The Two Reasons Why a Demonic Spirit Won’t Leave
Do you have the kind of faith to believe that God is good and can perform miracles? Do you know God intimately enough to see that He is always at work?
In Mark 9:23-29, Scripture tells us:
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!’ Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So He said to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.’ ”
Jesus did a complete miracle! He cast out an unclean spirit. However, there’s an even greater point that He is trying to make here to His disciples. Some things cannot be done without prayer and fasting going into it beforehand. This passage takes us deep in our faith. We all have had moments in our spiritual journey when we try to exercise our faith but to no avail.
We ask, seek, knock, pray and repent, but God seems miles away. I am sure the disciples wondered why they could not cast out this demon.
They had done it before, so why was this time different? After Jesus met with the family of the ailing boy, He asked them, “Do you believe?”
The father responded, “Yes, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus, in His compassion, rebuked the demon and reached down and gave the boy His hand to stand up. Later the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast the demon from the boy. Jesus replied, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
Jesus did a complete miracle! He cast out an unclean spirit. However, there’s an even greater point that He is trying to make here to His disciples. Some things cannot be done without prayer and fasting going into it beforehand. This passage takes us deep in our faith. We all have had moments in our spiritual journey when we try to exercise our faith but to no avail.
We ask, seek, knock, pray and repent, but God seems miles away. I am sure the disciples wondered why they could not cast out this demon.
They had done it before, so why was this time different? After Jesus met with the family of the ailing boy, He asked them, “Do you believe?”
The father responded, “Yes, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus, in His compassion, rebuked the demon and reached down and gave the boy His hand to stand up. Later the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast the demon from the boy. Jesus replied, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
The truth from this passage is some things need fasting for healing and breakthrough.
Fasting is a powerful weapon to fight the enemy of God. When prayer is partnered with it, even the strongest grip of the enemy cannot take hold. Prayer and fasting is how we can combat the mortal enemy of our souls.
Have you struggled at times seeing God work on your behalf? You pray and believe, but nothing happens? Take a moment now and renew your commitment to fasting. Your fast is more than just going without something or giving something up. Your fast is a weapon to do warfare.
To read more from Tammy Hotsenpiller's Fasting with God, visit MyCharismaShop.com