Special Message on Prayer

The Neglected Power of Prayer

(Mark 9.29)

Introduction

What is evil and where does it come from? It is not just a novel question. It is real life. In reality there are evil forces at work in the world that seem to come out every day just to threaten our peace and sanity. We might be entertained by evil on television or at the movie theater, but when evil rears its ugly head in real life the situation is much more serious. Sometimes all we can do is stand and watch helplessly while evil forces have their way, cutting a swath of destruction and sorrow in our lives.

The Bible addresses the issue of evil and gives us some answers, but not always in a way that fits our preconceived categories. It turns out that evil is much stranger and even more disturbing than we expected. The Bible often makes things even more complicated and uncomfortable because it is telling us the way things really are rather than simply supporting our bias.

For example, Jesus often encountered people who had been possessed by demons, or evil spirits. A possession means that the demon, or perhaps even a group of demons, has taken complete control of an individual. The Bible teaches us that there is a spiritual world. This world is filled with personalities, some of which are evil or hostile to both God and men. This is one of the reasons why the Bible forbids any kind of contact with the spiritual world through magic or witchcraft. It is like opening your front door to the spiritual world. And you do not know what might come in!

This is a frightening possibility that many modern people do not want to consider. We now have a scientific view which regards such things a demonic possession as ancient superstition. That is, this is how the Western world thinks. But there are still many people in the world who believe in evil spirits. Even in the West there has been a sort of revival of interest in spiritual things. This has included a renewed interest in the old paganism and the occult. It is naively believed that anything spiritual must be good. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

Let’s avoid the extremes of a scientific naturalism that writes off the spiritual world and a naive spiritualism that simply opens the door to anything that might be out there. 

There is no reason to disbelieve in the possibility of demonic possession today. But neither should we think that evil will manifest itself in the same ways in every time and place. Evil spirits can be at work under our very noses in subtle and deceptive ways. Though we may never have to deal directly with someone who is demon possessed, we should not be ignorant about evil and how it operates all around us. Perhaps the danger in our time is becoming lax and almost blind to the workings of evil powers. We are in a fight against evil forces. We need weapons for this battle or we will be impotent. One of the main weapons we have in this fight against evil is prayer. We dare not neglect it.

The Reality of Evil

We cannot afford to be simplistic or naive about the presence and power of evil in this world. The ancient Greeks had a myth about how evil entered the world. There was a woman named Pandora who opened a box she was not supposed to open and this unleashed all of the evil and sorrow in the world. Sometimes those ancient myths transmit truth in surprising ways. Actually, evil did enter the world through a woman who did something forbidden, and who then was followed in the same folly by her willing husband. Adam and Eve’s sin opened the door to evil. And evil has come into our world. Evil was not native to this world because God made everything good. God is not the author of evil. Evil exists wherever there is rebellion and opposition to the will of God.

The fact that there is evil in the world means that not everything is in harmony with the will of God. Ultimately, the will of God is going to be done, on earth as in heaven. But now we live in an evil Age. Something is seriously wrong with this world and with the human race. It is almost like there is something out to get us. Something is hunting us. We can’t seem to escape it no matter what we do to hide or protect ourselves. The world is a dangerous, evil place.

When we read accounts in Scripture about evil spirits that take possession of people, even of a child, we are reminded that no one is safe from the presence of evil in this world. We know and recognize evil when we see it. It is serious business. True evil is almost too terrible to look at and we have to look away. It becomes especially difficult when we see something evil happen to a child. It is easy to read over the details of stories in the Bible. But what if this boy possessed by an evil spirit was your son? Your grandson? Your nephew? We tend to be a little insensitive to evil until it touches us personally. Then evil is no longer an abstract idea. It is real. And it hurts.

Evil is anything that is hostile to and destructive of human life as God intended it. God did not make the human body as a habitation for evil spirits. God did not make us so that cancer could eat away our bodies. The sensation of pain is not itself evil. But when there is enduring, unreasonable, pointless pain we call that something evil. Perhaps the most troubling part of this kind of evil is its seeming randomness. Why did this boy have a demon? Why do people suffer things like cancer or mental illnesses? We always seek answers for these random evils.

Why is there evil? Science seeks answers that are physical and material. And no one is against trying to understand the natural world. But when it comes to understanding evil, the Bible gives us a transcendent or spiritual view that is more complex than the natural and the material. This world we can see and touch is not the only reality. If we think or believe that it is then we will have a simplistic, one-dimensional view of evil. There will be things we cannot explain. Contrary to the belief of many modern people, science cannot explain everything. Actually, true scientists know there are still many mysteries in the world and humility is always the best attitude to have, especially when encountering the powers of evil.

