PREACHING OF 02 FEBRUARY 2025:

Pastor Antonio Russo

 

THE POWER OF PRAYER AND FASTING TOGETHER

 

In this message, as we continue with the theme of the three-stranded cord, we will share "The Power of Prayer and Fasting Together," a truth that invites us to reflect on the second key given by God. The first key concerns the authority we have in Christ through prayer. Jesus taught us that prayer is not optional but vital, to the point that when a man and a woman pray, hell trembles. Prayer allows God to intervene in our lives: when we pray, we declare our dependence on Him. God has chosen to collaborate with us through prayer, so nothing happens without our participation, because we are His co-workers, responsible and engaged in His divine work. God entrusted us with the governance of the earth, but sin led man to surrender his authority to the devil, making Satan the prince of this world. However, in Christ, we have regained authority, giving rise to a generation of believers with spiritual power. Scripture exhorts us never to stop praying, because prayer is not an isolated event but a lifestyle. There are different types of prayer, such as the prayer of faith or consecration, but all must be continuous. The apostle Paul said, "Pray without ceasing," because when we stop, God stops working. He has given us a great responsibility: we cannot simply say, "Lord, do as You will," but we must recognize and exercise the authority He has given us. Jesus Himself taught us to pray without ceasing (Luke 18:1), and His example in the Gospels shows that prayer was His lifestyle. If it was for Him, it must be for us as well. In 2°Chronicles, we read that if we do four things humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways God will do three things: hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Here we see the collaboration between us and God: He entrusts us with the responsibility to pray and humble ourselves, while He responds and works. Jesus, in Matthew 16:18-19, reveals to Peter that on this rock He will build His Church, giving him the keys to the Kingdom. Why Peter? Because he received the revelation of who Jesus is. Likewise, we who have received this revelation also possess the keys to the Kingdom, with the authority to bind and loose on earth what will be bound and loosed in heaven. This means that we must open the doors to God’s blessings and close them to the works of darkness, preventing sickness, poverty, and curses from entering our lives. God has given us the authority to forbid the devil from attacking our minds and families, and it is up to us to exercise it responsibly because He says, "Whatever you bind will be bound, and whatever you loose will be loosed." Everything we allow will be allowed, and what we forbid will be forbidden. Therefore, it is up to us to use the keys given to us to live in the power of prayer. When we see the works of darkness manifesting in our lives and homes, we must remember that we have the keys to close the doors to the curse and open them to the blessing. In the name of Jesus, we forbid the spirit of fear, deception, and rebellion from acting in our lives and families, and we release blessing, healing, and miracles. Jesus declared: "There is more power in this little finger than in all of hell," and just as He cast out demons with the finger of God, we too, in His name, can do the same. We release protection over our children, health in our bodies, miracles, and financial blessings. And when we encounter obstacles, we declare that they will be removed in the name of Jesus because we have the authority to act in faith, without unbelief, an authority that has been given to us directly by Christ.

Luke 10:19; 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

This means that no magic, witchcraft, fortune-telling, or curse can have any effect on us because the name of Jesus is above every other name. We believe in the Word of God, not in the lies of the enemy, and we declare that no one can touch us because we have the keys to close the doors to the works of evil: what we open will be opened, and what we close will be closed. Now we must connect the key from Matthew 16:18-19, "I will give you the keys of the Kingdom," which we saw last Sunday, with what we read in Matthew 17:15, which teaches us that prayer and fasting are a powerful combination in the spiritual realm. You see, when we pray and use authority, but nothing changes, we must understand that it is time to fast because we need something more to obtain victory. The difference between authority and power is clear: authority is like the stop signal given by an officer, but if someone does not stop, then power comes into play, just like when the police chase a vehicle. Likewise, if after exercising authority we do not see results, we must apply power through fasting.

Matthew 17:15-18; 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

The word "rebuke" means to command the demon, with authority and power, to let him go, and Jesus, with the same authority, ordered: "Leave him!"

