28-29 "And when He had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we drive it out? And He replied to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."

So many times when we go through a very difficult season, (and especially in our healing walk) we cry out to the Lord and keep praying and still it seems as though absolutely nothing is happening. No break through is seen, just a barren dessert.

I have been through a period like this when I felt like a clay pot being broken into a thousand pieces. I kept praying but still the season kept going. I then felt that those broken pieces, my brokenness, was being ground into dust would now end. But it went further. I felt as clay in the Potter's hands, being pushed and pressed, twisted and moulded into some kind of shape. Here I was, shaped into a vessel and yet He wasn't finished with me yet. I could feel the blast of the fire as the Potter placed me into a furnace. "Now Lord, is this the end!" But He still wasn't finished with me.

In the fire I felt that I was being purified further, and I thought, "Surely this difficult season must end now!" I remember saying to one of my friends that I felt like giving up two month earlier! Even now, every time I think it is over, I am constantly being stretched further. Never in my life has it been this difficult and the testing been so tough for me.

Someone once gave me the advice - "When you feel you really can not go on any more, just cling to God with all your being". Often the difficult seasons are there to test our endurance and determination.

I felt like giving up, and then I decided to fast. On the morning of my fast as I read my Bible I came across Mark 9 and realised that God uses different methods for breakthrough. Not all seasons are the same, ". this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."

Only after fasting did I experience breakthrough. I realised that God is faithful, and wanted to teach me more endurance which only comes through constant purifying. The fasting was the extra mile, my personal commitment, which enabled me to take the next step in my healing journey. What I came to realise is that it is still all about God's grace. In these last days we have to be more determined not to give up, and press through into God's healing presence - whatever it takes!

Although the disciples were disappointed and unsuccessful in not driving out the demon, the lesson was still learned.

It is now that I know that after the pounding, twisting and moulding of the clay vessel, the furnace purifies and creates a vessel for His enjoyment.

By Johan Obbes