Engage the Blade!

Matt 17:18-21
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.

A wonderful friend of mine and my husband’s told us this story about his father recently:
After a couple of hours of mowing under the berating heat of the Florida sun and pressing humidity, his father came indoors for a rest. While lounging on his couch, covered in sweat, exhausted and cooling off with the A/C and a soda, a nagging sensation gave way to dawning realization - he had forgotten to engage the blade!

The disciples did everything they knew to do to deliver a young man of an evil spirit, yet to no avail. Jesus came on the scene and without breaking a sweat he rebuked the devil and it departed out of the boy! Jesus told them, “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” The disciples simply had not learned to “engage the blade”!

Sometimes spanking your kids fifty times a day gets no results! Sometimes nothing, from begging to sweet-talking, can get your spouse’s attention! Sometimes the most creative Sunday school lesson doesn’t work! Sometimes the best choir song doesn’t “happen” in a service! Why? Perhaps we’ve not been praying, or, (gasp!) even fasting? Those who do not live a spiritual life will continue to face the results of fighting fire with fire – which is always, frustration. But for those who involve God in our lives, (& don’t forget, God is a spirit and can only come in contact with us by spiritual means) we can fight the fiery darts of this world with the power of “a rushing mighty wind” (Acts 2:2), or “rivers of living water” (John 7:38)!

Don’t continue to exhaust yourself with no results - engage the blade!

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