Why You're Feeling Unusually Tired (My Interview with Kris Vallotton)
Have you been feeling unusually exhausted lately? I've received countless messages from people around the world experiencing this same phenomenon at the exact same time, asking me if it's demonic, if it's something in their food, or some kind of spiritual attack. Today, I want to share a conversation I had with my friend Kris Vallotton that addresses spiritual warfare, mental health, and how demonic oppression can manifest as extreme fatigue and mental exhaustion.
I believe your finest hour might be at hand, even though you don't feel like it right now. The intensity of the attack on your life often reveals the significance of the purpose trying to be birthed in this season. I don't believe in accidents, and I believe you're reading this for a reason.
Understanding Demonic Oppression vs. Mental Illness
I've been teaching through Kris Vallotton’s books for years and greatly admire his ministry. His story will help you understand the complex relationship between spiritual warfare and mental health.
When Kris was 22 years old and newly married, he experienced a nervous breakdown that lasted three and a half years. It began one night when he got out of the bathtub after a 12-hour workday. A thought suddenly seized him: "I'm going to die." But it wasn't just a passing thought. It felt like someone had put a gun to his head. His heart started pounding, he lost all strength in his legs, and he collapsed back into the bathtub, convinced he was having a heart attack.
His wife called their doctor, who determined Kris was having a panic attack. That single incident began a three-and-a-half-year journey through hell. Kris started having eight to ten panic attacks daily, losing 30 pounds because he couldn't eat, and sweating through his bed sheets every night.
The Turning Point: Recognizing the Spiritual Component
The situation escalated dramatically. Kris and his wife moved from San Jose to a tiny town of 900 people so he could recover, but things only got worse. Demonic encounters became frequent: pictures knocked off walls, lights turning on and off, phone calls from people in séances, and being choked at night.
Here's what changed everything: One night at 3 AM, unable to sleep, Kris put his head to the stereo and heard a man on the radio quote a scripture he knew well: "God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind." But then the man said something that pierced through Kris's theology: "Some of you think you're going insane, but you're listening to a spirit of insanity. The way spirits attack you is they give you their thoughts and then accuse you of having them."
Kris had been taught that Christians could be mentally ill but couldn't be demonized. This teaching had actually discipled him out of his deliverance. But lying on his back in the darkness, he asked the Lord what to do. Immediately, he heard: "Tell the spirit of insanity and the spirit of fear to leave you."
The Simple Prayer That Changed Everything
Though skeptical after three and a half years of torment, Kris obeyed. He said simply, "Spirit of fear, spirit of insanity, leave me right now." Instantly, something that felt like a heavy lead vest came off his entire body. Peace flooded in, his mind returned, and he was free.
But the journey wasn't over. A week later, while driving home, Kris decided to tell everyone about his deliverance. Suddenly, the same experience returned, and a voice in his mind threatened, "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." All the warfare came rushing back. This became the beginning of learning how to stay free.
The Science Behind Renewing Your Mind
This is where the conversation gets really practical. Kris shared insights from neuroscience that transformed how many of us understand spiritual warfare and mental health. Thoughts travel on neural pathways in your brain, which function like grooves in a record. Your brain is wired to use the least amount of energy to reach a conclusion, so it naturally defaults to established pathways.
Picture your brain as a jungle. The first time you think a negative thought like "something bad is going to happen to me," you hack through the jungle with a machete, creating a pathway. Every time you repeat that thought, you widen the pathway. After about 40 days, you've built a six-lane freeway to negativity while having maybe just a walking trail to "all things work together for good."
This is why Romans 12:2 tells us, "Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." You can't change your life directly, but if you change your thoughts, God will change your life.
Biblical Meditation: Growling Like a Lion
The Hebrew word for "meditate" in Joshua 1:8 literally means "to growl like a lion." Biblical meditation isn't passive Eastern meditation where you empty your mind. It's aggressive warfare.
When Kris's son was late coming home from school, his six-lane freeway led straight to "something terrible happened." But he learned to exit that freeway by speaking prophetic declarations out loud. He would go to his room and repeat, "My son shall fill stadiums with people who love God," based on a prophetic word spoken over his son years earlier.
Two things happen simultaneously when you do this: First, you exit the negative neural pathway. Second, you grab the sword of the Spirit and start building a new pathway. The jungle begins growing back over your six-lane freeway to fear while you're constructing a highway to faith. After 40 days of consistently renewing your mind, your muscle memory shifts. When something happens, you automatically default to "God's going to do something good" instead of catastrophizing.
The Difference Between Demon Possession and Demonization
Let me clarify something crucial: Demon possession only happens to people who don't know Jesus. However, Christians can absolutely be demonized or oppressed. If you don't believe Christians can experience demonic oppression, I'm not sure what you think the armor of God is for.
Paul didn't say we're winning with the armor of God. He said, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). Warfare is real, and most Christians theologically acknowledge a devil but don't actually believe in active spiritual warfare.
I've learned that if you're not experiencing resistance occasionally, you might not be doing anything worth resisting. While I don't believe in the motto "greater levels, greater devils," the truth is that warfare comes in seasons to anyone doing significant kingdom work.
A Word for the Exhausted and Hopeless
As Kris prayed during our conversation, I felt the compassion of the Lord rushing into the room. Kris knows what it's like to be hopeless, to lay on a couch for six months feeling like life is over. He was suicidal for six months, 16-17 years ago. Yet today, he carries such passion and compassion for people who are mentally ill or under demonic siege.
I want you to know: No matter how low you've gotten, no matter how mentally ill you feel, no matter how oppressed you are, the Lord can and will set you free. Chris and I agree right now for your deliverance and mental wholeness in Jesus' name.
Your First Step Toward Freedom
If you've been experiencing intrusive thoughts, mental images, or videos running through your mind that you can't turn off, understand this: Those aren't your thoughts. Demonic spirits give you their thoughts and then accuse you of having them. The way out is dealing with this on a spiritual level while also applying discipline to develop your weaknesses and demolish the strongholds in your mind.
Here's your framework:
If it's a demon, it's defeated – Exercise your authority in Christ
If it's a weakness, it needs to be developed – Apply discipline and develop it
If it's a stronghold, it needs to be demolished – Renew your mind for 40 days
This is your divine confirmation. This isn't your final step, but it's your first step. Keep going. The very fact that you're under such intense warfare reveals that your finest hour is approaching.
If you need additional support on your journey to freedom, I encourage you to call our prayer line at 1-866-996-7729. Our trained prayer team members are ready to walk with you. For more resources on deliverance and spiritual warfare, download The Breakers App and consider supporting this ministry as we continue bringing the message of freedom to people worldwide.
For more information on Kris Vallotton’s ministry, visit his website.
