Kingdom News: Why did it work?

In Mark 9, there’s a moment that should make every Christian who talks about spiritual authority pay attention. The disciples had done this before. Jesus had already “given them authority over impure spirits” (Mark 6:7), and Scripture tells us that “they drove out many demons” (Mark 6:13). They knew they had authority.

They had exercised it. They had watched demons leave. Then a desperate father brought them his son.

They tried to drive the spirit out. And nothing happened. When Jesus arrived, the father told Him: “I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” (Mark 9:18).

Jesus rebuked the spirit, and it left. Later, behind closed doors, the disciples asked the question I think every believer eventually needs the humility to ask: “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Mark 9:28).

Jesus answered: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29).

Now this is where it gets powerful. Jesus did not tell them they had lost their authority. He had already given it to them.
He pointed them back to prayer. Why? Because authority was never supposed to become independence.

Prayer says, “God, I need You.” The disciples had experience. They knew what to say. They had seen it work before. But yesterday’s victory could never become today’s power source.

And neither can ours. You can know Scripture and still need God. You can have preached for years and still need God.

You can have watched God use you powerfully and still need God.

You can have stood against darkness before and watched it move and still need God today.

There is a dangerous place where experience with God quietly begins replacing dependence upon God.

Delegated authority does not mean independent power. Jesus remains the source.Interestingly, Jesus did not stop in Mark 9 and perform a long prayer before commanding the spirit to leave. He simply commanded it.

So His statement about prayer appears to mean something deeper than saying a quick prayer before a confrontation.

Jesus lived prayerfully. Mark 1:35 shows Him withdrawing early in the morning to pray. Luke 5:16 says He “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Prayer was not Jesus’ emergency button. It was His posture. That is the lesson. You cannot manufacture in the confrontation what you continually neglect in communion.

Ephesians 6 tells us: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11).

And look at what Paul gives us: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer. No catalogue of demons. No obsession with darkness. A life anchored in God.

Spiritual warfare happens when Satan lies and you stand in truth. When temptation comes and you choose obedience.

When accusation tells you that you are condemned and you stand in what Christ has done. When fear says God has abandoned you and you answer with His Word.

Sometimes spiritual warfare is dramatic. Sometimes it is simply saying: “I will not move from what God has said.” YES, THERE ARE TIMES TO COMMAND

We should not explain away what Scripture plainly teaches either.

Jesus commanded evil spirits to leave. Paul did too. In Acts 16:18 Paul said: “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left.

But biblical authority is not theatre. It is not screaming louder. It is not proving how anointed we are.

It is Christ-centred authority exercised in dependence upon God. So stop being terrified of an enemy Jesus defeated.

But also stop becoming arrogant about an enemy Scripture tells you to resist.

Fear says: “The enemy is powerful.”

Pride says: “I am powerful.”Faith says: “Jesus Christ is Lord.”James 4:7 gives us an order we should never reverse: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We love the second part. Resist! But God puts something before it. Submit.

Spiritual authority begins with where my life is positioned: under the authority of Jesus.

And perhaps that is what the disciples learned when something that had moved before suddenly would not move. They went back to Jesus and asked: “Why couldn’t we?”

And Jesus brought them back to dependence. So yes, believer, you have authority.

But you still need prayer. You still need the Word. You still need submission. You still need communion with God.

Because prayer is not what we do when our authority fails. Prayer reminds us where our authority came from in the first place.

The lesson of Mark 9 was never: Shout louder. Try harder. Find a better formula.

It was: Stay close. Stay submitted. Stay dependent. You have authority. But Jesus is the power behind it. (VICKY LUDICK)

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