May 29^th, 1959 “A Humble and Holy Life” LATE MR. N. DANIEL

Matt 14:22-36

After performing the miracle of feeding the five thousand, Jesus went away for prayer alone. The disciples were sent away and Jesus was alone. He was not worried about the lack of conveyance to reach Capernaum where He had to continue the next lap of His ministry. The disciples did not feel the need for prayer. They had not entered the real spiritual arena where the man of God has to encounter the powers of darkness in battle. The devil is not very bothered about converted people outside the will of God. Rom. 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.” To know the good and acceptable and perfect will of God one needs to be continually renewed in the mind. The Word of God and the Spirit of God continually overhaul one's thinking. When you are in the perfect will of God the devil takes you to be his special enemy. St. Paul was starting out to Bithynia, but that night the Lord guided him to go to Europe. Going to Bithynia was good, but it was not the perfect will of God.

The question is whether you have entered the arena to fight the devil. If you have, you will know when you have to go away for prayer. Only if you maintain your spiritual life at the proper level, the living water will flow out of you to those in the lower level. Jesus' disciples were not yet spiritually sensitive. So He let them have their own way till they came to the position of understanding their spiritual level. Jesus knew His own level. But Peter did not know his level. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, when the most severe battle was afoot, he was sleeping.

Jesus was in prayer during the first part of the night. At that time, the disciples were rowing hard. But the devil was opposing them and they could not progress on their way. Only when Jesus entered the boat the opposing forces left and immediately the boat reached the shore. Jesus came walking on the sea. It is only when we pray that we discover or do new things. When Jesus came into the ship the wind ceased. It is an economy of time to be in the will of God. These people were struggling and struggling till Jesus finished His prayer and reached them. Don't count the cost of prayer either in money or time. You sometimes want to save time by denying God His time to work in you. Finally you find that like Peter, you begin to sink. Be careful you will be caught in shallow waters. Jesus was never caught like that. As soon as He reached Gennesaret they brought to Him all the sick and He was equal to all their needs. When Jesus was fasting and praying 40 days, all the 40 days the devil was tempting Him because if He completed those 40 days of prayer successfully, the devil's kingdom would be pulled down.

We must be like our Lord. We must be spiritually alert and ready for the need that may arise at any moment. If sick people flock to us, are we equal to it? I am asking the Lord for grace to heal every kind of sickness. When people come to us, and we pray for them, they must be immediately convicted of sin. You must know the measure of strength you have. You must be spiritually able to assess the degree of strength needed. The need of the people around us is great. All of you have a share in this work. The sick people sought to touch only the hem of his garment and as many as touched were healed. Matt. 14:36. For such a ministry A HUMBLE AND HOLY LIFE IS NEEDED.