Year of the Bible: Part Nine of TwelveSample

Nobody is Too Far Gone

Ever met someone you thought could never become a follower of Jesus? Someone so deep in sin or so bound up in demonic oppression that you hardly had faith to pray for them?

This man from the Gadarenes was that guy! Possessed by a “Legion” of demons (a Roman legion numbered 5,000-6,000 soldiers), this guy had thousands of demons tormenting him. Imagine a naked guy screaming from the cemetery; the authorities had tried to chain and bind him, but the power of the demons helped to break his iron fetters! “Lost,” you say?

In Mark’s account of this story (Mark 5:1-20), the demon-possessed man ran to Jesus and threw himself down to worship the Messiah. If this severely messed-up Gentile could still recognize and worship the Son of God, then no state-of-mind or demonic oppression is powerful enough to keep someone from choosing to submit to Christ and be saved. Anyone can still surrender to Jesus and find freedom.

Even more astounding is that Jesus invited the man into ministry, sending him to evangelize his home region. Even without formal training, the man’s testimony was powerful and amazed all who heard it.

Question: Is there someone in your life that seems so broken or far from God that you’ve lost the faith to pray for them?

Prayer: Rather than focusing on the person’s condition, consider God’s unconditional love and limitless power. Turn your eyes to the Lord in intercessory prayer, trusting in the power of God to do what man cannot.