January 24
	And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
	Mark 9:28-29
‘This kind of problem will not be solved by sharing pearls of wisdom, trying to be a better dad, or following some family program,’ Jesus told them. ‘This kind of spiritual warfare is won only through fasting and prayer.’ ‘How did we have time to fast and pray?’ the disciples might have wondered. After all, they certainly didn’t know this problem would be laid at their feet that day. But that’s the point. We never know when the moment for miraculous ministry will come our way or be needed in our families. Therefore, we must maintain a life of prayer and fasting because when the demonized boy is before you, it’s too late to start. Why were the disciples not maintaining a habit of prayer and fasting? I wonder if it wasn’t due in part to the fact that they might have been feeling sorry for themselves. ‘Thanks a lot, Lord,’ they could have thought. ‘You take Peter, James, and John — your favorites — up on the mountain. They see You shine. They hear the voice from Heaven. They get to see Elijah and Moses. Us? We’re down here at the bottom, forsaken and forgotten.’ If so, how like us they would have been. So often we think, ‘I never get called to sing or to teach Bible studies. So why should I fast or pray?’ And because we feel we’re not important or useful, we give up. But once a year, once every five years, once in a lifetime an opportunity comes our way which is essential, important — an opportunity to move in the miraculous, to see salvation. Something exceedingly important could take place — but we’re impotent and powerless because we haven’t been praying, fasting, reading the Word, or seeking the Lord. As a father, I have no other recourse than to maintain a life of prayer and fasting because I never know when the enemy will strike one of my kids. He has; he does; he will. And as a believer, I have no other recourse than to maintain a close walk with God because I never know the next conversation which will open up with a neighbor at the grocery store or in the park which will impact them for eternity. ‘But I’ve never been used,’ you say. Ah, but you might have the greatest opportunity for earth-shaking, life-changing ministry in the next moment or the next day. Therefore be ready.