Difficult Question Answered…
August 27th, 2009 | Michael Q. Pink
“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 you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. But this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:19-21)
Get the picture. A man brings his convulsing son to the disciples for healing, but they could not heal him. Jesus rebukes the demon and the child is cured immediately. The disciples were puzzled. They were sure they had faith to heal the lad, but it didn’t work. Sometime earlier, Jesus had sent out the 70 and they came back with testimonies of healing and deliverance. They knew “this stuff worked”. But it didn’t this time.
How was it possible that men who had been walking with Jesus for some time now, who had seen miracles mass produced and on a frequent basis and had faith for this, would end up disappointed? If the story were to stop there, or be something that happened in your church, you might well hear that obviously it wasn’t God’s will for the child to be healed or God would have healed him. You might have heard that somehow the child who was often thrown into the fire or into water to destroy him was suffering these horrors to teach him or his parents something. How cruel and damning to suggest that! Or perhaps you might hear that the child wasn’t healed because of sin, either his or his parents. Tell me, who did Jesus ever heal that was sinless?
Fortunately, the story doesn’t stop there. We know exactly why the child was not healed, because the disciples asked Jesus directly and He responded with “Because of your unbelief”. You can have faith and unbelief at the same time. Unbelief neutralizes faith. In fact, your unbelief can neutralize the faith that Jesus has. (“And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Matt 13:58)
Now some would argue that because the child was demonized by a particularly tenacious demon that the only way it could be cast out was by prayer and fasting. I don’t think so. Jesus didn’t reply with, “The reason the child wasn’t healed was because you haven’t been praying and fasting enough.” He told them flatly it was because of their unbelief. Period.
So how do you get rid of unbelief? With prayer and fasting. And may I suggest that you not only fast food, but also everything that feeds your unbelief. That might be the fear based news media. It could be the info you get on the internet or in conversations with negative people. Fast whatever it is that feeds your unbelief. It will lose its power and your faith will have effect. To be continued…
August 27th, 2009 at 9:59 am
just wanted to say that I’ve been listening and reading you more often weekly now, and thanking God for your insight, faithfulness and wisdom.
Godly counsel is so wonderfully enlightening. love folk who study to show themselves approved. bless you for doing so.
thank you and thank God for you.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Fast what Feeds your Unbelief! Wow! Thanks for a convicting yet awesome post today. Speaks right to me!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Very, Very good article and insight. Negative thoughts of unbelief overcoming faith. That is why Jesus put all the whaling mourners out of the house before he raised the young girl from the dead. It is like what has filled the spiritual atmosphere around you and the situation. The disciples ran into a demon that was a little harder to come out and because it didn’t come out right away like that normally saw they fell into unbelief. Awesome truth. Send more!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Fantastic post Michael! Thank you!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Excellent Post.
Thank you!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Really good teaching - and something I need right now. Thank you!
August 27th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Thanks for the very practical way to fast. Praise God for your giftedness and the Holy Spirit working through you to accomplish His purposes.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Excellent Article
Thanks for dealing directly with the unbelief Jesus speaks about.
Fasting from unbelief, simple abd profound.
Looking forward to hearing more about this.
Shalom
August 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am
When David suggest I fast well over a year ago now, I was not too excited as food is “my drug of choice.” Well, after a year of taking Mondays and giving them to LORD, I can tell you, it does empower you with HIS spirit. Have the things I want to happen come to pass? Not necessarily, but as Elmer Towne teaches in his book, I am not trying to manipulate GOD, but to get into HIS space. It is sometimes hard (and rare) when I give up my Monday as I do enjoy this time with HIM. Thanks David Johnson, for your wise words to me! Bless you all, Kara
August 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Good stuff. Very timely
August 27th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
This writing truly could offend so many from so many camps. Including my own camp.
We just lost our 11 year old grandson Josh August 19th 2008 to a hidious horrible cancerous tumors throughout his body the total weight of that giant was 100 lbs of many growing tumors
So of cource I could take your writing and beat myself up with it or deny it or get mad
Rather I would just like to add the word that says a man is appointed once to die as well as a true honest to God story of Joshie.
This 11 year old went through his first sugery and months later there was an event held for him. Fourty people came that night to the alter to recieve Christ.
Josh later asked his dad if these people were going to heaven Yes Josh Pete said, Josh was quiet and about 15 minutes later said ” Well then if that is true I would go through this cancer again” The cancer came back ravinously. Josh died within 3 months of that event. To this day his life and struggle is still touching many and every day we hear a story of how people are still finding their way to the cross because of Josh.
