The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8 NIV)
I received an unexpected phone call from a “spiritual mama” of mine from our prior church. For me, being near her is being enfolded in love. Although I see her infrequently, when I do see her it is like no time has passed. Love is her mood and mode. As a mother of eight, she’s had a lot of experience loving people; I’m just a lucky recipient of the overflow.
But today, the phone call was about one of her biological daughters, age 43, who is seriously struggling with mental health and probably demonic issues. My prayer warrior friend has prayed over all her children, but was calling in reinforcements. In fact, she was calling me because she asked if our pastor would come pray over the daughter – expecting that he would know what to do in this type of spiritual warfare.
She mentioned to me that she has many praying friends, but no one that would be able to pray away evil spirits. Although she belongs to a church community, I expect that congregation doesn’t have the discernment and experience needed to address situations involving spiritual warfare or demonic oppression. And while I may have a bit more faith or awareness in this area than some, I was grateful to connect her with our pastor, who has walked through similar situations before.
Now I’m praying that her daughter will find freedom and healing from whatever is tormenting her—and that God’s peace will cover their whole family.
If Jesus taught that we have a real enemy (John 10:10), if Jesus cast out demons (Mark 1:27), and if Jesus taught us to pray for protection (Matthew 6:13), then we should assume that there are evil forces trying to harm us. But he also gave us authority over that darkness:
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:19 NIV)
He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3:14-15 NIV)
It doesn’t take much discernment to recognize that there is real evil in the world. Jesus tells us we have the authority to cast it out, yet many churches lack the understanding, training, or readiness to help people experience freedom from this kind of oppression. Let us pray today for the Church universal to boldly step into this part of its calling so that souls may be freed from the enemy’s plan to “steal, kill, and destroy,” and so those souls can know the grace and freedom of the Abundant Life in Christ.
God,
Thank you for the high calling to rescue the lost, care for the hurting, and stand firm in spiritual battles against the enemy of our souls. Thank you for the discernment given by the Holy Spirit and the authority Jesus has entrusted to us. Equip your global Church with the wisdom and courage to recognize and confront the enemy, so that souls may be freed from confusion, spiritual oppression, and demonic influence—even possession. We pray in the name of Jesus that you would be our strength, our wisdom, and our protection in every battle. We trust you to provide all we need. In Jesus’s name we pray, AMEN.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13 NIV)
When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.[a] So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:14-29 NLT)
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“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18:1-8 NLT)