Jesus frees a demon-possessed man
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed to the Gerasenes’ land, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a certain man met him. The man was from the city and was possessed by demons. For a long time, he had lived among the tombs, naked and homeless. 28 When he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down before him. Then he shouted, “ What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me! ” 29 He said this because Jesus had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken possession of him, so he would be bound with leg irons and chains and placed under guard. But he would break his restraints, and the demon would force him into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, “ What is your name? ”
“ Legion, ” he replied, because many demons had entered him. 31 They pleaded with him not to order them to go back into the abyss.t32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission, 33 and the demons left the man and entered the pigs. The herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who tended the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and told the story in the city and in the countryside. 35 People came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully dressed and completely sane. They were filled with awe. 36 Those people who had actually seen what had happened told them how the demon-possessed man had been delivered. 37 Then everyone gathered from the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and returned across the lake. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged to come along with Jesus as one of his disciples. Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “ Return home and tell the story of what God has done for you. ” So he went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.
Together We Pray is a book of prayers written especially for families with children. It brings together grandparents, parents, older children, even the youngest child to give thanks and to ask for God's help and mercy for the family and for the world.
The prayers offered in this Together We Pray are inspired by the psalms of the Bible, scripture shared by Jews and Christians alike. They include prayers for the table, devotional prayers, and memory prayers that young children can easily understand and memorize. The prayers for table and devotion begin with a line or two from the psalm in which the prayer is rooted and celebrate the good things of life just as the psalms do-food, joy, home, love, and more-and also express a concern for other people and places, not just where we live, but around the world.
For so many families, life today seems fast-paced and chaotic. Stopping for a moment to breathe-pausing and expressing thanks and gratitude to God-can be very powerful, even if the pause is relatively brief. Together We Pray helps families to take that pause, to share in God's love and grace, and to do so in the most profound and lasting way-together as a family.