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. . .this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting” – Matt. 17:19-21
When Christ sent the disciples out (Matt. 10:6-8), He explicitly commissioned them to do various kinds of miracles. Less than a year later, they failed where they had once succeeded. Christ's explanation for their failure was that their faith was deficient (17: 20). The deficiency did not consist in a lack of confidence; they were surprised that they could not cast out a demon. The problem probably lay in a failure to make God-rather than their own gifts-the object of their confidence.
I see a great example of why Jesus told His disciples to not rejoice over the fact that demons are subject to them, but rather rejoice over their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).
Why is that? Because if you put your confidence in your ability to do demon casting, you will be disappointed. Today, you are casting out a demon and tomorrow the demon is casting you out. This is what happened to Jesus’ disciples in Matthew 17. They said, “Lord, why couldn’t we cast this demon out?” And what was the reason the Lord gave? “Because of the littleness of your faith” (Matt. 17:20). Who’s faith? The faith of those disciples.
Now go back ahead again to Luke 10:17, where Jesus tells His men to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Who’s faith is responsible for writing and keeping our names in heaven? Not ours, but the Lord’s.
You see, when it comes to casting out demons, Jesus has already given to us His authority but that does not mean we will automatically be successful. Our faith in God plays a huge role. However, we had no part in writing our names in heaven. That was done by God alone.
Therefore, this is the essence of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 17 regarding not being able to cast a particular demon. Jesus is saying, “Do not put your confidence in your abilities or gifts. Some of you have the gift of demon casting. If you are not careful, your faith in God will be subtly moved from God to your gift. Whenever your faith moves away from God onto something else, then you will not achieve any true success. If you want to learn the value of keeping your faith fixated on God, then practice now and then the discipline of both prayer and fasting.”
Now folks, please remember this: It is not the amount of faith one has that makes a noticeable difference, but WHERE that faith is placed.
For example, what did Jesus tell His disciples when they could not cast out a demon? He said, “Because of the littleness of your faith.” We read this and conclude, “Oh, I get it, little faith, little power.” No that’s not it. Keep reading.
Jesus explains by saying, “If you have faith as a mustard seed (a very small seed indeed), you could say to this mountain, ‘Move over there and it will moved; nothing shall be impossible for you.’”
What made the difference? It was not the disciples’ “little faith,” because Jesus’ analogy of the mustard seed would not stick. Jesus’ point is WHERE one places his or her little faith. Jesus is emphasizing the object of their faith (that being God) and not the size of it.
This makes sense, because if success depended on the size of our faith, then we would conclude, “Whoa, I am a man or woman of great faith.” Pretty soon pride will set in and take over. But if the object of our faith being God is brought into the picture, then even those with such little faith (which most of us have) can still enjoy great success because the power and authority rests in the object of our faith and not in our faith itself. This is why Jesus concludes -- go back to the discipline of “prayer and fasting.”
So be careful where you place your faith. Very subtly, Satan can draw your little faith away from God and onto your gift, talent or natural abilities. Second, be very cautious of not glorying in the amount of faith you think you have that is the reason for your success. Even the littlest faith can achieve greatness when it is in the Lord.
