The Healing of a Boy With an Evil Spirit

by Joey Davis

The boy lies sleeping, curled up in his covers and barely visible in the glow of the his father's lantern. His father runs his hand over the boy's head, gently stroking his hair into place as a solitary tear streams down his face.

Satan has robbed his son. The dark prince has robbed him of the carefree days of youth and the joy of knowing his father. He has robbed the father of what should be the most joyous years of his life with his namesake.

Anxious questions accompany that lone, mute tear. . . Will this illness ever end? Will life ever be normal again?

The boy looks so peaceful, all snug in his bed. But his life is anything but that. He is deaf and mute. Seizures wrestle him to the ground without warning, almost as if the bony hand of Satan were rubbing his face in the ground.

This is our adversary, the devil. This is who he is and what he's about. The Bible calls him a lion seeking whom he may devour, but the truth is, he has less of a conscience than any ravenous beast. He preys on the weak, innocent and defenseless. Savagely and viciously like a starving beast he attacks the most vulnerable.

The father hears of Jesus and hopes that the Redeemer can somehow bring his son back. He can . . . and He does! ( Luke 9:37-43) . . .

. . . As I see how unscrupulous and cowardly Satan is. I despise him more than ever. Yet on the other hand, I ask my Lord to help my lack of understanding when I place His biblical promises beside the headlines in the paper. I beg Him to help me understand. And when I can't understand, I beg Him to help me to trust. And when I can't trust, I beg Him to help me overcome my unbelief.

And I pray for those who are robbed. . . for the diabetic and epileptic who live at the mercy of sometimes life-threatening seizures. . . for the deaf who live in a world of silence. . . for the speech impeded, who ache to express themselves clearly. Have mercy on them Lord! They have special needs. And I pray that the Father has mercy on their parents and friends as well. May He help them deal with the demands of affliction the insensitivity of the world, and the guilt that they aren't doing enough to help.

I thank the Master that He came to defeat Satan. and while I don't always understand why things are as they are in this world. . . I'm confident l will in the next.