“However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21, NKJV).
Prayer and fasting constitute a supernatural blockbuster that overcomes every obstacle. Someone described the combo as God’s nuclear energy with incredible capacity to destroy every satanic resistance. While Jesus, in the company of Peter, James and John, were experiencing a beatific encounter on the mountain of transfiguration, fellowshipping with Moses and Elijah, the rest of the disciples were sweating it out in a futile attempt to deliver a young man from demonic oppression. They had done everything they learned from Jesus and did everything the observed Him do in similar circumstances but all to no avail. The recalcitrant demon was not impressed and stood his ground. Quite a few of us must have been in similar situations in life where you have done everything you know to get your prayers answered and nothing seemed to have changed for the better. The harder you tried the more distant you feel from the solutions you desire. At such times, some must have wondered if God still answers prayers. Some would conclude that God is angry with them for one thing of the other. Some others would resign themselves to fate concluding that it is God’s will for them to live with the problem they wanted solved. The sense of defeat one feels in such circumstances is numbing. The nine apostles must have felt that way in the failure to help the demon -possessed boy.
Prayer and fasting constitute a supernatural blockbuster that overcomes every obstacle.
While they bemoaned their failure, they sighted Jesus and the three apostles coming down the mountain. A deep sense of relief swept through the minds of the nine disciples and that of the father of the troubled child. What proved impossible for them would be a piece of cake for Jesus. They had been around Jesus long enough to know that no human condition, no matter how intractable it might look, could resist His authority. As soon as the sick boy’s father identified Jesus he pleaded with evident passion: “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” (Matthew 17:15-16). The disciples must have been embarrassed on hearing the damning testimony of the man – “but they could not cure him.” You probably must have felt that way also at one point or the other, when your prayers and efforts to help someone in difficulty appear to have failed. It is not a good feeling at all. Our Lord apparently displeased with the failure of the disciples to cure the sick boy rebuked them, describing them as faithless generation. Finally, our Lord commanded the demon to leave the boy, and the boy was instantly relieved and restored to sound health. Glory to God!
The disciples, though happy to see the boy healed could not but wonder how easily Christ solved the problem that kept them labouring for hours to no avail. They decided to find out from Jesus what the problem was and how they could guard against failure in the future. So, they enquired from Jesus privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” (Matthew 17:19). Without mincing words, Jesus answered, “Because of your unbelief…” Unbelief or lack of faith has been the principal reason for most of the unanswered prayers children of God experience. But Jesus was not done yet. There was still a key secret He had not told them: “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew. 17:21). The cat is out of the bag, the heaven’s blockbuster is revealed. The combination of prayer and fasting that is anchored by faith overcomes unimaginable obstacles. Queen Esther deployed the duo to get the mighty Persian empire sprawling at her feet. Ezra so relied on the power of prayer and fasting that he rejected the military escort on the Journey from captivity back to the Promised Land. He testified, “So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer” (Ezra 8:23). God will likewise answer you as your fast and pray in this season in Jesus’ name.
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