July 4

Mark 9:29
“This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting” — Mark 9:2929And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:29).
BACK of all effective service there must ever be a life of prayer. It is only as we ourselves are in touch with God that we can be channels through which divine power and blessing will flow forth to others.
No amount of activity, nor of sincere desire to help, can make up for lack of communion with God. Of old the Levites, who represented ministry, waited on the priesthood, which speaks of worship (Num. 3:9, 109And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. 10And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. (Numbers 3:9‑10)). “This kind goeth not out but by prayer.” Prayer is the recognition of our own helplessness and our appropriation of divine energy, which works in and through the self-judged, obedient believer to the glory and praise of God. This, too, is true fasting—the denial of self and ceasing from all fleshly confidence.
When you pray at morn or sundown,
By yourself or with your own;
When you pray at rush of noontide,
Just make sure you touch the Throne.
When you pray in hours of leisure,
Praying long and all alone;
Pour not out mere words as water,
But make sure you touch the Throne.
When you pray in busy moments,
Oft to restless hurry prone;
Brevity will matter little,
If you really touch the Throne.”