Spiritual warfare is real—but are we recognizing the ways our culture has made the occult look harmless?

On this week’s Pray with America’s Leaders, IFA Chief Program Officer Kris Kubal spoke with Jenn Nizza, a former psychic medium who spent decades immersed in New Age and occult practices before surrendering her life to Jesus Christ. Now, through her ministry Ex-Psychic Saved, Nizza warns others about spiritual deception and points them toward the freedom she found in Christ.

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For Nizza, the journey into the occult began early. She grew up experiencing paranormal activity and received her first tarot card reading at 13. What initially seemed intriguing eventually led her deeper into divination and ultimately into working as a psychic medium.

Nizza genuinely believed she was helping people.

“I truly believed I was communicating with the deceased, and I believed I had a gift from God,” she told Kubal. “I needed to help people. I needed to bring messages from their departed loved ones to them in order to help them heal.”

She now calls that belief a “masquerade.”

For 25 years, Nizza remained involved in the occult. Meanwhile, she experienced what she now identifies as demonic oppression, including nightmares, sleep paralysis, and other frightening experiences. Eventually, in what she described as a moment of near destruction, she called on the name of Jesus.

That moment began a months-long journey toward understanding the gospel and ultimately surrendering her life to Christ.

Looking back, Nizza says she now recognizes the evil behind practices she once believed were benevolent. She warned that the same deception continues today, often packaged as entertainment, wellness, self-improvement, or spirituality.

One of Nizza’s strongest warnings concerned what she calls spiritual “open doors.” Something as seemingly harmless as an astrology game on social media, she said, can introduce people to practices the Bible condemns.

“Though it presents itself as entertainment, that’s a crafty maneuver on behalf of the devil, because he just wants you to get into it,” she said.

Nizza identified astrology, tarot cards, manifestation, the law of attraction, Reiki, and other New Age or occult practices as examples Christians should avoid. She encouraged believers to ask God to reveal areas where they may have unknowingly opened spiritual doors and to seek Him for discernment.

She is particularly concerned about children.

Social media has made occult practices extraordinarily accessible, Nizza said. Young people scrolling through TikTok and other platforms can encounter psychics, tarot readings, manifestation practices, crystals, and other New Age content with little understanding of their spiritual roots.

Entertainment can reinforce those messages. Nizza pointed to movies and other popular media that portray witchcraft as empowering or harmless, especially to young women searching for identity or control.

That does not mean Christians should become obsessed with finding a demon behind everything. In fact, Nizza specifically cautioned against that extreme.

“What we’re lacking is balance,” she said, noting that some churches barely discuss spiritual warfare while others can attribute virtually everything to demonic activity. Christians must also confront their own sin and the influence of the world rather than blaming everything on demons.

But ignoring spiritual warfare carries dangers of its own.

Nizza argued that churches need to equip believers to recognize occult and New Age practices because their congregations encounter these ideas everywhere—from stores and entertainment to social media and popular culture. Christians experiencing unusual spiritual phenomena may also remain silent because they fear being ridiculed or misunderstood.

The answer, however, is not fear. It is Christ.

Nizza’s own life testifies to that truth. After 25 years in darkness, she encountered the One whose authority is greater than anything she had experienced in the occult. Today, instead of leading people toward psychic readings, she points them toward Jesus and warns others about the deception she once embraced.

Her latest book, Darkness in Disguise: A Biblical Warning About Spiritual Deception in Our Culture, combines experiences from her former life with biblical teaching about the practices she encountered. Nizza is also preparing to release a short film telling her story as she continues expanding her ministry.

As intercessors, we cannot afford either to dismiss spiritual warfare or to become preoccupied with darkness. Our attention belongs first and foremost on Christ, His Word, and the authority He has given His people. Let’s pray for discernment for ourselves, our churches, parents, and especially young people; for those trapped in occult practices to encounter Jesus; and for the Church to speak truth boldly while keeping its eyes firmly fixed on Him.

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