By Toni Crawford

One day—or maybe it was one night, I can’t remember—it was so long ago. I was lying on my mom’s bed, and she was right next to me, watching a show or a movie. I was either trying to fall asleep or just waking up when suddenly I felt a heaviness, as if someone was sitting on my back and holding my arms down.

My husband sometimes jokingly says, when he’s feeling sick, “Is this how it ends?”—but in that moment, I wasn’t joking. I didn’t think it was my end, but I definitely thought something wasn’t right… like a bored evil spirit was messing with me.

My eyes were wide open, but I couldn’t move. I tried to speak, calling out “Mom,” but my voice was so low—almost like a whisper—and choppy. I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. When calling my mom didn’t work, I remembered something I had heard many times before: there is power in the name of Jesus.

So I started calling on Jesus.

Even though my voice was still weak and barely coming out, I knew that if my mom couldn’t help me, Jesus could. The moment I called on His name, that heaviness—whatever it was—lifted off me instantly.

I never want to experience that again.

Have you ever experienced something like that?

Years later, I was watching a daytime talk show where someone brought up sleep paralysis. As they described their experience, I realized it sounded exactly like what happened to me—but at the time, I didn’t know there was a name for it. I had believed it was an evil spirit. I had even heard people say it’s “the devil riding your back.”

So in a way, it was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one who thought that.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, sleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak that happens when you’re waking up or falling asleep. It can come with vivid hallucinations and intense fear. It occurs when the brain wakes up from REM sleep, but the body remains in a paralyzed state to prevent acting out dreams. While it can be frightening, it’s generally harmless and only lasts seconds to minutes.

In closing, I’m not saying sleep paralysis isn’t real—but I also believe evil spirits are real. Sometimes I still wonder: was that sleep paralysis… or something spiritual?

The Bible speaks about evil spirits—see Matthew 12:22 and Mark 1:23–27.

So what did I learn from that strange moment when sleep paralysis decided to visit me?

I learned that there is truly power in the name of Jesus.

I had heard it many times in church—but this time, I experienced it for myself. I used the name that works.

Amen.

1 Peter 5:8:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”