Open Heaven 20 November 2017 (Monday) with Hymn – FASTING BOOSTS FAITH

Memorise:
Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:21

Open Heaven 20 November 2017 Bible Reading: Matthew 17:15-21

Mat 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for o he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

Mat 17:16 And brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long sha
l suffer you? bring him hither to me.

Mat 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devi
and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour

Mat 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

Mat 17:20 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.

Mat 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Open Heaven 20 November Daily Devotional Message With Hymn

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil 1 John 3:8b

From the above scripture, we understand that since we are expected to do the works of our Master, we as true disciples of Jesus Christ are here not only to advance the Kingdom of God on earth, but also to destroy the works of Satan in the
lives, homes and circumstances of people (John 14:12).

To be effective in this assignment, you cannot approach the battle physically, rather, you need both divine revelation and spiritual backup from God. Let us take the disciples of Jesus Christ as a case in point. Matthew 10:1 says,

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

At this point, the disciples were empowered by the Lord to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases,
and to cast out demons. Not too long after they were empowered, a demonized boy was brought to them for deliverance.

They struggled for so long to cast out the demon, but they just could not deliver him. Finally, this case was referred to Jesus and He delivered the boy. The disciples thereafter went back to Jesus to find out what was amiss, and why they could not deliver the boy.

In response to their enquiry, the Lord told them that they had manifested some unbelief, and that their prayer was not backed up with fasting (Matthew 17:20-21).

This experience of the disciples goes to show that when you are having doubts or even unbelief, and you decide to truly seek God’s face in prayer and fasting, such doubts, fears and unbelief would give way to faith.

Open Heaven 20 November 2017

When you fast, it strengthens your faith and your prayer life is given a boost. We often attempt certain assignments without the backup of a commensurate level of faith, and hence we experience failures in such assignments.

You can actually add fire to your faith and shut the doors against unbelief and doubt by spending time with God through fasting and prayer. Do you still harbour doubts, fears and unbelief in your heart about any assignment God has given you?

Discard them now! God wants you to operate in the realm of faith and not doubt. Feed your faith with God’s word, prayer and fasting, testimonies of what God have done, and shun all remarks contrary to the advancement of your assignment.

Open Heaven 20 November 2017 Hymn:
Sing Hymn 1

MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE

My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!

Now hear me while l pray;
Take all my guilt away.
O let me from this day
Be wholly thine!

May thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire.
As thou hast died for me,
O may my love to thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

While life’s dark mazeltread
And griefs around me spread,
Be thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From thee aside.

When life’s
swift race is run
Death’s cold work almost done,
Be near to me.
Blest Savior, then, in love
Fear and distrust remove.
O bear me safe above
Redeemed and free!

Open Heaven for 20 November 2017 Action Point:

Always ask questions! If you can ask the Lord questions on things you do not understand, He will provide the answers.

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