ON THE VANGUARD

HARD HABITS TO BREAK
“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:21 NKJV

Yesterday I wrote to you concerning the starting of habits, mainly the habit of getting into a right relationship with God. It is important that we take time to meet with Him daily, study His word, and learn His ways. Although this type of habit is a good rhythm to get into, there are also habits that are destructive. Habits such as biting our nails or cracking our knuckles may be able to be worked on within the stated twenty-one to sixty-six days if we are aware of the issue and desire a change. But I venture to say that some things we label ‘habits’ may really not be habits at all. I’ll use my life as an example. At the age of eleven, when I saw my first pornographic magazine, I viewed it out of curiosity. Little did I know that even in that simple ‘harmless’ viewing there would be a spiritual gripping on my life, enticing me to come back for more. Soon I brushed it off as ‘habit’. I made a ‘habit’ of going back to that place, or searching out pornography anyway I could get a hold of it.
Although I called it a ‘habit’, the truth was that it was a spirit. Now not knowing the religious background of all those that read these devotionals, I realize that I may come off as a little crazy in saying that a spirit attached itself to me. But let me ask you this. If spiritual warfare was not a real thing, would we have been given spiritual armor in which to fight against the devil with (Eph 6:10-18), as well as a warning to watch for the devil who prowls around for someone to devour (I Pet 5:8)? Spiritual warfare is a real thing, and sadly I would venture to say that third world countries understand the truth of spiritual warfare more so than Christians in America.
But look with me at Matthew 17:14-23. It is in this passage that a father brings his son to the disciples in hopes of having his son return to his right mind. The disciples were unable to bring restoration to the son and as a result the father then approached Jesus. He explained, “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water” (15). Now as I shared, I have heard of the habit of biting nails or cracking knuckles, but I have never heard of the habit of falling into the fire or water, which is another translation of the word ‘often’ used here. We read on that Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was then healed from that moment. This again proves that some ‘habits’ are in fact demons. Yet still, look in the passage a little further. The disciples came to Jesus and asked why it was the demon would not leave when they prayed. Jesus’ response in verse 21, which for some reason is not in every translation of the Bible, including the NIV, is simply that, “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
It is on this thought that I want to close today. For years I wanted to be rid of the ‘habit’ of viewing pornography. I answered the altar calls, worked in accountability groups, got counseling, snapped my wrist with a rubber band, you name it and I probably tried it. Yet the habit was never kicked. It wasn’t until I put the pieces together and finally understand that the habit was a spirit that I found freedom. This spirit came out through prayer and fasting. These are words we either embrace or run from in the church today, but words that we need to understand. Prayer is one of our weapons and a vital part of our armor (Eph 6:18). Yet fasting is as important. It is in fasting that we deny ourselves the pleasures we want so that we can become open to the changes that God longs to do in us or with us, as in the case of Esther. Jesus was able to rebuke the demon that had a hold on the boy because He was in tune with God as a result of His fasting on our behalf. Would it not be wise of us also to consider that what may indeed be the ‘bad habit’ holding us back may actually be a spirit that will only come out through prayer and fasting?