Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:19-21 NASB
![]() |
| Do you have the faith of... a mustard seed? |
The
whole issue of demon possession may be beyond most people’s comfort zone of
prayer. Jesus instructed His disciples and us that this issue requires fasting
along with prayer. Fasting focuses us on prayer, on the issue at hand and the
Lord. Fasting isn’t something new in our time, or in Jesus’ time. Remember
Esther called the Israelites to fast when they were facing persecution by the
king (Esther 4:3). David writes about fasting when others were ill (Psalm
35:14). Of course, there is the time that Jesus went into the desert and fasted
for forty days and nights after His baptism (Matthew 4:2). Fasting may make us
hungry, but spiritually strengthens us. When our faith in the Lord is strong,
it is possible that we will experience spiritual warfare. It may not seem like
real a spiritual battle, just inconveniences, problems, discouragement or
depression. That is the time to put on your armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). Protect
yourself daily with God’s word and His armor. Then, if you’ve never fasted, the
next time you have a deep prayer need, have faith. Try fasting.
Jesus is calling us to use our faith
in Him to ask for what may seem like an impossible prayer request. How will you
respond to Him today?
What do we learn about Jesus from
this passage today? Does it give you encouragement to talk to Him more in prayer?
Prayer
~ Jesus, I have faith in You. You said, "With people it is impossible, but
not with God; for all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27. I trust
You to hear my prayers and answer them…even if they seem impossible.
Verses
of Salvation ~ Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my
Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed his plan for you
Gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the
prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made
known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him.
All glory to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen. Romans 16:25-27 NLT
© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
Portions reused from Banquet With The King blog, November
13, 2014.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard
Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
