HOPE
“Bring the boy here to me.”
Matthew 17:17
Prayer and fasting are prescribed by the Lord as the means of joining us to greater power than we should otherwise possess, and the church of God would be far stronger to wrestle with this ungodly age if she were more given to these means. Prayer links us to heaven; fasting separates us from earth. Prayer takes us into the banqueting house of God; fasting delivers the soul from being encumbered with the fullness of bread that perishes. When believers bring themselves up to the uttermost possibilities of spiritual vigor, then they will be able, by God’s Spirit working in them, to cast out devils that otherwise laugh them to scorn. But for all that, there will still remain those mountainous difficulties that must be directly brought to the Master’s personal agency for help.
Let me beg you to remember that Jesus Christ is still alive. Simple as that truth is, you need to be reminded of it. We very often estimate the power of the church by looking at her ministers and members, but the power of the church does not lie here, it lies in the Holy Spirit, and in the ever living Savior. Jesus lives today as He did when that anxious father brought his son to Jesus. We have neither the power to work natural miracles or spiritual miracles. Christ has the power to work any kind of wonder, and He is still willing and able to work spiritual miracles. I delight to think of my living Christ to whom I may bring every difficulty that occurs in my own soul and in the souls of others.
Remember, too, that Jesus lives in the place of authority. All hell confesses the majesty of His power and the splendor of His Godhead. There is no demon, however strong, who will not tremble before Him, and Jesus is the master of hearts and consciences. There cannot be a case too hard for Him. Is Christ unable to save, or are there diseases too many for the Great Physician to heal? Never can it be. Christ outdone by Satan and by sin? Impossible. He breaks the bars of iron and the gates of brass asunder that captives might be brought forth to liberty.
Jesus Christ, You are greater than anything I will ever face. I fall into Your arms and live in Your mercy. Amen.
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