Evil in the church?

I was reading in Mark 1:21 - 45 today and was drawn to a particular event that happened in the synagogue that day. I have read this passage many times before and even remember this particular event, but for some reason or other never was compelled to ask the questions I did today. Verse 23 states there was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit that cried out against Jesus. This event struck me as strange. I had two questions that came to my mind. First, why would the evil spirit allow the man to come and worship in the house of God and receive instruction? Second, why was the house of God powerless over this evil presence? I thought about these two questions and decided that the evil spirit was probably allowing the man to attend to be disruptive in the worship service. And second, the synagogue was powerless over the evil spirit because their religion was one of ritual and not heart. Does this event have any equal today? Is it possible that there are disruptive forces in our own churches? Are there people that could be attending services, participating in the ministries of the church, but in reality they are like a cancer in the church? It is possible and in fact I have seen it in action. However, the greater concern for me would be why is the church powerless against such evil? There may be a lot of different reasons, but for me it comes down to the presence of God. If the presence of God is alive and active in the church, then evil cannot reign in our midst. It might have some influence, but it cannot have dominion. So what can we do? Jesus might give us some wisdom as we look at verse 35, "very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." There it is for us to emulate. If Jesus needed time with His father to prepare for spiritual battle over evil how much more do we as followers of Jesus need to do the same. We as individuals and as a church need to spend time in prayer early in the morning so we can confront evil that will seek to distract us and drive a wedge between us. Prayer is vital and without it we do not have any power to live the Christian life, much less to combat evil. What do you think? Am I way off base or right on target? I would love to hear your insights. Remember it is on our knees that we are made strong.