21 Days of Fasting and Prayer Devotional: Send RevivalSample

Day 20: Asking for Help

A recent study conducted by a car insurance company revealed that the average person drives over 250 extra miles every year due to getting lost. This is primarily the result of being too stubborn to ask for help and instead attempting to figure out the way ourselves. But ten miles in the wrong direction results in a 20-mile misstep once we backtrack and return to the right route. Similarly, we can often be unsure of where to go spiritually. Whether it is navigating problems in life, needing wisdom in a situation, or activating our faith to believe God for more, we can find ourselves stubbornly depending on our own strength and limited knowledge instead of asking for the Lord's guidance. 

In Mark 9:14-29 we find the disciples in a similar situation. Jesus had sent the disciples with His authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the message of repentance. The disciples were successful at the outset of their mission, but then encountered a demon they were unable to remove from its control on a young boy. They had commanded demons to leave before, so why was this one different?

The disciples did not lack the authority; the object of their dependence had shifted. They began to operate on their own limited power instead of God’s supernatural power. An increase of God’s power, His presence, and His authority in our lives is not a one-and-done event. It is a daily filling. We need to stop and ask for supernatural direction from God and be re-filled with His presence every day. 

One of the primary benefits of fasting and prayer is that it increases our dependence on God. It boosts our faith to believe that anything is possible, and it gives us the power to activate the authority that God has promised us. Be encouraged that God’s empowering presence is available to us. We are able to overcome any situation when we ask for His help and depend on Him.