Thunderstruck! The Deliverance Ministry of John Wesley, Part 1

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Wesley’s journal entry for May 17, 1740 – “I found more and more undeniable proofs, that the Christian state is a continual warfare; and that we have need every moment to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation.”

Ordinary and Extraordinary: Bifurcation of the Work of the Spirit

Although a significant segment of United Methodists today do not practice deliverance, encounter demons in their ministry, or even believe that demons exist (literally), the same cannot be said for Methodism’s founder, John Wesley. Wesley not only acknowledged the existence of demons but also often encountered them in his ministry. He did not profess to be an exorcist or claim special gifts for such a ministry. However, through ordinary Christian practices, such as preaching the Word, repentance, prayer, and worshiping God, Wesley and early Methodists ministered deliverance to those in spiritual captivity. 

As I wrote in an earlier article for Firebrand, Wesley, “the almost Charismatic,” consistently made a distinction between the ordinary (soteriological) and extraordinary (charismatic) work of the Spirit, with precedence given to the former. He prioritized fruit over gifts, holiness over power, and also utilized the fruit of holiness as a guide to ascertain the origin (divine or otherwise) and purpose of so-called extraordinary gifts. Wesley frequently bifurcated the work of the Spirit on the basis of this “holiness hermeneutic,” which allowed him to test, acknowledge, and permit, without normalizing, the miraculous. If the supernatural could be submitted to the Word and the greater service of scriptural holiness, then Wesley affirmed its divine origin. Wesley differs from modern charismatics who see both the work of salvation and the gifts as normative. This ordinary/extraordinary distinction is key to understanding Wesley’s method of deliverance. 

Wesley and Demonology

Wesley held a scriptural view of the demonic that is confirmed throughout Christian tradition (See Wesley’s sermon “Of Evil Angels”). Satan and the hosts of hell, once angels in God’s service, fell from grace and were cast down to earth. These fallen angels constitute a hierarchy of demonic powers that rule the kingdom of darkness.  Demons are neither myth nor metaphor but truly exist, and their mission is to tempt, deceive, and destroy the souls of women and men. We are called to watch, pray, and put on the whole armor of God so that we can resist Satan’s attacks.

 In terms of demonology, Wesley’s view would not have been considered a product of Enlightenment rationalism, which would have dismissed the existence and operation of preternatural spirits. From early exposure to the paranormal, including “Old Jeffrey” the house ghost at Epworth, sister Anne Wesley’s levitation experience, to later encounters with the demonic in ministry, Wesley acknowledged the existence of demons and the havoc they wreak on the human soul. Concerning the demonic, Wesley crafted sermons on the topic, penned his encounters in his journals, and combated the demonic in his ministry. He believed his view on the subject was grounded in scripture and confirmed empirically by the reliable eyewitness testimonies of his day, including his own. Wesley’s Journals are replete with dozens of demonic encounters (e.g., Oct. 25-28, 1739; Jan. 11, 1741; Jan. 13, 1743; June 5, 1753, and May 25, 27, 1768). This fact is often ignored, demythologized, or reduced to an antiquated peculiarity held over from medieval demonology.

Ordinary and Extraordinary Means of Deliverance

Wesley not only believed demons exist and encountered them, but he also practiced deliverance in his ministry through what he would call “ordinary means.” The father of Methodism employed the same ordinary/extraordinary distinction regarding the work of the Spirit to the practice of deliverance and exorcism. Wesley lists “casting out devils” as one of the chief  extraordinary or spiritual gifts (Works [Jackson]: 10:16)*. “Extraordinary means” involved the  gift of faith. Wesley separated ordinary, saving faith from the gift of extraordinary faith that works miracles (Wesley’s Notes, Matt. 7:22). In his comment on Matthew 12:20, Wesley called this mountain-moving faith, “a supernatural persuasion given a man, that God will work thus by him at that hour.” Consequently, by extraordinary faith demons may be expelled directly. Although he did not lay claim to this gift, Wesley was convinced that ministers could also expel demons by ordinary means, such as hearing the Word, repentance, prayer, and worship. Wesley would employ these ordinary means in his deliverance ministry. 

