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In Matthew 17:14-21 and Mark 9:14-29 we read the account of a man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus disciples, only to find that the disciples could not cast out the demon.
“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him. Lord, have mercy on my son, he said. He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.
You unbelieving and perverse generation, Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me. Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [But this kind of demon won’t leave except by prayer and fasting.]”
How often have you read this passage and thought, or how many sermons have you heard, that this particular demon (evil spirit) was so strong (and perhaps other demonic spirits are so strong?) that they can only be cast out through “prayer and fasting”?
I don’t believe that is what Jesus was talking about in verse 21 at all.
What Jesus was talking about was not the demon (evil spirit) that the boy had, or how it would only come out by prayer and fasting.
What Jesus was actually referring to was the (demonic) spirit of doubt/unbelief that was in the disciples.
Jesus was telling the disciples that they had unbelief – and that their (spirit of) unbelief is why they could not cast out the demon that was in the boy.
Jesus was telling the disciples that they needed to ‘fast and pray’ to get rid of the spirits of doubt/unbelief that was in them, so that nothing was hindering their faith.
Another example of this in the New Testament is where the Apostle Peter, (now Baptised in the Holy Spirit and using the Authority that Jesus gave him), sent out all the people out of the room in Acts 9:32-43
“Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.” (Acts 9:39-41)
The widows were all full of unbelief and wailing because they believed Dorcas was dead.
Peter knew that to move in this resurrection miracle he needed to clear the room of doubt/unbelief so that he could move in faith.
Today, with the total victory of Jesus having triumphed over satan (and all the demonic) by the cross and His resurrection, we move in that same authority and power.
We do not need to ‘fast and pray’ to take authority over any demonic spirit – we take authority in the Name and Authority and Power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
However, we may (and probably do) need to ‘fast and pray’ just like the disciples had to, to get rid of the spirits of doubt/unbelief in our own lives so that we move in that Authority.
We must also recognise that faith and faithfulness are not the same.
We can be faithful in attending church, or doing the flower arrangement weekly for years – and still have no faith.
Or we may have faith for healings and miracles, and yet not be faithful in all areas of our lives to the will of God.
God wants us to be both – faithful and to have faith.
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