Some only come out with much prayer….
In Mark chapter 9 the disciples and Jesus have an encounter with a young person who is terribly afflicted by a demonic presence. The father of that boy described his agonizing situation like this: “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.” The father adds to it his further disappointment that when they brought the boy to Jesus’ disciples they were unable to help him.
The story continues with Jesus ministering to the boy and of a complete and total deliverance from this demonic affliction. Later the disciples ask Jesus: “Why could we not cast it out?” To this question Jesus replied: “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” There are some situations which cannot be dealt with in the ordinary means you are used to employing under these circumstances. Jesus had demonstrated to the disciples how his ministry was accomplished. They had employed those same actions in other situations and were successful in helping people. But here, with this particular young person they were not able to do it. Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones preaching on this passage in the late 50’s suggested that it was a picture of what the church was up against in bringing the gospel to a post-Christian west. People were in a sense “innoculated” against receiving the gospel. They knew a little, and that little was enough to keep them from actually listening to the gospel.
I believe that what Dr. Jones talked about nearly 50 years ago is an apt description of what we face in bringing the good news to those around us. As Jesus told the disciples regarding this particularly troublesome evil spirit - “some only come out with much prayer.” We are alive in a time when there are strong idols vying for the hearts of young people. In a generation riddled with broken families there is a hunger for love and acceptance that makes this generation particularly vulnerable to the idolatry of romantic love. “If only” I could find the right person everything would be okay. It sounds so right. But it is a lure that if swallowed can be the reason a person will not be able to follow Christ. Jesus said that no one can serve God and money, that he or she will in actuality chose one or the other, but not both. He could have said the same thing about this generation and the need for love. The desperate need to be accepted, loved and valued can cause a person to give themselves to relationships that take them away from Christ. I believe that this is, for many young people, the idol which will have to be smashed if there is be any real hope of authentic Christianity.
And this leads me back to Jesus statement to the disciples; “some only come out with much prayer.” We desperately need a faithful body of intercessors who will lay the prayer ground cover for evangelism and discipleship. We are not simply “instructing” people in how to do steps 1-3 that will lead to a holy life. We are wrestling against powers and principalities in the heavenly places. We are engaging in spiritual warefare on behalf of a generation. We are waging a prayer war which cannot be ignored or minimized. I believe that what Jesus told the disciples in Mark 9 is a word we must embrace for ourselves and for this generation. What do you think?