evil spirit caused a woman to have a crooked back. A small boy was tormented by a deaf and dumb spirit that caused him to be deaf and dumb, foam at the mouth, and be exhausted. It also tried to kill the boy by throwing him into the fire. In each of these examples Jesus took authority over the evil spirit and told it to be quiet, or to leave the person. When the evil spirit left, the person was also healed of the physical problems. Let me give you a couple of modern day examples about a spirit of fear. II Timothy 1:7 says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." This passage refers to a spirit of fear that is not from God and is part of the devil's kingdom. Please understand that anxiety, worry and stress are synonyms for this kind of fear. Let's look at two examples of how people are affected by fear. Fear is in many ways a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dr. William Standish Reed in his book Healing the Whole Man, tells how fear affected one of his cancer patients. This patient was doing well and the cancer was healing but the patient kept hearing the thought, "You think you are being healed? Why should you be healed when people are dying every day from cancer? What about the pain in your back?" Dr. Reed reported that when the patient entertained this fear an overwhelming pain came to his back. If you will stop and think, most of us have also had thoughts of fear or anxiety that have resulted in a physical response. A recent study by the Department of Psychiatry at Emory School of Medicine revealed that women with a history of childhood abuse showed an elevation of interleukin 6 (a hormone that stimulates inflammation), an increased prevalence of chronic pelvic pain, and increased numbers of multiple other physical complaints. The November 2002 issue of Dr. Dobson's, Focus on the Family magazine features an article about Dr. Larimore that confirms this clinical study. The opening paragraph relays an interview Dr. Larimore had with a caller named Sue, who was suffering from chronic pelvic pain. "He tells her that prior trauma, such as (sexual) abuse from childhood, can manifest itself in chronic pelvic pain and inflammation." Sue's fear from the trauma of the abuse and her bitterness toward the perpetrator were the cause of her pelvic pain. Additionally, medical text books list over 60 diseases that are related to fear (anxiety, worry or stress). In Christian terms, fear is the opposite of faith and therefore is a sin. Fear is also an evil spirit that puts its thoughts into our minds. We will always be tempted by the devil. We need to learn how to overcome the devil in the power of Jesus. My book, Biblical Foundations of Freedom, teaches how to recognize fear and how to have victory over it. In His Own Image will give you much more information on how fear affects your physical body. The Continuing Works of Christ will explain how this kind of fear is really unbelief and also will expose many other forms of unbelief that stop the power of God. A non-profit ministry dedicated to healing the body, mind and soul through application of Biblical principles. See: Psalms 103:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Web Site by Sundog Media & Alaska Internet Services