Daily Prayer Devotional for Women and Men

Devotional

(From Scripture Union)

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Pray

Lord Jesus, you came to die so that I could live. Thank you for the abundance of the life you have purchased for me; help me to use it to bring you glory and to draw others to you.

Read

MARK 5:1–20

For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway. Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man 5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” 9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Read full chapter

Footnotes Mark 5:1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes Mark 5:20 That is, the Ten Cities

Meditate

Consider

‘God be in my head, and in my understanding / … God be in my heart, and in my thinking.’1

Think Further

In Jesus’ time, evil spirits represented everything bad, inexplicable, and uncontrollable. That Jesus had power over all malevolent forces was hugely significant to Mark. Casting out an evil spirit was the first miracle Mark recorded2 and we shall encounter more as we come to understand Mark’s Jesus. To Jews, this wild man embodied all that was unclean, contaminated by pigs, nakedness, gentiles, dead bodies, and evil spirits.3 This, however, was not Jewish territory: Jesus and the disciples had gone ‘across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes’ (v. 1). These people understood their world to be populated by demons, spirits, nymphs, centaurs, and angels who controlled the natural world, determined human fate, and took possession of people. They could only hope to appease them through magic, ritual, and sacrifice.

Today, we attribute human disorders and illnesses to genetics, or to pathogens that can cause diseases such as Covid, and treat them with medications, surgery, and counseling. The healing of the Gerasene demoniac, however, still speaks powerfully of assurance and hope to those who daily struggle with depression, anxiety, or compulsive behavior. They will understand why this man would name himself ‘Mob’4 (Legion). He knows a loss of individual identity, left only with a boiling struggle of conflicting forces.5 Jesus is powerful and authoritative. Having just controlled a storm,6 he now steps ashore to command another kind of chaos. No form of evil disorder is beyond the power of God to control. God, fully present then in Jesus, is fully present with us today. God will ultimately defeat the evil forces of chaos, illness, frenzy, and death.

Apply

Jesus rules both the physical and spiritual realms. He comes to us through our storm, calms our hearts, and restores our minds. Ask for his peace.

Pray

Lord Jesus, there is nothing over which you do not rule, nothing over which you do not have power. No matter what would seek to harm, or even destroy me, I look to you for your hedge of protection and for safety.