Back in the account of the downside of the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples finally get a chance to ask Jesus why they could not cast out the demon. Why not this time after all the success on the road previously? His answer is that “this kind can not go out if not in prayer.” It seems an odd explanation.
It reveals that there are “kinds” of demons which is chilling. It assumes (and He would know) that the disciples weren’t praying. The alternative is that they were trying to cast the demon out by their own power using the name of Jesus as a “tool”; much like a pry bar, or spiritual jaws of life. I can see the disciples doing something of this sort.
In some sense, it is like relying on my own power after relying on Jesus for salvation and sanctification. I giddily run at the demon shouting behind me, “I got this one!” I have to remember that I run in borrowed armor, and therefore clumsily, prone to falling, and having to hitch up the belt while holding the sword and shield. And then the breastplate always seems to be in the wrong spot to reach the buckle on the belt. I’m telling you, truth is hard sometimes. Denial is a lot easier. Of course, it’s also a lot less effective.
So, why prayer (and fasting if you have an older translation)? I agree with Chambers who says that this sort requires a close connection of uninterrupted contact with Jesus. I would think a lot of things fit into this category, and I have no idea what “kind” of demon fits into it and what kind doesn’t. I would think they all would.
Now, don’t misunderstand me here, I don’t have experience facing demon possessed people. My spiritual warfare experience comes from prayer walks, personal intercessory prayer for protection from the enemy for my family, and group prayer over a brother or sister spiritually oppressed (not depressed). It’s not that I don’t believe demon possession doesn’t happen, it’s just that my Master hasn’t ever presented me with that sort of issue so far.
But even in those circumstances I have been faced with, I still only experience any measure of success when I sink deep into my Master in prayer. It’s like wading out into a deep mountain lake, only it’s warm and comforting; and I can feel it consume me in it’s warmth like a blanket, yet it remains unimaginably massive. It is from this safe place I try to engage in spiritual battle successfully. I wish I could say that’s the only place I engage in spiritual battle, but it seems I’m a slow learner.
And so, I see that my bunker for spiritual battle is my Master. My armor and weapons belong to Him, and I have it on loan (so, therefore it fits Him and not so much me, just in case you were wondering about the third paragraph). I don’t hunker down, I sally forth in prayer. I engage the spiritual forces of darkness while in conversation with my Master. I follow the tactics of Michael who refused to rebuke the enemy and instead said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9).
In a sense, I hold a place in line while the work is done by my Master. He leads the charge, engages the enemy and defeats them. I hold a place with my fellows. I pray. I seek His face and in the ensuing conversation witness the destruction of powers that held captives, the fall of dark forces oppressing myself and other believers, and the total defeat of a power of the air that seeks to devour straying souls. It’s better than HBO and ESPN, I’ll tell you that. My team always wins. Hu-Rah!
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