Faith

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

Mustard seeds are really small. When we were growing up my sister had a necklace with a mustard seed encased in plastic, magnifying it. It was small—but it was a reminder of this verse and the power of prayer. We were young—what did we know about prayer? As years went by we learned to appreciate prayer and often asked each other to pray. Now she has gone to be with the Lord…in Heaven. Will we pray in heaven? Only time will tell for that. 

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 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. 

 

RSVP: 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?  

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.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.