In his sermon “A Caution Against Bigotry,” Wesley identified two of the  ordinary means in which all ministers of Christ may cast out devils,  hearing the Word and repentance:

By the power of God attending his word, he brings these sinners to repentance; an entire inward as well as outward change from evil to all good. And this is, in a sound sense, to cast out devils out of the souls wherein they had hitherto dwelt ( Works 5:483).

Striking demonic manifestations would accompany Wesley’s deliverance ministry. Frequently unbelievers under conviction were thunderstruck and dropped to the ground in spiritual combat by the power of the Spirit. These encounters were attended by all sorts of peculiar manifestations, such as howling, groaning, roaring, convulsing, speaking in strange voices, and other eerie expressions. However, the end result in most cases was repentance, deliverance, and peace with God. 

In an April 17, 1739, journal entry, Wesley described preaching from Acts chapter 4 when he asked the Lord to “confirm” his Word. At that very moment, an individual cried out aloud in “the agonies of death” (Works 1:187). Wesley and the others present continued fervently in prayer. Two others then joined in “roaring for the disquietness of their heart” (1:187). Not long after, all three found rest. The latter two broke out in praise and the former was “overwhelmed with joy and love, knowing that God had healed his backslidings” (1:187).  At Newgate, Wesley described people as being “thunderstuck,” which is a quite a graphic description for a man not prone to hyperbole. He frequently used this striking image to capture the explosive nature of the experience. 

While Wesley was preaching at Newgate, several persons: 

…dropped on every side as thunderstruck. One of them cried aloud. We besought God in herbehalf, and he turned her heaviness into joy. A second being in the same agony, we called upon God for her also; and he spoke peace into her soul. In the evening I was again pressed in spirit to declare, that “Christ gave himself a ransom for all.” And almost before we called upon him to set to his seal, he answered. One was so wounded by the sword of the Spirit, that you would have imagined she could not live a moment. But immediately his abundant kindness was showed, and she sang of his righteousness (Works 1:188-89).

Wesley understood these occurrences as primarily a work of the Holy Spirit, battling against the enemy. Through the preached word, the sword of the Spirit exposes and penetrates the shackled heart. The blow to the stronghold of darkness causes the person to fall to the ground. The shuddering enemy refuses to release the soul from its clutches. After much convulsing and supplicating, the individual finds repentance and relief. Wesley identified these struggles as the “chief times at which Satan is cast out” (Works 2:502). Wesley often used an image of the sword of the Spirit “wounding and healing” the sinner. One was “struck through, as with a sword, and fell trembling to the ground” (1:213). As Wesley would preach, “God was present, both to wound and to heal” (3:490). 

While Wesley witnessed deliverance through preaching and repentance, he also witnessed deliverance through other ordinary means, such as prayer and worship. In a journal entry for October 1, 1763, Wesley records a powerful four-and-a-half-hour deliverance session that ended with a woman being set free through corporate prayer and singing. For years, the woman was haunted by a demon that tormented and tempted her to kill her father and herself. She unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide on several occasions. She would often throw raging, violent fits until her brother had her fitted for a “strait waistcoat” that meticulously bound her limbs together and to her bed. Nonetheless, with uncanny strength, she often broke free effortlessly with a mere twisting of her limbs. Her doctor concluded her condition was “partly natural, partly diabolical.” 

One day Wesley came to visit her. He interviewed the woman. She claimed to be possessed of the devil and did not want prayer. Wesley prayed anyway. She convulsed and began to scream in agony, swearing, cursing, and blaspheming God. Wesley did not stop praying until the convulsion and screaming ceased. Two days later he followed up. Although more lucid and able to pray, the woman still insisted that the devil was going to kill her. Wesley exhorted her to have faith and continued to intercede.