We prayed fasted shed a mountain of tears yet this cancer showed us no mercy.
Joshies Dad however witnessed the Lord standing next to Josh twice Just watching Josh peering intently. He was right there.He was waiting for the correct moment to take flight with our loved Joshie.
So yes you are right and no you are not.Life and death belong to the Lord David at the death of his son got up washed himself and went forward. So must we all.
Thank you
Judy Holm
www.frog4life.com
August 27th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
JUDY:
My heartfelt condolences on your loss! God bless you and comfort you. Thank you for sharing about Josh. We cannot understand all of God’s ways in this lifetime which is where Deut. 29:29 falls in. But we will one day in His Presence.
My prayers are with you, Judy and Joshie’s parents.
KARA: Thanks for your insight on fasting and giving the Lord one day a week.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
alleluyah
August 27th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
All I can say Judy is OUCH and triple OUCH. Not a very spiritual response to your pain but there again does anyone know the right thing to say! When my daughter was 13 she went to stay with my parents because of her father’s poor state of mental health and no one knew what to say to us either.
Her dad and I faced huge problems in terms of faith and unbelief. Because we lacked sufficient belief in ourselves we could not believe that my parents would let her return. Problem was that there was a vicious cycle going on that no one realised was working until much later. I would speak to our daughter and she would tell us how well she was doing and paint a really happy picture of her new life. I would get upset because her life was so much better without me and that minimised any hope that she would ever return. Her dad would then get angry and walk out the house. Unknown to me he then vented his anger at losing his daughter at my parents. My parents then tried to diffuse his anger by saying that they were looking after our daughter and that she was coming to no harm so round the cycle we went for a long time. If only we could have believed that it was possible for her to return she might have done. She is now 28 and never has done.
One of the problems we had was her dad and I were feeding each other’s unbelief. Another was the spiritual atmosphere of our home. The only time I have felt tempted to commit suicide was shortly after I moved into that house. I cannot remember any obvious reason why but it subsided after I was prayed for. Mind I was not the only one who faced some kind of life threatening situation while living in that group of 6 houses. I took a map to church one day listing all the problems there had been with cancer (we lost 1 neighbour every 6 years on average to that) heart problems (we lost 1 neighbour and nearly lost another) and these were not the only life threatening issues we and our neighbours had to deal with. One year we started with 12 adults in the street and ended with 10. In a street of old people maybe but we were all of working age. It was just as if there was some kind of malevolence about the place that made death of people and of their dreams all that much easier to happen. In the end I was moved out by the Lord as part of the divorce settlement. He might have thought that he got something good but I think it was a different kind of reward.
A year after the divorce I wrote a letter which I hand delivered saying please keep away from me in future. I got to a certain point in the road and my thoughts went crazy. Don’t do this there is still hope for him to be set free and you to have your dreams come true. Until I walked past that point I was certain that there was nothing that could be done. Thankfully by then I recognised that just walking on that land was enough to damage my thinking processes so I was able to deal with the situation.
That experience has shown me that there are many factors to problems. Belief and the lack of it is an important one but that in itself like Michael said can be linked to other issues. In our case it did not help that one old map showed that that house was built on a burial ground. Quite how we could have avoided that issue I am not sure. We built that house and moved in because when I was asked to ask “him upstairs” what to do about buying the land and after that I felt that it was right to go through the doors that He would open. We found out later that at least one person had put in an offer that was higher than the market value when we put in an offer for the market value. They were obviously upset about this when they found out but we had no idea why they chose us rather than them. In the end I was rescued from it and now live in house that had been the home of a godly couple for 8 years before I moved in.
My advice is that if you find your thoughts change when you go to a particular place stop and think if there could be anything that has happened there that could have a spiritual influence on you. Then seek the Lord for his advice on what to do. The run of deadly illnesses subsided after we prayed for our street at church.
Susan
August 27th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Judy,
The grace of God exudes from your words. Thank you for sharing them.
I have just stood with two close friends in our church whose children were ravaged by cancer. When the first 19 year old beautiful young girl died, I was doing my best to comfort a young man. He was questioning all the prayer and fasting that had been exerted on her behalf with seemingly no result (and frankly, so was I). When I was questioning why there was no answer, the Lord spoke clearly to my spirit, that she was whole, she was healed AND she was standing with Him right now.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Thank you,
It just seems as though there is no answer until you recognize God almighty is in full control and then submit to His ways.
