Prayer and Fasting

Matt. 17:21
It is well when these words express the habit and condition of the soul, and not merely acts resorted to upon some sudden and pressing emergency. They characterize respectively a consciously weak and chastened soul; and in such case, whatever may be the strength of the enemy, or the difficulty of the circumstances, there is certain victory, for the battle is not ours, but the Lord's.
The tone and habit of the soul are of the greatest moment, practically, and with God. It is recorded of Daniel that when he prayed three times a day, contrary to the king's decree, it was "as he did aforetime." (Dan. 6:10).