Howbeit
this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
-Matthew 17: 21-
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
-Mark 9: 29-
Great promises are given to those who dedicate their time, thoughts, and energy to prayer and fasting. Some impossibilities will never become possible without prayer and fasting, but with prayer and fasting nothing shall be impossible to the people of God!
The Church awaits with eager anticipation for the real and true demonstration of the power of God. The majority of the Churches in our day has never seen the wonder working power of the living God. However, when a child of God decides to give their all to the Lord Jesus, the world will look on with amazement.
The Spirit is waiting for someone to make that real commitment that will shake everything around an individual. People at the workplace, at home, at church, at school, at the marketplace, and everywhere will stand in amazement when a child of God decides he or she is going to give literally everything at an altar of prayer and fasting.
Hebrews chapter 11 states that the great men and women of faith subdued kingdoms by faith. They literally overthrew the kingdoms of men by the power of God. Un Godly Kings, subdued kingdoms using the forces of darkness. They used the carnal weapons of the world, but the weapons of our warfare are mightier than those.
If wicked men were able to overthrow and take dominion in this world, how much more should the church of the living God? Through the power of God a single man or woman can overturn their city for God using prayer and fasting!
Fasting
1. You are to fast in secret. Don't run around saying, "I'm fasting, and I just lost five pounds!" (In fact, this is a fast, not a diet. If weightloss is your goal, you've missed the whole reason for fasting).
"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly"
(Matthew 6:16-18)
2. Don't fast for strife. Be sure your motivation is right. Some people say, "I'm going to fast so everyone will see that they are wrong and I'm right." That is wrong motivation (Isaiah 58).
3. You are not to fast for selfish reasons. You could be fasting for something that isn't correct, as David did in II Samuel 12:16, 22. He fasted for his son, who was conceived with Bathsheba in adultry, because the baby was about to die. The child was born very sick, so David fasted and prayed, but the child died because of David's unrepented sin. He didn't repent until Nathan accused him of being both a murderer and an adulterer. If you go into fasting and prayer to get something you want and have unrepented sin, you will not get it. The bottom line in fasting is that you must be honest with God.
4. Some people fast because they feel sorry for themselves. Zechariah 7:5 says that the people fasted and mourned, but it didn't do any good because they hadn't repented. They were just saying, "Poor us. Do something," but they wouldn't get their lives in order. You must have the right motivation.
Praying
Some in the Scriptures with tremendous prayer lives prayed early in the morning.
"...those that seek me early shall find me" (Proverbs 8:17)
"And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord" (I Samuel 1:19)
Job, who was considered to be an intercessor, prayed for his children early in the morning.
"...Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them al...(Job 1:5)
Jesus prayed early in the morning, long before daybreak.
"But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee" (Psalm 88:13)
"I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word" (Psalm 119:147)
"Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will away early, I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations" (psalm 57:8-9)
Why is prayer good early in the morning? Because it gives you a good start. In the morning, you are not yet contaminated with the things of the day. When you go out to meet the day, after having prayed, you are prepared for it.
Early in the morning, there is a special presence of the Lord.
When did the manna come? Early in the morning. By noon it was spoiled with the heat of the day. This is not to say you can't pray in the middle of the day. Daniel and David both prayed three times a day. Do begin your day with prayer, however.
Keep in mind that preventative prayer is always better than repair prayer. Begin your week with fasting and prayer. Make a consecration today about how much you will fast during the next week, then begin. Don't say, "I just lost my job, so I'll fast for ten days!" Perhaps if you had been fasting consistently, you wouldn't be without a job. Put yourself on a schedule, and it will do something for you. Don't tell people about your fasting. No one should know about it but you and God (maybe some of your family will know, but they don't necessarily have to know).
Be consistent in your fasting and prayer. It will keep you in a place of faith. Fasting and prayer are twins. Don't divide them; keep them together, and you will have the most effective prayer life you have ever had.
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