Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Some spiritual battles are harder to fight than others. That is the bottom line of what Jesus was teaching his disciples. They had grown confident in their ability to deal with the evil influences of devils. After all, they had already cast out devils on other occasions. They had success previously when dealing with these unclean spirits and now they were confused because they were not able to help this man’s son. Why could they on one occasion cast out devils and on another occasion they were not able? Jesus actually rebuked the disciples in this regard:
Matthew 17:19-20 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.
Jesus said the reason was their unbelief. They did not even have a mustard seed - sized faith or else they could have cast out the devil. This is quite a rebuke! What was it that made Jesus determine that they did not believe? They had not prayed and fasted. Jesus on the other hand had been up on the mountain with Peter, James and John. They had not eaten anything and he had been in prayer for some time when Moses and Elijah appeared to them. He was able to deal with the devil because he was ‘prayed up’. The disciples apparently were not.
What about you? Are you prayed up for the spiritual battles you will face today? Do you launch out into the day without spending time in prayer getting ready? Do you encounter situations that you take for granted and expect that you can easily handle them not realizing that they are spiritual battles that must be fought with spiritual weapons?
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
The disciples were in unbelief because they were trying to use carnal weapons to fight a spiritual battle. This will never work! God has given us the weapons we need. We must use them to fight the spiritual battles that we encounter daily.
In Christ,
Rody