Later, Wesley led a group from 10:30 in the evening until 3:00 in the morning to pray for her deliverance. She was once again strapped to the bed, as she began to roar, convulse, and “bark like a dog.” Wesley painstakingly described her demonic manifestations. Her face was grossly distorted. Her mouth stretched from one side of her face to the other, and her eyes were crossed and bulging out of the sockets. Her convulsing throat and body were swollen as if she would burst. The intercession went on into the morning. Several individuals left, unable to sustain the exhausting battle. Along with the straps of the waistcoat, four men sought to hold the woman down with all of their strength (reminiscent of the Gadarene man). 

The more that they prayed, the more violent she became. Suddenly, she had a vision of the tormenting demon and began to cry out to God. Then, the group felt led to worship and sing. The Spirit fell mightily. She continued to cry out for deliverance and the power to believe. Immediately, she became quiet. Wesley invited her to sing a hymn with the words, 

O Sun of Righteousness, arise
With healing in thy wing;
To my diseased, my fainting soul
Life and salvation bring.

The time came (2:30 a.m.) when the demon said he would kill her, but “instead of a tormentor,” God “sent a comforter. Jesus appeared to her soul and rebuked the enemy… and she mightily rejoiced in the God of her salvation”! She was fully delivered, set free, and saved through the power of intercession and song. 

A Brief Analysis of Wesley’s ‘Ordinary’ Methods

Even though Wesley claimed no extraordinary gift but employed what he termed ordinary means for deliverance, the woman was set free. To the supernatural work of  God, Wesley would normally respond in this manner; “I believe God now hears and answers prayer, even beyond the ordinary course of nature” (Works 9:124). In deliverance, Wesley sought the move of God through ordinary means rather than claiming and exercising a gift of the Spirit, which stemmed from his ordinary/extraordinary distinction and his reticence to claim the latter.

With nearly four decades of deliverance ministry, I resonate with Wesley’s demonic encounter just described. Although it may seem graphic and dramatic to many unfamiliar with such confrontations, it actually was quite a common deliverance session. All of the usual manifestations of a prolonged deliverance session were present: bodily contortions, preternatural strength, screaming, speaking with another’s voice, animal sounds, swelling and bloating of the body and throat, visions of the demonic, demonic threats to kill, self-mutilation, and violent manifestations increasing with prayer. 

To combat the demonic attack in this and in other sessions, Wesley employed the Word of God, repentance, prayer, and worship.  These elements are key to any successful deliverance session. I have used these same ordinary means in my ministry and have found them to be scriptural, essential, and quite effective in deliverance. Like Wesley, I consider these ordinary means available to any believer, making deliverance ministry a normative Christian practice. Further, I also qualify these means as indirect. They are indirect because the minister is not directly addressing the devil during the deliverance process, such as, “I cast you out, spirit of fear, in the name of Jesus.”  Rather, Wesley’s methods were indirect (Jude 9). He indirectly faced the devil by directly supplicating God or preaching his Word. Wesley did not confront the devil directly, nor did he use a gift (such as faith or gifts of healing) to face demons directly. Scripture is clear, however,  that we have been given authority and power to cast out demons directly using the name of Jesus (e.g., Luke 10:18-20 and in a host of other passages). In fact, we have been equipped with an arsenal of weapons, such as the cross, the blood, the armor of God, and humility. Some believers are also given extraordinary means (gifts), such as gifts of healing or discerning of spirits for deliverance. Know that we can indirectly or directly face and overcome the demonic, through ordinary or extraordinary means, just as Christ and his disciples did (Matt. 10:8; Luke 10:18-20). 

We are all called to set the prisoners free. We are all called to minister deliverance when the need arises. Each of us has been given authority to cast out demons in Jesus’ name. Do you believe it? Will you use the authority in Jesus’ name given to you to put Satan under your feet and even drive out evil spirits from those who are oppressed? Or are you still in unbelief and fear? Or perhaps you think the duty belongs to someone else? Those who have an ear, hear the call of the Spirit to empower you to bind the strong man of the house and liberate the captives. 

Peter J. Bellini is Professor of Church Renewal and Evangelization in the Heisel Chair at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Work cited:

*Works of John Wesley, ed. Jackson, 3rd ed. 14 vols. (London: Wesleyan Conference Office, 1872).