But by prayer and fasting Mark 9:29

There are certain situations that requires both fasting and praying. Let us examine the one that was mentioned in the word of God.

And he said unto them....

This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting Mark 9:29

There are certain things that will just not happen until we fast and pray. There are places we will not be able to go until we fast and pray. There are certain realms, levels, dimensions, and territories that we will not be able to tread until we fast and pray. There are levels of success we will not be able to tap into except we fast and pray. There are certain victories that will not be won except by fasting and prayer. There are certain connections that will not be established except by fasting and prayer. There are certain things from which we will not be delivered except by fasting and prayer. There are certain dreams that will not be fulfilled except by fasting and prayer. There are things that just will not be birthed until we fast and pray.

Mark’s Account

15the disciples couldn’t cast the demon out. 16And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? 17And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;  18And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 28And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him

privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 30And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. Mark 9:15-30

What this demonstrated to me is that Jesus lived a life of not only prayer but also fasting. He was able to cast the demon out of this child but the disciples were not (at that time).

This also brings me to another point. Deliverance ministry is not for everyone. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:17

Matthew 16:17 clearly show us the different signs that shall follow believers, but many times we are not living according to the word of God where we are keeping ourselves clean and pure before the Lord. We are not studying and reading the word as well as fasting and praying, and we are not in any kind of position to cast a demon out of anybody.

Think about this, if the disciples who closely followed Christ could not cast the spirit out of this child, how much more should we examine our personal walk with the Lord? Are we praying? Are we fasting? Are we spending time with God allowing the anointing to saturate our life? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  It also takes faith to cancel out doubt and unbelief, and Jesus made a statement when he said…

Oh faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. Mark 9:19

Was it their faith or the lack thereof? This is one of the reasons I sincerely believe we must be ready at all times. There is a sinful world out there, and God has commissioned us to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order for us to be as effective as our Savior was as he walked the earth, we have to come up higher. Not only was He given authority and power but He was also given revelation as to the kind of spirit with which He was contending.

You may be in a predicament where you don’t have time to go on a twenty-one day fast. You may not have time to go on a three day fast, but if your lifestyle is one filled with fasting and prayer, that won’t matter. There will be times where you will not be able to say, “Wait a minute; stand right there, and I will be back. I’ve got to go on a fast and seek God about this.”  Someone will need and depend on you to be READY for war! Just as it was with Jesus on that day when this little child was delivered, He was ready!

Think about this; I mean really think about this! If Jesus wasn’t there on that day a child would not have been delivered, and neither would a precious father who had been seeking healing for his child. Can you imagine the torment that was taking  place in the home of that child? Although it is mentioned that his father came seeking healing, can you also wonder if this child’s mother was still alive? More than likely, the mother and father were still together. I am sure this affected the entire household to have a child with problems like this. Yes, the problems were caused by an evil spirit, but these were SERIOUS issues to deal with. I am sure his parents were going through a lot dealing with mental torment themselves. What if there were other siblings in the home?  If so, were they frightened to allow this child to be around the other children? Were they worried that the child would hurt the other siblings? Even if there were no other siblings, a normal childhood was out of the question. More than likely the neighbors didn’t want him interacting with their children either.

Many times when we read the word of God we have to realize that ALL of the details are not mentioned. The stories were real, and these were authentic people to whom Jesus was bringing hope. Real lives were being affected, and, had it not been for our precious Savior this child would not have received his miracle on that day - not only the child, but the entire household and even the community. It’s so important for us to be on post! We must be ready at all times to be about our Father’s business! Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for oft times he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. Matthew 17: 22And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: Mark 9:15

Many Blessings,

Please check out some of the other blog posts and if you want more information regarding this same topic order a copy of Fasting for Breakthrough book! 

It is packed with great information that will help answer many questions believers have regarding tapping into "Breakthrough God's Way" and drawing closer to the Lord through fasting.

Lenika Scott

Author of

Fasting for Breakthrough