OPEN HEAVENS (THURSDAY 26TH DECEMBER, 2013)

THEME : FASTING IS NECESSARY.

MEMORISE: Howbeit this kind goeth not
out but by prayer and fasting. Matthew
17 : 21.

READ: MATTHEW 17 : 14 – 21.

14. And when they were come to the
multitude, there came to him a certain
man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15. Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is
lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
water.

16. And I brought him to thy disciples,
and they could not cure him.

17. Then Jesus answered and said, O
faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall
I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he
departed out of him: and the child was
cured from that very hour.

19. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast
him out?

20. And Jesus said unto them, Because of
your unbelief: for verily I say unto you,
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it
shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you.

21. Howbeit this kind goeth not out butt
by prayer and fasting.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: GENESIS 6 – 9.
MESSAGE:
To relate with the Holy Spirit, you must
be holy. You must also exercise a living
faith, pray and fast. Some people will tell
you that because Jesus had finished the
work of salvation, there is no need to
fast. To them, fasting is completely needless and is some form of self-
inflicted punishment. But they forget
that according to the Lord Himself,
fasting is required to handle situations
that appear very tough and resilient. In
Matthew 17 : 14 – 21, a lunatic was brought to the disciples and they prayed
but got no positive result. Later, when
the same fellow was brought to Jesus,
He healed him. Then the disciples
privately met the Lord to ask why they
could not handle it, and He told them it was because of unbelief, ineffective
prayer and a lack of fasting. Also, in Luke
5 : 33 – 35, when some people came to
ask the Lord why His disciples hardly
ever fasted, He told them as long as He
was with them, there was no need for this but that when He is taken away,
they will have no choice but to fast.
“But the days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from
them, and then shall they fast in those
days.” Luke 5 : 35
Those who make excuses not to fast
usually have a challenge with their
appetite. They serve a god called the
god of the belly, and that belly is ever
asking for food sacrifices unto it. Never become a slave to your stomach! If you
are and there is a reason to skip a meal,
that body will be in trouble. Your body
is capable of adjusting to any condition.
If you are eating five times a day, it will
adjust accordingly. But if you change to three times daily, there will be some
resistance initially, but it will adjust. If
you move from there to two times
daily, once daily or none for a period, it
will protest, but over a given period it
will adjust. Those who find it difficult to fast often have another challenge with
self control which is part of the fruit of
the Spirit. The more you deny your body
of food during fasting, the less control it
has in manipulating your prayer life and
leading you into sin. From today, make out time to seek God’s face in prayer and
fasting. It is advisable to fast at least one
day in a week. It is for your spiritual
health.

KEY POINT:
Fasting is part of a Christian’s lifestyle. But any time you are exceeding 3 days
of fasting, take water, and when it is
time to break the fast, start with water
and pap, not hard food.