21. Prayer to Solve Problems
Matthew 17:14-20
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
▣ There is absolute power in the life of faith.
But whether you know it or not is a subtle difference.
People don't know 100%, so the answer is not wrong.
The answer is wrong because you know 99% but don't know 1%.
The same is true of the spiritual world.
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12-13).
Christians are people who are born of God and are children of God. A Christian is a person of authority and power.
Unfortunately, many Christians do not enjoy this authority and power. They do not enjoy glory and joy, thanks and grace, and they simply regard the Christian life as a difficult and heavy labor.
In Matthew 17, there are two types of praying over a problem.
A man who came with his son's problems first asked his disciples to pray.
Jesus was not with his disciples because he took Peter, James, and John to the Mount of Transfiguration.
At this, his disciples prayed fervently, but they could not heal his son.
When Jesus came down from the mountain, the man came back and asked Jesus to pray.
This time the sick child was healed.
Why was the son not healed through the disciples' prayers and was healed cleanly through Jesus' prayers?
1. We need to know the spiritual cause of the problem.
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. (Matthew 17:15)
His parents said the son's problem was epilepsy.
But the Lord cast out demons.
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. (Matthew 17:18).
Strangely, the reason the parents thought their son was sick and Jesus' prescription were different.
Not all epilepsy was demon-related, but this son had a spiritual cause for demon-relatedness.
Prayers must properly know spiritual matters.
2. Prayer power comes from the Lord
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. (Matthew 17:15)
The son's parents asked Jesus to have mercy on him.
Asking for pity is a word based on a person's condition.
However, answers to prayer do not come from pity, but from the power of the Lord. You must believe in the power of the Lord.
Prayers are not answered because the person who prays is pitiful, but works happen because of faith.
3. You must use the power of faith.
Then Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out and the child was healed from then on (Matthew 17:18).
Faith is a power. You must use your abilities.
The Lord boldly rebuked the demon and cast it out.
A person who prays must believe and practice the power of prayer.
He must hold on to the problem, cry out, pray, oppose Satan, rebuke the disease and let him go.
The voice of prayer is a command to the world.
Prayer is a horse shield that calls for fire horses and fire chariots from heaven.
Amen