Topic: Only by Prayer and Fasting.
THE WONDER OF PRAYER AND FASTING
Matthew 17:19-21
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Beloved in CHRIST JESUS, there is wonder in prayer and fasting. And this is shown in this passage. Prayer and Fasting are important to the Christian and are tools given to us by GOD to promote our relationship with HIM and to conquer sin and all the devices of the devil. In verse nineteen we see the Powerless Disciples of JESUS CHRIST. ”Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, why could not we cast him out? “These disciples wondered why they couldn’t cast out the demons as JESUS had instructed.
Fellow Christians, we can see some Spiritual weakness in the disciples in verses fourteen to eighteen.
Matthew 17:14-18 “[14] and when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, [15] Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for oftentimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. [16] And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. [17] Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to me. [18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”
The disciples could not cast the demon out of the man’s son because they weren’t abiding in JESUS CHRIST that is why HE rebuked them. “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief”
Our Lord JESUS CHRIST used this as a lesson to show the disciples how helpless and weak they were without GOD’s help and the lack of His power in their lives. John 15:5 ” I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” In verse twenty we can see the Practice of Prayer.
Our Lord JESUS CHRIST detected a big Problem in the lives of His disciples, the unbelief. “And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief…” Beloved unbelief or doubt is number hindrance to GOD’s response to our prayer.
We pray all right but we lack faith. Mark 11:24 says “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Faithless people don’t get anything from GOD. Hebrews 11:6 declares that “Without faith, we cannot please GOD.”
If we cannot please GOD, therefore we are away from HIM. Hebrews 3:12. “An evil heart of unbelief leads one away from God.” Fellow Christians “If GOD’s children don’t have big faith, at least they should have the size of a mustard seed” said our Lord JESUS CHRIST. It means a very small seed that enters the ground, grows to become a big tree, in fact the mighty one.
This small faith of ours when it germinates, it would grow and when it grows, it would move mountains, do the impossible and perform miracles in JESUS CHRIST Name.
Beloved in CHRIST JESUS as we Practice our faith, James 1:6. “Ask in faith; do not waver,” there is Possibility. That faith can make things happen, Matthew 26:26. “With God, all things are possible.” And generate Power to transform things, Mark 9:23. “All things are possible if we believe.”
In conclusion, people of GOD, there is Power in Prayer and Fasting. The verse twenty one says “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
It means prayer and fasting:
Weaken and conquer Satan’s powers, Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?”
Receive answer to prayer, Esther 5-7. The three days prayer and fasting of Esther and her people nullified the wicked plan of Haman and brought hope back to the Israelites.
Beloved if our Lord JESUS CHRIST said ”Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”, some problems don’t leave you just by a mere prayer, a price must be paid. A fast must be added to it.
Let us wake up from our spiritual slumber and make things happen by praying and fasting in JESUS CHRIST Name.
