14And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16“So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Every year those of us from The Refuge join with believers all over the country, and even around the world for 21 days of prayer and fasting at the beginning of every year. I have personally found that this time has been very profound and impacting on my personal life as well as the life of our local congregation. During these 21 days we lay aside all of our agendas, wants and desires and say, Jesus you show me what you want in my life this next year.
We have to realize though, that fasting isn't supposed to be a once a year pursuit. When this man brought his son to the disciples, he needed a solution to his problem right then. He couldn't afford to wait. I'm sure the disciples prayed with all of their might. I'm sure they tried every "trick" that they had seen Jesus use for casting out devils, but nothing worked.
It's incredible that when Jesus comes on the scene, there is no big prayer, there is no shouting, or any kind of weird antics, Jesus rebukes the devil and it goes. So, what was the difference between the disciples and Jesus? Fasting and prayer! Jesus said it Himself. This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Now wait just a minute! I must have missed something! There must be some scripture left out of The Bible. I'm sure that when Jesus saw this child, He must have ran up on the mountain and spent 40 days praying and fasting. Then when He came back down, He rebuked the devil. That had to have been what happened.
The problem is, The Bible doesn't say that because it didn't happen. So what can we learn? Jesus didn't run off and fast and pray before casting out the devil. We get that. At the same time, Jesus says this can't be done without fasting and prayer. What conclusion can we draw then? Jesus was living a lifestyle of fasting and prayer. He didn't do it in the moment a need arose. Jesus fasted and prayed all the time. Then when a need arose, He was already prepared to spring into action.
So Here's the question. If Jesus Himself had to operate out of a lifestyle of fasting and prayer, do we think we can do otherwise?
The truth is 21 days of fasting and prayer at the beginning of the year is great, but it is not enough. Fasting and prayer needs to be a lifestyle. Does that mean we quit eating for the rest of our lives? Umm... I don't think so. What it does mean is that we need to have regular times during the week, or certain times in the year that we set aside and seek God.
I know there are some who say fasting is not for today. That it was just for the old times. Let me ask you a question. Is the church in The United States operating in a consistant flow of power to cast out devils, heal the sick, open blind eyes, etc. Are we seeing the "daily added to the church" like in Scripture. I know there are pockets here and there where God is moving in great power, but it was never meant to be a "here and there" gospel. We are supposed to be prepared to handle anything, anywhere at anytime like Jesus was. Can you say that you are in that place in your life? If not, it may be time to make fasting and prayer part of your lifestyle like Jesus did.
B Blessed, Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment