Open Heavens 25 August 2016: Thursday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Nothing goes for Nothing

Topic: Nothing goes for Nothing [Thursday 25, August 2016]
Memorise: And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, – Matthew 17:1
Read: Matthew 17:14-21 (KJV)
 14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Bible in One Year: Isaiah 56:9-59:21, Psalms 41
MESSAGE:
 In secular environments, it takes diligence to get to the top and it takes even more diligence to remain there. There are many people who work really hard to get to the top but upon getting there, they soon begin to relax. Diligence is even more important when it comes to spiritual responsibilities. You need to work hard to have an encounter with God but you need to work twice as hard to keep your encounter intact. To get the answer to all your requests, you have to invest a lot of time before God. Many people just get born again and begin to relax. If you want to command the miraculous you must be ready to pay the price. You need to keep running until you get to the finish line. There are people who have no given God their entire lives, yet they want God to always respond to all their requests. If you want a spiritual transformation in your life, you have to give attention and seriousness to the business of growing daily. Following Jesus Christ could be very costly, His standards are always high and He will never compromise His standard for anyone. If you want to operate in the miraculous, you must be willing to die daily. Self-denial is a basic qualification for discipleship and there are many courses you have to register for in the school of exploits. That includes fasting while others are feasting. It includes praying while others are sleeping. You have to study the Bible while others are spending time on things that will not add significant value to their lives. It involves spiritual discipline while some people are wasting their time away. Paul testified that he kept his body under in order to win the prize. Keeping the body under is self-denial. You are deliberately doing something to achieve something. Somebody asked me how I am able to fast for many days and I replied that it is always very easy for me to do so because each time I want to start a long fast I just go to the calendar and count the number of days I want to go and I tell my stomach “look at that day very well, that is the next time we shall be talking about food” it is as simple as that.
 To command supernatural situations, nothing goes for nothing. You have to engage in spiritual exercises;
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” - Matthew 17:21
 If Jesus said “Men ought to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1), it is very obvious that prayer covers a wide range of issues that should keep one very vigilant. It is in the place of prayer that there is a guarantee of continuous Open Heavens for every child of God.  At the same time, there are many people who have lost many opportunities because of their understanding of the significance of prayer in commanding the release of their heart desires. Fasting is not just a religious exercise as some think. When you engage in fasting, you are equipping yourself with strong weapons to counter every attack of the wicked ones and take your victory in every battle of life. When faith is actively coupled with prayer and fasting, there is nothing that can stop your prayers from being answered. Every barrier that wants to stand on your way will always give in like we observed in the case of Daniel with the prince of Persia.
Key Point: Fasting and prayer is a combined spiritual weapon that commands the miraculous.
Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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