Wednesday February 26
The Power of Prayer
Luke 11:14-23
14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." 16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. 17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
We are looking at this wonderful chapter in Luke 11 on the subject of prayer. The Lord Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray, and what to pray, in answer to their request to teach them to pray. As He is teaching them, we are also learning many aspects about prayer that we should remember every day. First, Jesus gives us the pattern of prayer (vv. 1-4). Secondly, He tells a story of some friends and gives a great lesson on the persistence of prayer (vv. 5-8). Third, Jesus teaches us about the great promise of prayer (vv. 9-13). “If we being evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our heavenly Father give us the Holy Spirit when we ask Him!” (v. 13).
Now in verses Luke 11:14-23, Jesus is going to give us a lesson on the power of prayer, along with a live illustration as He casts a demon out of man. Jesus said that He is able to casts out demons with “the finger of God”. Maybe the Apostle Paul was remembering this passage in Luke when he wrote 1 Corinthians 1:22-25: “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (Also remember Luke was Paul’s traveling companion on his second missionary journey. Who knows all that they might have discussed as they were walking those long miles.)
We must always remember as believers that we are facing and dealing with demonic forces and the kingdom of darkness as we on mission with Jesus in this present world. Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” To stand against and defeat them we must believe in the might power of prayer and use it as a weapon to pull down demonic strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
After Jesus cast the demon out of the mute man, the religious leaders were there and instead of rejoicing that God had sent a Redeemer, they were rebelling against the truth of God's Word and seeking to discredit Christ's work and character. They claimed Jesus did this in the power of Satan. Imagine people being so blind that they could not distinguish a work of God from a work of Satan! "Beelzebub" was one of the names of the Philistine god Baal (2 Kings 1:1-3); it means "lord of flies." The Jews often used this name when referring to Satan.
In verse 16, they “tested” Jesus by basically saying, "If you are really working for God, prove it by giving us a sign from heaven, not just a miracle on earth." They were tempting God, which is a dangerous thing to do.
Refutation (vv. 17-22). Jesus answered their charges with three arguments. First, their accusation was illogical. Why would Satan fight against himself and divide his own kingdom? (Note that Jesus believed in a real devil who has a kingdom that is strong and united. See Eph. 2:1-3; 6:10ff.) Second, their charges were self-incriminating: by what power were the Jews casting out demons? How do their works differ from Christ's works? On the contrary, Christ's miracles show that the kingdom of God is present, not the kingdom of Satan!
Finally, their accusation was really an admission of His power, for He could not defeat Satan unless He were stronger than Satan. Jesus pictured Satan as a strong man in armor, guarding his palace and his goods. But Jesus invaded Satan's territory, destroyed his armor and weapons, and claimed his spoils! (see John 12:31-33; Colossians 2:15; 1 John 3:8). Though he is permitted limited authority, Satan is a defeated enemy. My friend, we should always remember, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Today, we should be exercising the mighty power of prayer!
God bless!
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