He knows the end from the beginning. He is the end and the beginning and if I learned anything at all during Joshies ordeal is that God is truly in control.I learned He loves us and is always there to prepare a table before me in the presence of our adversary.
Sometimes the cup is bitter and we must drink anyway. This is true Grace. to be able to move forward through the bitter water.
Fear will come now and try to cling line a bad omen I am able to look that thing in the eye and keep going anyway because of that GREAT GRACE.
Judy Holm
August 28th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Dear Judy;
Having buried my first born child and later, my stepson, I am acquainted with the pain of the loss of a child and my heart goes out to you and the others who have experienced similar losses.
I would certainly not want to you to beat yourself up or feel condemned by anything I may have said. What I do believe is that the church in this age is anemic and operating below what Christ died to give us.
When we lost our son, our definition of faith became, “The ability to live with unanswered questions”. Since that time, we have been growing in our walk with Him and our understanding of His ways.
As I write future posts, it is my journey and my glimpse of the Truth that I am writing about and I admit that I see fleeting glimpses through a glass darkly. What I share going forward is in no way meant to be combative or dogmatic or injurious.
I am one climbing a mountain on a foggy morning. I report what I believe I see as I strive to break through the fog and see clearly.
With warmth and respect,
Michael Pink
August 28th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Dear Michael,
How are you doing?
I think Jesus was dealing with three facts or issues of life within his healing minitry. They were meant to be treated individually and in the order of Spirit. This are:
1. Family- Fatherhood
2. Discipules- Church in development, growing in maturity in the fruit of the Spirit, Ga. 5: 22.
3. The Crowd- Wich represents the world of unbelievers, the world needing
to hear the gospel of Jesus by grace, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was pointing to these three spheres surrounding his ministry. We are all into development and growing in spiritual maturity. Our success resides in our submission to Jesus and his living word comitted by the power of the Holy Spirit, walking in his order to bring healing and salvation.
Let us be corrected of our unbelieve which can be an unpropper revelation of the grace, the word of God, or a false judgement toward someone needing healing and salvation even within christian beleivers.
Dear God,
May we all be leaded by the Holy Spirit and his order to bring healing and salvation to the world in Jesus. Amen.
God bless you. Much love in Jesus,
Emilio
Puerto Rico
August 28th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
These are the types of posts that I can get behind!!! (Not that your other ones aren’t…) What I mean is you pinpointed a problem (unbelief) AND you’ve given the solution in modern day terms - FAST from things that cause unbelief. It’s not burying your head in the sand; it’s actively choosing not to participate in “godless chatter”.
Great job Michael!
August 29th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Thanks for your message, Michael…it made me again think thru deeply. I like your honesty when you say,“The ability to live with unanswered questions”. For indeed that is why God’s grace is absolutely necessary in our daily walk as believers in Christ and that despite the difficulties in life, despite the world’s view of us that we are inadequate, we keep on doing His work of restoration by delivering Hope and Kingdom values to this dying world.
I am also reminded of Jesus’ words, “I came that you might have life and have it abundantly.” I can see that that is what you are seeking to do and encouraging us to enjoy as well and not miss it in this lifetime…that life on earth can never be life at all and abundantly adding value if the Triune God is not number 1 in our hearts and souls.
As I think thru your subject, my mind led me to a point…simply put, praying and fasting is also Feasting on our God displacing the substitutes.
Please be faithful to God’s calling in your life no matter what, Michael…for He is working with you to challenge us to embrace the living God while acting on our faith and recognizing realities in this life filled with questions.
w/ HISTeam that works in His marketplace,
Benjie B. Caballero
Manila, Philippines
September 2nd, 2009 at 9:17 am
Hi everyone! I definetly agree, even although this is one, I must admit, that I struggle with! (fasting that is). Sometimes it is required of US to put some back work into our faith to give it a ‘jump start’. This is just an example of what you can have and achieve when we put some work in too. The devil puts his best work into us-so if we want to trample on those big ones, we have to put in a little more effort.
God bless you everyone x
September 10th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Michael - I think this is the best commentary on this passage that I personally have read or heard. I very much appreciate your humble wisdom and insight. Everytime I read one of your emails, I learn and I am encouraged. Thank you for obeying God and walking out your destiny in Him. You are truly a blessing and gift from the Father.
I also appreciate the comments from all the others. As we each share our piece of the puzzle, we gain a clearer understanding of the big picture. BLessings to everyone who has taken and will take the time to share.