In Faith, In Prayer, In Fasting
Matthew 17:15-21 NKJV
“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
The Father of a possessed boy comes to the disciples to rid and heal his son being tormented.
The demon in the boy would toss him into the fire, then throw him in the water.
Convulsing trying to kill the boy.
Desperate, the Father comes to the Disciples.
The Disciples were not able to do it.
What was it?
Why could these Disciples that have walked with Jesus couldn’t heal this boy?
They take the boy to Jesus.
Deaf. Mute. Most of His life.
Demon possessed, causing harm to this boy. Jesus heals him. Jesus casts the demon out.
This story is not about demon possession.
I don’t like to give too much focus on evil spirits and demon possession.
I absolutely, 100% believe in demons and demonic activity.
It is found all through Scripture.
So many times Jesus heals the demon possessed. Even the Apostles themselves were given the power and authority to do the same.
We have an enemy. He has many names.
Lucifer, Satan, the devil, Beelzebub.
The Prince of Darkness. The Prince of the power of the air.
The Deceiver and the Father of lies. He is real. His followers are real. His helpers are real.
I don’t like to give him or his minions any more attention than they already have.
Many people take parts of the Scripture and focus on only one thing. This happens very often when it comes to spiritual warfare.
The reality is we either underestimate the Spiritual Battle or we overestimate it.
In my opinion we overestimate it.
In our over estimation we give Satan more recognition and bring him center stage.
It feeds his pride, and what got him kicked out of the heavenly courts to begin with?
When we do this we give God a second stage. Second best.
We move towards the extreme of obsession over this Spiritual Battle.
If we are not careful our fears lead to idolatry and superstition.
Having to say this certain prayer.
Wearing this type of Cross, wearing certain type of clothes.
Doing what we think is right that’s going to keep us safe instead of staying Biblical!
What I’m saying is this;
Jesus Christ alone is worthy to be praised.
Jesus is always our focus.
Jesus is always our center.
He is our shield and buckler. He prepares our hands for war. He is our firm foundation and our strength.
All things flow from Him and to Him, and I must be confident and convinced that there is no weapon that is formed against me will prosper, that I am the head and not the tail.
That I can do all things through Him. I can move mountains.
I can cast out devils and all these other things we get caught up saying and trying All of it is useless and all of it is for vanity or for self if I lack one thing,
Faith.
If there is no total dependence on Christ we have nothing and can do nothing because without Him we are nothing!
There is absolute power in prayer, but we have to realize that it is not our power.
There has to be a true dependency on Jesus Christ.
Everything we say.
Everything we think.
All of our actions have to be dependent on Jesus Christ alone.
So what was it that the disciples lacked that could not heal this demon possessed boy?
Yes faith, but what builds that faith that’s lacking?
Prayer and fasting.
Underestimating the power of prayer will keep faithless and powerless. The lack of fasting will starve our faith!
We don’t fast and pray to just get a helping hand from God, we fast and pray to get closer to God!
It’s more than just putting the flesh under submission. It’s more than missing a meal. It’s more than waiting for Him to answer another prayer and another request. More than just direction and clarity.
We praise Him.
We obey His Word.
We rely on His truth and promises.
We focus on things we shouldn’t be focusing on.
So many people want to go straight to the demon possession of this boy.
But look and see the Hand of the Lord working!
The Disciples failed to have the faith but fell into their own abilities rather than God’s!
So not only did they fail at healing the boy.
The faith of the Father was diminished.
The Scribes came and accused and disputed the Sovereignty of Jesus. His deity is questioned. His power and strength and authority were doubted.
The Disciples didn’t first seek the Kingdom of God.
They didn’t bring Glory to the Glory of Heaven.
Fasting is all about passion.
It’s the passion and desire to want nothing more than to be in the presence of God.
When we are passionate about the right things. The lost hurting soul, the advancement of the Kingdom.
When we can have the passion in the depths of our hearts that nothing will satisfy us until God gives us peace, gives us understanding. Shows us His mercy and compassion and grants us His Grace!
That’s what fasting is for.
It’s not about missing a meal or giving something up for a period of time. It’s wanting to be in the will of God to bring Him Glory!
It’s trading a physical need for a Spiritual one.
The lack of prayer gives us less faith and less hope.
Faith is the primary basis for believing in Christ. Since it is the first thing it must be the main thing.
Faith can only grow when it is fed by the Holiness of God.
Faith needs a life of prayer in order to grow and keep strong. The other is that prayer needs fasting for its full and perfect development.
We must return to prayer to ask for God’s help, power, mercy, grace, and might.
We must return to prayer to humble ourselves before the mighty Hand of God so that He will lift us up.
We must return to prayer to Re-awaken us to the mighty acts that God has already done for us and to give Him the thanks and praise due His name.
Great things can be done for God consistently and effectively only when God’s people pray and fast.
We have to be set apart believing people to the Glory of God for the Glory of Heaven.
Underestimating the power of prayer will keep us faithless and powerless. The lack of fasting will starve our faith!
We so want change in our lives and world.
Let us start today by building our faith through true prayer and fasting!
Pastor Ed