The Power of Evil

Humility is exactly what the disciples learned in their encounter with this demon-possessed boy. When Jesus encountered demons there was no contest. The demons always submitted to Jesus, even begging him for mercy! But in this encounter, Jesus was not there. The disciples were on their own, and in this case, they failed. Perhaps they tried everything they knew to do. Perhaps they commanded the demon to come out of the boy. But they had no authority over this evil. In the same way, we often find ourselves helpless in the face of evil powers. We can relate to the disciples and their failure to cast out the demon! Have you ever felt this helpless? Have you ever faced some kind of evil and immediately knew that you were over-matched? That is a terrible feeling! Especially if you are a disciple of Jesus. We feel that because we are Christians we ought to have all the answers. We ought to be able to say the right words and the evil spirits should go away. But sometimes they don’t go away.

If we find ourselves over-matched by some evil power, the thing to do is face the facts and admit that we don’t have authority over that thing. There is no use in pretending to have power we don’t have or just talking big. Messing around with powers greater than ourselves can get us in trouble. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva (See Acts 19.13-16). I know we feel that, because we are Christians, we ought to be able to handle anything. And if we feel we can’t handle it then we feel that we have failed as Christians and that perhaps we just don’t have enough faith. But remember that FAITH is the key ingredient. Faith means that we are depending on another Power, not that we are equal to every situation on our own. By ourselves we ARE weak. With the Lord we are strong. That was certainly the case with the disciples. When Jesus was there the disciples were always coming out on top because they were with Jesus.

When we are going out on our own, we may lack the wisdom to understand the real issue. I once heard that anyone with a relatively high intelligence can graduate from medical school. But the hardest thing to do, and the most challenging thing to teach to medical students, is how to make a proper diagnosis.

This is true in all areas of life, including spiritual and moral life. Unless we can know the real sickness we can never find a cure. I am afraid that there is much time and effort wasted on trying to fix problems that are not the real problems. We treat the symptoms rather than the disease. And religious people are just as guilty of this as anyone else. Our intentions are good. We want to help. But unless the demon is cast out the problem will continue. Sometimes we just don’t go deep enough to understand what is really going on. We are shallow and stay on the surface of things. But if we do lack wisdom we should pray and ask God to give us the wisdom we need to do His work (James 1.5).

Trouble is, even if we know the real issue, we may still lack the power to bring about a change. Every day we encounter evils that we cannot change. It is a terrible feeling to stand by and watch while evil seems to have its way. What do you do when you have done everything you know to do and there is no victory? It is easy to get discouraged.

Fighting the Power of Evil

We sometimes feel like giving up the fight against evil. It seems like we can’t win. We have tried to cast out the demon and we could not. So why keep trying? Perhaps the disciples were never really meant to cast out the demon in this boy. Maybe there are some evils we are simply not meant to change. If we try to change these things we will just end up frustrated and disillusioned. Maybe it is even the will of God that certain evils exist in the world. Maybe God wanted that boy to have a demon for some reason. Doesn’t God use even evil for His own purposes? So if we can’t change something, maybe we should just accept it as the will of God. If we are not careful we can end up affirming another version of the old pagan belief in fate. All the bad things that happen to people must just be fate. And you can’t fight against fate. You just have to accept your fate, no matter how unjust it may be. But that is superstition, not Biblical faith in God.

Jesus taught us to pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The implication is that the will of God is not always done on earth. That is why there is evil in the world. The question is what does God want done about it? Why doesn’t God intervene directly and just rip the evil out of the world? It is not a question of His ability. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.

But this question about evil has been a source of doubt in the minds of many people. The skeptical philosopher David Hume has probably inspired many generations of atheists and agnostics by his famous statement that if God were all-powerful, yet did nothing about evil, then He is not good. And if He is good, but does nothing about evil, then He is not all-powerful.

Something that skeptics often do not consider in this argument is human agency. That is, what part does God want people to play in fighting against evil? Is it possible that God allows evil to exist because He is expecting us to fight against it and to actually be successful? While God does intervene in human affairs, the Bible is filled with examples of people who were called by God to do a work, which usually involved some kind of fight against some evil. God makes a habit of using people to fight evil in the world.

Sometimes God seems rather hard and callous about how difficult the fight actually is and what kind of sacrifice and pain will be necessary if evil is to be defeated. He let His Son die on a cross while all the forces of darkness looked on and mocked. Maybe we are just soft and expect an easy time of it and so we give up too soon and too easily.

Maybe we expect God to do His own work while we sit by idly and passively in the work. What does it really mean to be the servants of God if there is nothing for us to do? The goal is for us to join God in His work. That was why the disciples were following Jesus around. They were in training to do what Jesus was doing, to carry on the work. Jesus was not always going to be with them. He was going back to heaven, but His work on earth was going to continue in the Church, which is His body. And a body is made for getting things done. If the Church can’t do the work of Jesus in the world, then it has not claim on being His body.

The Church is not just a social club or a spiritual support group. The Church is supposed to be something more like an army going out to war. That being said, an army does need to be properly equipped with the most powerful weapons it can get if it hopes to win. There was a weapon the disciples did not have when they encountered this demon. Their failure may give us a clue about the reason for our own failure in the fight against evil.

