The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Christ comes to give life in abundance (John 10:10). How does this relate to mental illness?
As I’ve traveled the United States ministering, I’ve met some great men and women of God who pray healing prayers over people. One commonality they have is that they question whether God can heal mental illness. They believe God can heal almost any sickness or disease, but when it comes to mental illness, they tell me they don’t know what to think.
Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about healing mind ailments.
We see a perfect example in Mark 5. Just as Jesus was leaving a boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 5:2). This unclean spirit was a strongman spirit that plagued the man. The man had his dwelling among the tombs. He had been bound with shackles and chains, which he pulled apart. No one could tame him (v. 3-4). He cried out and cut himself with stones day and night (v. 5).
This man was obviously tormented in his mind. As we study this passage, we see several different things going on with this man. Verse 7 tells us the demons in the man cried out, asking Jesus not to torment them.
Casting out demons was a huge part of Jesus’ ministry. In verse 8, Jesus ordered the unclean spirit out of the man. When you study the original Greek in this verse, it means He repeatedly ordered the demons to come out. When the demons came out, they went into a herd of swine and the swine drowned in the sea.
Upon the demons being cast out of the man, the man came into his right mind.
“They came to Jesus and saw him who had been possessed with the legion of demons sitting and clothed and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15, MEV).
Strong’s Concordance #4993 defines “of right mind” as being of sound mind, sane, self-controlled, serious, moderate, sober-minded, restrained, disciplined and able to reason. When we look at the definition of right mind, it describes the opposite of people who have a mental illness.
If Jesus could heal a man of a mind ailment back then, how much more can He heal today? He is a healer! He is the same God who heals today as He did back in biblical times. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8, MEV).
Jesus instructed the man to go and tell his friends. I love this verse; it shows Jesus’ compassion and love for this man. “Jesus said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has had compassion on you’“ (Mark 5:19, MEV).
Jesus had compassion on this man and Jesus has compassion on us, our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. The same Jesus who loved this man and delivered him of mental illness can heal anyone who has been afflicted with mental illness.
Believe and increase your expectations. We serve a miracle-working God! He desires to see His people live in freedom; after all, Christ came to set the captives free. “He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Is. 61:1, MEV). {eoa}
Kathy DeGraw is the founder of DeGraw Ministries, a prophetic ministry releasing the love and power of God, igniting people in the prophetic, teaching the power of prayer through declaring and releasing people from emotional bondage. Kathy is the author of Spiritual Warfare Declarations, A Worship Woven Life, Time to Set the Captives Free, and Flesh, Satan or God. Connect with Kathy at degrawministries.org.
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