As we pursue Christ and continue His mission in the world by sharing the gospel, letting our light shine before people, loving our neighbours, and extending forgiveness to our enemies, we can ask Jesus for whatever we need and He will give it to us. God has promised His children, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” The condition in this text for this promise is “Ask in my Name!”

One of the areas that fasting has an impact in is in our purpose and call. In great men and women such as Esther, Daniel, Paul and even Jesus, we see how their destiny took off after time spent in prayer and fasting. Whether you are still discovering God’s call for your life or already living it but in need of breakthrough, fasting is a powerful catalyst to get you there. So, let me share with you three ways fasting can launch you into new realms of your destiny.

In January 2015, 14-year-old John Smith fell through the frozen surface of a lake in St. Charles, Mo., and remained submerged for 15 minutes. He had no pulse when emergency workers pulled him from the freezing water, it was reportedly only after audible prayers by his mother, Joyce, that his heart finally started up again. And over the next several days

For most of us this is not everyday English but to hallow someone is to highly respect and revere them – to recognize the honor of being in their presence. Coming to our Father begins with giving him honor and recognizing his holiness.

When Jesus said, He is the vine and we are the branches, and that we ought to remain in Him in order to be alive and fruitful, He was talking about our spiritual health. For a branch to remain connected to the vine, daily tending, protection and care are vital. For us to remain connected to Jesus, our source of life, love, joy, peace, and power, we come to Him daily in prayer, praise, worship, and devotion.

The writer of Hebrews is reminding us that we can’t allow our spiritual journey to come to a standstill. We must keep moving. We must keep running the race God has set before us.

Prayerlessness comes in when we regard prayer as a ritual or task. Prayerfulness enters in when we center our hearts on Jesus and getting to know Him, setting our affection upon Him.

The series by Pastor Dave on “Developing Contentment” has told us, obviously, that it is an inside job and that contentment is not automatic. Being an inside job seems to put the emphasis on us, and that is where we might want to stop. If it depends on me it just will not happen. It is hard to be content. But there is a lot of incentive to develop contentment, and we have help. Paul says ‘It is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure’, in Philippians 2:13. So let us pay attention.

How do we live our best life? We do this by first recognizing who holds all things and is the source of everything we need. When we put our trust in Him, seeing Him as our source, our best friend, and our ultimate destination, there is a peace and joy that comes that goes beyond our circumstances.

But just because you were named and labeled as something undesirable, does not mean that it’s the end of the story, and you are doomed to live out that label. In the Bible, we are introduced to a man whose name warranted a name change. But instead of living up that label, he chose God’s label instead and became a success in his life.

When the “teachers of the law” pressed Jesus to make his top picks among the commandments, he replied that the greatest act is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, followed secondly by loving your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:30-31) This suggest that our priority is to love God first and then loving others and loving ourselves become by-products of our first choice to develop a relationship with God the Father.

Achieving peak performance in our lives is not enough to make us content. No matter how gifted we might be, true contentment cannot be found in our performance. The world grades us and gives us value according to our performance. In contrast, the Bible says we are created by God in His image and He shows His unmerited love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Often change is uncomfortable and even painful. Most of us probably won’t experience the same tragedy that Daniel went through, however, the principles that held him together still hold true for us today. God’s word is true, and in the midst of changes circumstances God remains the same (Hebrews 13:8).

God has no favourites! He is ready to reveal the fullness of Him to anyone who draws near to Him (James 4:8); He sure will draw near to any heart who is sincere.

It is an amazing thing to witness the miracles of God. In the book of Isaiah , God speaks a prophetic word foretelling Jesus coming and setting people free. We see the fulfillment of this in the New Testament when the works of Jesus were recorded. This has not stopped, as some might think, but God continues to heal and continues to touch blind eyes, both physically and figuratively.

Every father knows that he is not a father only on one day, but a father on every day. The greatest Being in the universe, the One Who created it, He never changes, He is everlasting. When He gave us a title about Himself it was relational. It was not about a job or a career, or His creative power – it was Father.

In the book of 2 Kings there is an interesting story that teaches us a lesson in leadership and trusting the power of God to help us in times of trouble.