Oh Me of Little Faith

           “Our battle is not here, Kayla.” Murad shook his head. “It is so much spiritual things. Many devils are here.”
He told me there is a lot of demon possession in Korah. When I asked if he had ever cast one out himself, he looked at me as if I asked if he’d ever opened his eyes in the morning.
 “Of course!”
“Really?”
 “A lot of times.”
I sat staring at him with a gaping mouth. “You have?”
I was struck with the idea that this man, the one in front of me, had commanded evil spirits to get out and they heeded his word! He told me that sometimes he asks how many of them there are. Sometimes they say five or ten, and the biggest one is the spokesman. He said he always asks where it is from.
“One said, ‘I am from Sudan.’ Another, ‘I am the master of Korah.’”
Murad says, “Beu Yesus Kristos sim, hed!” (In the name of Jesus Christ, get out!)
That is all it takes. The shrieking, clawing person falls to the ground freed in the name of Jesus. Jesus’ name alone is so powerful that demons run at the sound of it from the mouth of a disciple. It is only by the power of God. Murad told me a story of one of his friends who was called to a home to cast out a demon. He walked through the door and the possessed person ran to the back of the room screaming,
“No! It’s a son of Jesus! What do you want with me? Please go! Please leave me alone!”
 Murad said sometimes the demon will ask if he can go into a sibling or a spouse, rather than leave all together. And then there are some, as Jesus said, (Matthew 17:21) that only go out by prayer and fasting. I continued to stare at him with wide eyes until he said,
“Kayla, are you scared?” I nodded that the whole demon scene was intimidating to me. “You don’t have to be scared, Kayla.” He poked my shoulder. “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
My first response was, “I know.” But I had to ask myself, “Really Kayla, do you know? Do you know how great this God is, whom you serve?” I am far from grasping the extent of His greatness, but I am learning.
             Last week one of the Strong Hearts hospice patients tried to commit suicide. Someone insulted her, and she was wounded to the point that she no longer felt worth as a human being and was ready to end her life. The tongue – oh the weight it holds. Praise the Lord for the other people who appeared on the scene and intervened. The hospice team went to her house to visit, encourage and pray with her several times afterwards. I went on Wednesday, and I want to describe the amazing scene I witnessed and was a part of. She welcomed us enthusiastically into her home, not making eye contact. Shame crowded her demeanor as she sat down. We spoke with her gently and reminded her of her worth in Jesus Christ. We told her that the Creator of the universe designed her perfectly and intentionally, and it doesn’t matter what other people say. We reminded her that God gave her life, and the day her life ends is not her decision to make. She nodded knowingly, wringing her hands and saying “Amen” often.
          Then it was time to pray. Sitting in a deep recliner, she still had not looked up from the dirt floor. Fikru was appointed to pray. I moved to sit on the armrest of her chair and gathered my hands around her small shoulders. Fikru is a fairly quiet man….but not when he is praying. The power of God thunders from his mouth with authority. Ethiopians always talk really fast when they pray, and I usually cannot understand the majority of what is said. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed my own prayer for her. Fikru prayed and prayed and prayed. Then he paused and moved closer to her. He put his hand on her forehead and spoke again louder and stronger. Her body tensed in my arms, and I began to understand what Fikru was saying.
“Who are you?” he demanded. The woman responded quickly with a high shrieky voice. “I am Satan.”
My eyes opened and my head jerked up.
“How many are you?”
“We are three.”
“How long have you lived here.”
“For three years.”
I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. The demons inside were responding! The woman whooped and jumped in her chair as he continued to pray over her.
“In the name of Jesus, get out!” He reached over and hit her forehead three times.
“Ande!” (One) She screamed.
“Hulet!” (Two) She screamed.
“Sost!” (Three) She screamed longer and then fell back limply. She was free. Fikru comforted her and continued to pray. He prayed over her sleep, her home, her life, and that she would have peace from that day on. We stood to leave, and the woman kissed us all enthusiastically.
           I could not stop smiling. I was amazed at the way the demons had no choice but to flee when Fikru spoke the name of Jesus. What power is in His name alone! In the book of James it says that the demons believe and tremble. I saw three demons tremble that day.

 “Oh you of little faith. For truly I say to you that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it shall move. Nothing shall be impossible for you.”   ~Matthew 17:20~

            Jesus said that. This verse brings to me both shame and conviction. If we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains, I must not have much faith at all. I cannot comprehend all that God is capable of, and I know that my perception of what He can do through me is too small. There are some things in the Bible that I subconsciously consider only things that happened in Bible times. I often fail to remember that He is the same God with the same power, the same promises, and the same potential for revealing Himself in supernatural ways.

Oh me of little faith, for I serve that very God.