The Source of Our Failures

When Jesus finally arrived on the scene He knew why the disciples had failed. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” The disciples knew about prayer and fasting. Those were not unfamiliar concepts. In this case they had failed to apply what they already knew. This can describe much of our failures too.

It is not a problem of ignorance. It is a problem of application or of practice. We know what to do. We just don’t actually DO it! Christianity is not just about having great ideas. Christianity is also about doing something. It is not just about talk. It is about power.

Satan is a Power in this world. He rules a kingdom of darkness. He is the god of this world. Satan has authority to do certain things and the only way to fight against him is to have some power ourselves. Where is our source of power for fighting evil? “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

The problem here is that this seems like doing nearly nothing. Sometimes prayer is what we do only when we think nothing else that we can do will work. Prayer has become a last, desperate resort we pull out in a moment of despair. There is nothing wrong with praying desperate prayers. But there are times when prayer is not the LAST thing we can do, it is the ONLY thing we can do. Prayer is doing something! In fact, to do something WITHOUT prayer may be the most powerless activity we can engage in. But we almost feel guilty about JUST praying. It seems like resignation, passivity, or accepting the inevitable victory of evil.

Why do we often neglect the power of prayer? Maybe we think God is not really interested in what we are praying for. But if we know God we ought to know something about what God wants. If we pray according to His will, we know He hears us. Perhaps we are not patient enough to keep praying for something. We give up far too easily, before the evil is dislodged. Jesus taught us to pray without giving up, always counting on the goodness of God. It is not that we have to get God’s attention with many or flowery words. We don’t know God’s timing and we need to keep praying until we see Him work.

But prayer is hard work. There is such a thing as struggling or wrestling in prayer, like Jacob refusing to let go of that mysterious man until he gave him a blessing. We prefer a shortcut, perhaps a formula. But prayer is not like saying the magic words. We might be tempted to think there is some special kind of prayer for casting out demons. What kind of prayer will do that? But that is the wrong question. The question is not “what kind of prayer will cast out demons?” but is actually “what kind of people pray the kind of prayers that can cast out the demons?” It is not about the kind of prayer, but about the kind of person who is praying. When Jesus prayed, He was heard. So how can we be more like Jesus, and as a result, pray the kind of prayers that are heard by the Father? Jesus was in total submission to the will of God. This is why He always knew what the Father wanted Him to do. And that is why Jesus never failed to do the will of God. The power is given to someone who is completely devoted to doing what God wants done. God does not underwrite our agendas.

We must be about our Father’s business, which means any kind of selfishness has to be put to death. We take up our cross to follow Jesus. This is why fasting is mentioned here along with prayer. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Fasting means self-denial. We put aside our own needs and desires in order to serve another agenda. Then the power flows. When we are empty then we can be filled. Prayer is only effectual through humility. The secret power of prayer is found in our dependence on the power of God.

Conclusion

The kind of prayer Jesus is talking about is not something we can do by simply scheduling a prayer meeting, praying longer prayers, using special words, or working up some emotional state. Any kind of programming, organizing, systematizing, or categorizing, all of which Western Christians love to do, will kill the power of prayer. Prayer is never meant to be something that we can capitalize on for our own purposes. We can’t package this and sell a book or build a Church on it. We are not in control. The disciples quickly found out as they encountered this demon that they were not in control of this situation. We pray when we realize there is something too powerful for us to handle on our own. It would actually be a good thing for the Church today to encounter more demons! We think we can engineer the Church and the Kingdom of God. If we have the right programs, the right cultural approach, a good band, and a nice building we can be successful. All we have to do is look around at all the demons running loose in our culture and we can see that we do not have things under control. The helplessness of these disciples in dealing with this demon is a good illustration of the Church today, at least in the Western world. We seem to be over-matched.

The Church has been unable to keep Western culture from becoming more and more secular. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

The Church has tried to have an influence on the political system, only to lose on more and more key issues. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

The Church has tried to bring people to Christ and turn them away from the power of darkness, only to see people all around us in the grip of sin and destroying themselves in various ways. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

We have even tried to reform the Church herself and bring her back to a point of revival and deliver Her from the grip of sin, apathy, compromise, and division. Instead we have seen religious corruption grow and the spread of false teaching along with a renewed institutionalism and sectarianism. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

We may play the numbers game and think that we have too small a number on our side to really make a difference against evil today. We seem to be outnumbered. But that has always been the case for the people of God. God has never needed numbers to win a great victory. The difference has always been the power of God. And that power exercises itself through the prayers of God’s people.

The powerlessness of the Church may be the result of Her prayerlessness. After everything we have tried to do in the fight against evil has failed, maybe we will finally listen to the words of Jesus. “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

He said He would never leave us or forsake us. He is always with us, just a prayer away. All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. And He is our great High Priest who intercedes for us, bringing our prayers before the Throne of God. We are never alone. We are never powerless, if we will only pray.