“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;”
Today's reading — Luke 11:21-26▾
Whenever demons get involved in people’s lives, they usually set up evil patterns in their lives that become difficult to break. Such patterns will become so strong that such people will feel helpless, even when they can see themselves heading towards destruction.
When you speak to people who are addicted to pornography or engage in a bad habit like smoking, you will often learn that the pattern started when things in their lives were beginning to look promising. The devil set up those evil patterns in the lives of his victims to ensure that they do not experience the things that God has in store for them. However, once the patterns are broken, they become free from his stronghold.
To break these evil patterns, it is important to ask the Holy Spirit for help. Today’s Bible reading tells us that only a stronger man can take things that are in the possession of a strong man. When a demon tries to introduce an evil pattern into the life of a believer, the Holy Spirit helps him or her to prevent it. Many people make the mistake of relying on their strength to fight off the devil; however, that does not work. Instead, they should engage in a spiritual exercise that will cause them to be filled with the Holy Ghost. They can start worshipping God or praying in tongues. As they do this, they will weaken the devil’s influence in their lives. They must, however, be willing to continue in this practice indefinitely. As they continue to do this, they will discover after a while that they have become so strong in the Holy Spirit, and the yoke has been broken over them. Isaiah 10:27 says that the yoke will be broken by reason of the anointing.
Jesus said in today’s Bible reading that when a demon is cast out of a person, it will return to check the state of its former accommodation. If it finds the place clean and empty, it will repossess the person and invite seven worse demons than itself to also come in. This means that if an evil pattern has been broken over the life of a believer, he or she must continually grow in God’s grace. Such a fellow must pray, fast, study the Scriptures, and fellowship with other believers consistently. The deeper such a fellow goes in Christ, the more assured he or she will be of a permanent victory over all forms of evil patterns.