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| "Jesus in prayer" - by Alexandre Bida |
TO CHEW ON: "So He said to them, 'This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.' " Mark 9:29
We hear a message and it convicts us of sin. A song has us on our knees in worship. The story of a godly life brings us to tears of awe. In the spiritual realm we call such ministry, such music, such writing "anointed." By that we mean that there is something in it, coming through it, that is of God. It has power that is not explained by the cleverness of the message and story, or the beauty of the melody and lyrics.
Jesus demonstrated that power after the distraught father explained his distress following the disciples' inability to exorcise the self-destructive demon from his son. Jesus cast out the demon, seemingly effortlessly (Mark 9:25,26). When the disciples later asked Jesus why they couldn't help the boy, He gave them and us one means by which God empowers a life: " ' This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting' " - Mark 9:29.
Spiritual power also comes by:
- Returning to God and confidently trusting in Him - Isaiah 30:15
- Waiting on the Lord - Isaiah 40:31.
- Waiting for the Lord - Isaiah 49:23.
- And of course via the Holy Spirit:
- Who gave the prophet courage to confront his countrymen about their sin - Micah 3:8.
- Who is capable above any human resource - Zechariah 4:6.
- Who empowered Jesus - Luke 4:14.
- Who baptized and still baptizes Christians with power to witness - Acts 1:8; 4:33.
- Who gives power to do miracles - Acts 6:8; 9:11,12.
- Who inhabits speech so that words are not mere human persuasion but a "… demonstration of the Spirit and of power" - 1 Corinthians 2:4.
- Who strengthens us in the inner person - Ephesians 3:16.
I want to live a life of spiritual power. I'm sure you do too. Let's be aware of the possible cost to us in self denial (as we fast and pray), in waiting on God for His timing and methods, and in the surrender of ourselves—our bodies and wills, goals and ambitions, methods and strategies—to the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be willing to pay the price needed to live a spiritually powerful life. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
