Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanos
Personally I think fasting is more of a weapon against the flesh. It's a tool that we can use to tear down carnal strongholds in our life. I don't think it's a magical formula to force God to answer prayers. But rather, it demonstrates to God that we are serious about changing and serious about submitting to His will by depriving our flesh of the things it lusts after. Hunger is something that is very difficult to resist, but when we practice denying ourselves in this way we should find that it becomes easier to say no to the flesh in other areas.
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That's good thought which makes good sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanos
One thing though you should be curious about is this verse:
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 KJV)
Why prayer and fasting? What was wrong with just prayer?
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Yes this is an interesting case, and may be something to consider when dealing with seducing spirits. It shows that there were certain evil spirits that the disciples could not cast out in the normal manner, Jesus said "this kind" making a distinction between different kinds of spirits, like an hierarchy where some are more important than others and require more effort to cast out.
See in the following passage how that the evil spirit prevailed over the exorcists, even when they attempted to cast him out in the name of the Lord Jesus. The spirit admitted knowing Jesus and Paul, and likely would have come out if either of them had commanded him, but he didn't know these guys so he pounced on them:.
Acts 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
The Bible gives us insight into the spirit world, but answers to some of the deep questions aren't handed to us on a platter, they come through diligent time spent in the word of God, that's why Dr Ruckman knows so much!
Something else which is revealing of the Satanic influence in modern perverted bibles, is how that most of them remove the "and fasting" from the text of Mark 9:29 & Matthew 17:21!!!
