Your Words…
Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When He got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met Him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me, Jesus, You Son of the Most High God? I beg You, don’t torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places. “What is your name?” Jesus asked him. “Legion,” he said—because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him not to banish them to the abyss. A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. Luke 8:26-33
My Words…
I Praise You
I marvel when I read stories of You, Son of God, living on earth but interacting with the unearthly. Like the time You saw the naked, possessed man hanging out in the cemetery. Everyone else was afraid of him. I would have been, too. They chained him up so they wouldn’t have to deal with their fears. But You weren’t afraid of him. You weren’t afraid of who possessed him. (I had never thought about it before – but You aren’t afraid of anything. Nothing!) Legion was, understandably, very afraid of You. You could have assigned that band of demons a front row seat in the abyss. (I am not sure what that is, but if demons are afraid of it, then so am I.) But you opted to act out mercy, even toward those harming the crown of Your creation. Whether it be the spiritual realm or the earthly, You have the last word. That is praiseworthy.
A Prayer for Me
I have never seen a demon-possessed person, and I don’t want to. Demons scare me. I have read how they completely take over the lives of their hosts, barricading them from the hope, healing, and compassion You provide. Lately, I am convicted (through Your Spirit) that I am possessed by a different kind of Legion: complacency, apathy, and discontent. And this Legion is beginning to scare me. These “demons” have taken up residence, and I pray You will cast them out. I understand I can’t sit back and let You do all the work. It’s my job, too. So when I try to convince myself that I need a break from doing good, or I can’t make a difference, or I deserve a better life – give me a slap upside the heart. I need it.
Forgive Me
I can’t imagine anyone was surprised when You, Jesus, showed compassion to the man in whom Legion had taken up residence. You’re not one to pass by on the other side when you see a suffering soul. But when you showed mercy to Legion, You did something I would not have done if I had the power. Legion asked you to take it easy: “Don’t torment me.” But Legion had been tormenting his host for years, forcing him to live naked among the dead, seizing him so violently as to make him an outcast among his people, yet Legion had the gall to ask You for leniency. I would have given him a one-way ticket to abyss-ville. But You didn’t react like I would have (big surprise). You showed mercy to a demon, yet I struggle to be merciful to those around me. Forgive me, Lord, when I pick and choose who will receive my morsels of mercy. Open my heart to allow Your mercy to flow through me and on anyone who crosses my path – even when I feel they don’t deserve it. None of us does.
A Prayer for Others
I recently read an account of a four-year-old girl whose mother believed the girl was demon-possessed. The child would often cry, whine, and act out when it was time to sleep. (If that were the criteria, then I raised three demon-possessed children and never knew it.) The mother’s boyfriend murdered the little girl. Problem solved. Demon conquered. The news site posted a photo of the little girl, and, upon seeing her small, smiling face, I was overcome with rage toward the adults who had ended her young life. And Lord, this kind of horror happens every single day. You see it all, yet You are willing to forgive it all. If the man who murdered that innocent child came to you in a state of complete repentance, You would forgive him. No questions asked. I pray he does just that. And I pray that little girl is smiling at You right now.
Thank You
I am so grateful you are a God who knows all my “demons” and loves me anyway. You endure disappointment, humiliation and just plain sorrow because of me, yet you have never regretted creating me. I could write a billion eloquent phrases of thanksgiving to You yet never feel I have expressed it adequately. Thank you for being the God who knows me and loves me anyway.
More Praise
Praise be to You God who casts out poison so we can enjoy life to the full, in our bodies and in our spirits. Praise be to You who is never afraid or intimidated. You are all-powerful over what I can see and what I can’t.
Your Words…
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
…we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groaning. Romans 8:26
My Words…
The body of a lowly, unworthy human carrying around the Spirit of God. Only You, Father, would come up with such a plan. Your Spirit hangs out with my spirit, teaching me, nudging me, expecting me to grow. And I want to grow! I’m weary of living dormant, fallow. The landscape never changes. Clods of dirt close in around my feet and there I stand, brittle and tilted. But that season has ended. A spiritual springtime is dawning.
Your Spirit groans for me when I am tongue-tied before You. What does He say, I wonder? I have often felt there are too many words to sift through, to line up in the right order, to express the fullness of my impressions of You, my gratitude to You, and my need for You. So I just didn’t take the time. But I have learned there are not enough words. The time has come to line them up, put them in the right order, and craft a response to Your words. The conversation shall no longer be one-sided.
Perhaps there are others who wish to shake off the clods of dirt and join me.
Amen.
