Prayer and Fasting

Secrets With God

Ken

Sharing a secret with God is not the same as refusing to confess Jesus before man, for those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Lord before others have no part in His kingdom. “But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33 KJV). God’s children share a secret place and secret things known only between ourselves and Yahweh. A secret place of shelter is offered by Almighty God to His trusting children. “He that dwelleth in the secret place [literally, shelter] of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Secret giving, secret prayer, and secret fasting are things God shares with His children. Open reward is promised to only those, who seek to keep their secret with God. “4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 18 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 6:4, 6, 18). Manifestations of godly living will be inescapable though not intentionally sought. 

Father, may we be like Jesus, who has a secret name “no one knows knows except Himself” (Revelation 19:12 NET), since His glory cannot be seen by man while we continue to live, unless the Almighty places us in the cleft of the rock to see His back side as He passes by. Cause us to be more concerned with keeping our secrets with You than any vain show to man. Lord Jesus return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

Blessings and Curses

Ken

We like the idea of being blessed, but we are repelled by the concept of being cursed. Esau’s insistence on receiving the family blessing from Isaac was maddening elusive to him though he sought the blessing “carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:17 KJV). What’s so special about blessings and curses, since we bless our food every day before we eat? “I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6 NET). Do we possess such power with God? The weight of our pronouncements before God may wither in light of our confidence of receiving our own daily blessings, but shouldn’t we aspire great things before Yahweh? LORD, may we be emboldened to bless those who love You and cause curses to come down upon those who oppose You that there may be diamonds in the rough like Saul of Tarsus enlisted in Your cause. Amen. 

Casting Out Demons

Ken

Sin caused the first suffering and death in humanity (Genesis 2:27), though the glory of God — not sin — may be the reason why God allows some to suffer, as demonstrated by the blind man healed by Jesus (John 9:2-3). Physical affliction can also be the result of demonic oppression, which will require demons to be cast out, such as the apparently epileptic boy healed by Jesus (Mark 9:14-29). “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose” (Mark 9:25-27 KJV). Whether the weighty theological terminology of ‘demon possession’ or ‘demon oppression’ is used, matters not. When by “prayer and fasting” (9:29) the influence of an evil spirit is cast out of an individual — verbally, so even the devil can hear the command — it must be replaced by the filling of God’s Spirit of Love, or face the danger of becoming only worse than before. “Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation” (Matthew 12:45). LORD, may we wisely learn to cast out demons to build Your kingdom, and may Your Spirit be put in their place, for love “shall cover the multitude of sins” (1Peter 4:8). Return quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and amen. 

Help, LORD (Psalm 12:1)

Ken

We are always a prayer away from help. God’s “throne of grace” is ever open to us in our “time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV). Thrice, God rapidly responds, “I will help thee” (Isaiah 45:10, 13, 14). When our crisis is deepest, His help is closest. He knows we are then most open to a dramatic application of change in our teachable moment. Trust, try, and “prove Me now” (Malachi 3:10) is our Lord’s call to action. What thing in the back of our mind has the Spirit of God been whispering, “Change”? You, fill in the blank. “Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke [of man’s traditions], the putting forth of the finger [in scornfully pointing out those who do not comply with those traditions], and speaking vanity [using those false traditions]” (Isaiah 58:9). When the Spirit of God has sufficiently arrested our attention about whatever change He wants, He then challenges us, “Prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). The surest path is “straight forward” (Ezekiel 1:9, 12), and we know the outcome will bring us safely Home. LORD, You are our help. Come to our aid. Supply what we have not. Open our eyes to receive the understanding we need. Thank You, and may Your name be praised evermore. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen. 

Advice to Married Couples (Part 2)

Ken

Paul the Apostle gave marriage counsel to all NT readers. Specifically, he advised Christian couples about their together walk. Each belongs to the other, granting rights to the other over their own body. 1Corinthians 7:1-5, especially verse 5, encapsulates his advice. “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency [lack of self-control]” (1Corinthians 7:5 KJV). Fasting and prayer protect our relationship with God, while a couple’s together walk or agreement is both manifested and strengthened by their intimacy. LORD, strengthen the marriages of our brothers and sisters that Satan would not cleave them apart in dissension and divorce. Amen and amen. 

Confusion to the Enemy

Ken

“Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city” (Psalm 55:9 NIV). Whenever someone is confused, they are confounded in their attempt to accomplish their goals. Likewise, David prayed for the Lord to confuse his enemies, as should we. Elisha prayed for blindness upon the Syrian army, who came to capture him. “And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And He smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha” (2Kings 6:18 KJV). LORD, teach us to wage war victoriously in our Spiritual Warfare. Amen.

Search Me, O God

Ken

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV). LORD, what is it in me that must change for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Let me not look upon others seeing them as the impediment causing the world’s problems. Change me, and I will be changed. Form me, and I will be formed. Then lead me in the way everlasting. Amen. 

Prayer and Fasting

Ken

Diogenes looked for an honest man, but can one be found without the baggage of past sins? Jesus diagnosed His disciples’ failure to cast out a demon. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 KJV). Forgotten wrongs by family members, church members, community members, or members of a nation, must be acknowledged, confessed, repented of, forgiveness given (if being withheld), and restitution made (where possible), before God can bless. “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 KJV).

When Faith Fails

Ken

The disciples failed to cast out a demon from an apparently epileptic boy. Jesus intervened. “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23 KJV). The distraught father cried out, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief” (9:24). The faith of both the father and the disciples failed them. After healing the boy, Jesus diagnosed the solution. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (9:29). The sins of the parents are visited upon the “children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:7 KJV). Deliverance is possible only through Spirit directed searching, confession, repentance, and forgiveness of sins by means of prayer and fasting. 

Casting Out Demons

Ken

Plain Christians can cast out Satan from their presence by simply resisting him (James 4:7) and his temptations. One of the “signs [that] shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17 KJV); but, be warned, in supernatural warfare, sometimes “this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 KJV). LORD, prepare Thy people for overcoming the Wicked One. Amen and amen.