In Luke 8, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. 

Luke 8:28-31 As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out in the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power. 

Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit (or the Abyss).

In the Greek translation, Abyss is capitalized – meaning it’s a proper noun… a specific place.

The scripture continues: Luke 8:32-33 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. 

It appears even demons beg Jesus for compassion – to which He fulfilled their request. It does make me curious however, since the demons stated that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God and seem to realize Jesus’ authority… even over the Abyss, why didn’t they ask for more or perhaps better than being allowed to enter into the pigs? 

Then I got to thinking, why don’t we ask the one with authority over all the earth for something better? Perhaps we don’t feel worthy, or maybe we just don’t know what is even possible through God. I came to somewhat of a conclusion: if we don’t know Him, we don’t really know Good. I don’t believe we know how to ask for anything truly Good or even recognize a Good gift unless we are abiding in Him who is the only Good. The demons are obviously not abiding in Christ – while they know who Jesus is, they don’t KNOW Jesus. They recognized the authority but couldn’t fathom His Goodness… Their only motivation was fear of the Abyss. 

Even if we believe Jesus has authority, we still must KNOW Him to even begin to understand the Goodness He is capable of… or even a taste of that Goodness. And as we grow to know Him, our prayers can be prayers not rooted in fear but in true Goodness… Him… I believe that would change our prayers significantly.