Dealing With Impossible Situations

Have you ever prayed and the prayer seems to go no where? Perhaps you have asked Christ into your life long ago but there is a still a constant nagging thing that brings you down. Maybe it is a habit or a way of thinking that has left you feeling as if you can't tell anyone what you are facing. Most of the time when this happens it has left you wondering about your own salvation and your own Christian walk. After all if there is no victory in these areas - "How can you be a Christian!?" (So often that is one of Satan's favourite statements... have you ever heard that one?)

One man that I listened to told a story of a constant string of habitual thinking that was ruining his family and marriage. Yet he still believed in Jesus and had long ago let Christ be a part of his life. He served in church and was faithful in all that he did in his service to God – except this one area. He had come to the point where he knew that he was losing what was very dear to him. He needed help.

There is a unique story in the Bible that tells us much about inadequacy and a lack of prayer power. Let’s read it together.

Matthew 17:14-22 (NIV)
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."
18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.

In the King James Bible there is an additional verse accredited here that you will notice the NIV and some other translations do not place here – it is verse 21(KJV).

Matthew 17:21(KJV)
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

The account is powerful for all of us that struggle with these beastly attitudes, habits and thought patterns. Here is a man that is beside himself. He has done everything to try to help his son. The boy is obviously under some kind of control. The KJV says that he was a “lunatick and sore vexed” – the NIV brings it down a notch and says “he had seizures and is suffering greatly”.

The difficult part of this account is the fact that the man tells Jesus that he has brought his son to Jesus disciples and they were not able to cure him. He reveals the disciples inadequacy to see anything happen with their prayers. What a place to be in if you are a faithful disciple of Jesus. Everyone knows you are a believer and that you follow this great miracle worker – yet when you pray nothing happens. Would you like to be one of the disciples at that moment? I am not sure I would.

Yet in our world we are the same in many ways. We are surrounded with these awful things and perhaps even have some of them in us. We pray and nothing happens. As I look at my life – I am whole lot like these men that follow Jesus so close.

Then they asked him the “hard question” …. Why couldn’t we cast out this demon? Why didn’t we get results when we prayed? They asked what we often think about our own prayers.

Jesus gives them this amazing challenge that talks clearly about their faith and big need for a little increase in faith… to the size of a tiny mustard seed.

Then the powerful statement in the KJV translation – “this kind only comes out with much prayer and fasting”.

Personal problems and life problems that we find impossible are not impossible with God. They are to us. With an additional step forward that launches us into a new realm of spiritual walking with Jesus we will see a new freedom to pray and release – the problems to God.

In our Bible Study last evening we discussed this one at length. This is called the “Disciples Fast” in Elmer Towns’ book “Fasting For Spiritual Breakthrough”. By taking time to consider what we are facing and then beginning to Fast with prayer we can see this impossible situation that we have prayed for – RELEASED. We can see the Bondage Broken.

We have agreed that we will consider further steps to Fast and Pray in our lives. We want to make a difference. Will you join us to know that release of you own life?

You might like to check out this Web Site entitled “Just Pray No” It has some powerful notations about fasting and prayer.