“And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” ( Mark 9:29, KJV).
In Uganda, at a certain point in her troubled history, the scariest thing in life was to meet a roadblock. Normally, you can’t penetrate from one point to the next, once you meet a roadblock. There are wrought with danger and anything can happen, including loss of life.
Road blocks can also be found in life, where one can’t proceed to the next level. Think of a person desirous for a job promotion. There can exist a roadblock in form of one person who persistently objects to the deserved promotion. Someone might desire to access a certain critical document or secure a certificate to move to another point, but a roadblock stands in the way.
Jesus encountered situations where people had faced roadblocks in life, There was once a man who had a child paralyzed with a crippling and demobilizing spirit ( Mark 9:14-29). On seeing its havoc, as it threw the boy into a convulsion, Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” ( vv 21). The boy’s father answered: “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” ( vv 22).
This father had a roadblock standing in his way. It is quite apparent that he had tried all manner of relief, perhaps spent some money elsewhere trying to find a cure. The roadblock stood tall and impenetrable. He certainly pleaded with the disciples who made some attempt, but to no avail. Finally the man got to Jesus. “When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again” ( 25). At that moment the boy was healed.
Amazed that where they could not Jesus had silenced this spirit, the disciples asked him how. This is when he said that kind only goes away, “by prayer and fasting” ( vv 29).
There are some roadblocks that come in our lives hindering us to progress to another level. We may try every effort known to us, yet to no avail. Yet, it may be of a spirit that can only be leveled down through “prayer and fasting!”
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, for that roadblock standing in my way, help me, as you have commanded overcome it through “prayer and fasting,” just as you healed the crippled boy, this I pray in Jesus’s name!
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27/04/2024 - 28/04/2024 All day“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (Psalm 42:1).
In the wildlife, a common feature is predatory animals chasing after less ferocious ones, which on a bad day become good dinner. Through the savannah plains of Africa the antelope tends to suffer that fate. After a long chase from a mighty lion, cheetah or leopard; antelopes that survive tend to retreat to a fresh water spot. There they gladly refresh their quench with streams of water.
King David, must have been more familiar with deer, as there are more common in the Northern Hemisphere. For us in the tropics we can substitute the deer with our antelope, commonly chased by predators. After a long chase, of course all pant for pints of water.
The significance of this metaphor is that whenever we encounter any situation that puts us on a chase, where do we run to! Habakuk 3:19 says, “The Lord God give my strength. He helps me run fast like deer. He leads me safely on the mountains” (Habakuk 3:19).
Two things of note here. The Lord can make us run as fast as the fastest antelope being chased by a predator to a well of safety. And of course, as we run, we have that the well of God to end up to and refresh ourselves! This is why David wrote, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today like the antelopes of the wildlife I run to you, to that well of life, which refreshes my soul, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
