“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:15-16).

The seven sons of Sceva thought they could use Paul’s formula for setting people free from demonic power. They tried it on this man and took a severe beating for their trouble. There wasn’t any problem with their formula. The problem was their lack of relationship with Jesus. The formula only works when there is faith in the One whose name we’re using.

Formulas are helpful because they simplify things for us. If we do “A” and “B” we are certain to get “C.” Life doesn’t work that way and, for sure, Christianity doesn’t. Christianity is built on a relationship with Jesus. A formula without a relationship doesn’t work. Just repeating what Paul said, without Paul’s relationship with Jesus, didn’t work for the sons of Sceva and it won’t work for us, either.

The reason Paul’s words worked is because Paul had a relationship with Jesus. That relationship comes by faith. That relationship is available to anyone just for the asking. God doesn’t want us to face life with empty formulas. He wants us to believe in His Son, Jesus. That empowers us to overcome the enemy with our words. Words spoken from faith and a relationship with Jesus have mighty power. Words spoken without faith are just…well… words.