Mark 9:28-29 – “His disciples began asking Him privately, ‘Why is it that we could not cast it out?’ 29 And He said to them, ‘This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.’” (NASB)
In Jesus Christ, a spiritual authority has arrived which can banish and subdue the devil. Jesus said he came to destroy the works of our adversary (1 Jn. 3:8). Jesus and the apostles agree there are principalities and powers of darkness at play in our world and the end game is to steal, kill, and destroy people’s lives and souls (Jn. 10:10).
However, Jesus came that we might have life and life to the full in the power of the Holy Spirit. With that said, we come to a story in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus’ disciples ran into demons they could not cast out verbally in Jesus’ name. They had previously experienced power and authority from Jesus to do so. When asking why they were powerless to handle this situation, Jesus said there are some strongholds that require the armies of heaven via prayer. We get a hint of this from the Old Testament when Daniel was praying and was told by an angel of the Lord that while his prayers were immediately heard, there was a principality of darkness over Persia that required the Archangel Michael to help break through to answer Daniels prayers (Dan. 10:12-13).
The Apostle Paul also reminds us that ‘…though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are…divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.’ – 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
A focused time of prayer and fasting is powerful in breaking through strongholds of the lusts that wage war against our souls. We can be more than overcomers through Christ who gives us strength!
Heavenly Father, my Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for means of grace to overcome all the tactics of the evil one. I thank you Jesus, that because you have overcome, I too can be an overcomer in your name. Help me to believe in the power of prayer and hunger and thirst for righteousness above all else, in Jesus’ name, Amen.