Daily Devotional : (Open Heavens - Tuesday August 25th 2015)

 TIME TO FAST 
Memorise: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose 
under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1.
MESSAGE
 It is good to fast, but it is important to know why you should fast. One of the reasons 
why we fast is so that we can be empowered to deal with demons and forces of darkness.
 In Matthew 17:14-21, a demon-possessed boy was brought to Jesus’ disciples, but they
 could not cast out the demon. They later asked the Lord why. He told them that some 
demonic cases may not be solved by praying alone, but by combining prayers with fasting. 
We fast in order to be battle-ready, so that whenever the devil raises his ugly head, we are 
able to give him a good knock. Some people are surprised and disappointed when they do
 not succeed in casting out demons after quoting Luke 10:19. This scripture says:

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

If you want this scripture to be effective in your life, then you must learn to fast and win 
 souls to Christ. When you win souls to Jesus, you automatically put on the boots of the
 gospel, and as a result, no demon will be able to harm you.

Moreover, we also fast while preparing for high-powered ministrations, just like our Master
 who began His ministry with a fast (Matthew 4:1-2). Some people ask God to fulfil His 
promise that we would do the same works Jesus did and even greater works (John 14:12). 
To those people, Jesus says “Fine, simply start where I did – with a 40-day fast.” Many 
years ago, during the centenary celebration of modern Pentecostalism in Azusa,  
Los Angeles, and a lot of speakers from prominent ministries were invited from across 
 the globe. From Africa, only two people were invited to speak, and by the grace of God,
 I was one of them. There was a special room where the speakers waited before moving
 to the stage. All kinds of food and drinks were available in this room. When I got there, 
I saw those slated to speak eating, drinking and chatting. An usher asked me what I 
would like to have, but I declined. The lady then asked, “Won’t you take even a cup of tea?” 
In my heart, I knew that was not the appropriate time for me to eat or drink. It was time 
to hook on to the Spirit so that my ministration would be impactful; so, I took nothing. 
After God used other speakers powerfully, when it was my turn, the fire fell. If you truly
 want your sermons to be effective, feed your spirit and not your flesh. As you wait on 
Him today, you will have greater results.

 Action Point :

Use one to three days to wait on the Lord, just to thank, praise and worship Him.
Reference: From Open Heavens daily, by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

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