Prayer Guide and Devotional
Prayer Guide and Devotional – August 23, 2023
Acts 19:13-16
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts thru August
Sometimes we have to look at a situation and ask ourselves if we have the power or ability to to get something done. Here the Jews were exorcising demons but they were not followers or believers in Jesus. They had either seen Paul cast out demons in Jesus name or they heard about it and so they decided to try it. In the above case the seven sons of a Jewish Chief Priest decided they were going to cast out demons. Were they truly serious about this or was it just a game to see if it would actually work? Well, these seven sons attempted to cast a demon out of a man. The demon replied back that he was aware of both Jesus and Paul but he had no knowledge of them. They did not have the power or authority to cast the demon out on their own. Paul was backed up by the power of the Holy Spirit. But these men got in way over their heads because they were messing with a power they could not stand up against. We must realize that sometimes we need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us in various tasks throughout the day. When we have a close knit relationship with Lord Jesus then we have the ability to handle difficult situations because His Spirit is with us. But if we are going to live life apart from the Lord and only get close to Him when it benefits us, do not assume that the power of the Lord’s Spirit is going to be with you. It is a very intimate relationship with God that enables us to stand up against forces much greater than ourselves. Are you right with God?? Do you have the Power from the Blood of Jesus??
Lord, I know it is not by any power or ability of my own that I am able to see wonderful miracles . It is because of Your Holy Spirit and because of Lord Jesus. I am so blessed Your Spirit lives within me. These wonderful miracles such as looking into the eyes of another person as they receive Lord Jesus into their heart and life are only possible because of Your Power and Your authority. Thank You Lord God!!
Prayer Requests!!!
Please pray for Fred. He has cancer and new locations have been found.
A reminder of this service for farmers:
Farmer Crisis Center: https://farmcrisis.nfu.org/
Send prayer request to: