Victory by Diversion

Mark 9:29 "This kind can come out only by prayer."

I do not want victory by diversion. I do not want to have thoughts in my head that are only cast aside during momentary times of prayer and Bible study and general busyness.

Upon coming down the Mt. of Transfiguration, Jesus confronts a demon-possessed boy and frees him, telling the demon to "come out of him and never enter him again."

Can there truly be an exiting in this life? Or is every victory simply a temporary stay of execution - the inevitable execution of the sin that is working through your mind?

I find that many times in my devotions I enter with thoughts raging through my brain, then I enter into times of prayer and study that often become so focused on God and His Word that I feel free. However, upon exiting this time, the thoughts, and worse - how to put these thoughts into action - return.

Jesus says that "This kind can come out only by prayer" and that IT is to "never enter" again. There is an underlying assumption of an eternal exiting. In this life. Only by prayer.

I fear that I give up too easily and that I lack the faith to move this mountain.