There is something, however, that will stop God’s power dead in its tracks, and that is an atmosphere of unbelief. Jesus could not do miracles in his hometown of Nazareth because of it (Mark 6), and His disciples failed to cast a dumb spirit (that is a spirit that afflicts mental capacities in a variety of ways, including learning disabilities, ability to read and process the Bible, focus and so forth) out of a boy because of the lack of faith and unbelief in the people of the land (Mark 9)!
The “dumb” spirit limits mental functioning (not used in the way we say “dumb” to mean someone is not intelligent), the ability to process the deep things of God, to read the Bible and be able to engage God and others without distractions. It encompasses a hoard of learning disabilities, ranging from foggy thinking to developmental delays and learning disabilities, and is often used in Scripture in conjunction with a “deaf” spirit, which includes loss of physical hearing. The enemy knows that a dumb spirit will limit us greatly from being able to walk in the fruitful existence that God has for us, as it blocks our spiritual hearing.