Verse 19-20; 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

The disciples were confused because, despite having prayed and declared healing, they had not seen results, and the reason for their failure was their unbelief and little faith. Our faith and trust in God's power are essential to seeing supernatural results; this is why we must firmly believe in what Jesus said and apply it without unbelief. The Bible says that nothing is impossible for those who believe, and we have received the authority and power to see miracles and transformations in our lives and our homes.

1°Corinthians 2:4; 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

We must not speak with eloquence but with the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and His power, shaking minds and persuading hearts. As pastors, we must teach people to place their faith first in Christ and then in His power because God is Almighty, All-knowing, and possesses all the power necessary to overcome difficulties, meet needs, and break down barriers. Many seek human solutions without relying on divine power, while we should always trust in God without limiting Him with our unbelief. We need God's revelation to remove the veil from our eyes and the plugs from our ears so that His power may work through us healing, delivering, and prospering. In Matthew, we read that Jesus said: "Because of your little faith and lack of trust in the power of God...", but unlike the disciples, we desire to see the genuine power of God manifested among us in the name of Jesus. If we had a living faith, as small as a mustard seed, it would be enough to say to a mountain, "Move," and if it is in God's will, it would move, because nothing will be impossible for us. Nothing will be able to touch us magic, witchcraft, sickness, infirmity, or poverty if we believe in God's power. God says: "By My power, I created the heavens, the earth, and the universe," which continues to expand because His power is unlimited, creative, and miraculous. But Jesus said: "You have not had faith and trust in My power."

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

How many of us fast? Through fasting, we increase our power to be set free and to set others free. In the story from Matthew, the boy was epileptic or lunatic, and Jesus explained that certain kinds of demons require more than just authority they require prayer and fasting. Jesus told the disciples that although they had authority, they lacked power because a lack of faith in God's power makes one unable to bring deliverance. Fasting, however, elevates us to a higher level, allowing us to receive divine power effectively. It does not change God, but it transforms us, helping us grow and mature spiritually. We must desire more of God's power in our lives because praying and fasting are necessary but not sufficient we have authority, but we also need power to confront the works of darkness. Jesus said: "This kind of demon does not come out except by..." not only through prayer but through fasting as well. Why did Jesus emphasize this kind of demon? What makes them different? How did He know they were higher-ranking spiritual entities? This pushes us to understand that the spiritual world around us is more real than the natural world. The Bible states that heaven and earth will pass away, but the spiritual world will remain. Even if we cannot see it with our physical eyes, it exists, and we must be aware of it because that is where our true battle takes place. Jesus did not stop at the boy's physical condition but sought to understand his true need and problem. Have we heard of magic, witchcraft, occultism, and works of darkness? In the name of Jesus, we have victory. In Africa, the spiritual world is perceived as real: sorcerers transforming into beasts or levitating are evident manifestations. In the West, it is more subtle, hidden, but just as real. This is why we need spiritual discernment, fasting, and prayer.

Mark 9:21; 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him?And he said, Of a child.

This shows that long-standing problems become strongholds that are difficult to uproot, and Jesus teaches us that authority alone is not enough we need divine power, received through prayer and fasting. God asks us: "How long have you been living with this problem?" If it has been rooted for a long time, it means it has taken hold and requires fasting and prayer to be broken. You see, some situations do not originate with us but with our parents they are generational curses. Even after an encounter with God, if we return to unbelief, we can lose our deliverance because God's work continues beyond the initial breakthrough. If a problem has persisted for years, we need power to remove it. This word is not coming to us by chance: as we fast, God increases His power in us, and many people will be set free because the true key to deliverance is the union of prayer and fasting. How many difficult situations have we been living with for a long time health issues, financial struggles, family problems? God is revealing to us that these have deep roots and require power to be uprooted. For this reason, we must establish fixed moments of fasting, starting with 12 hours, then 24 hours, and eventually two days a week, just as Jesus did. He fasted regularly beyond the 40 days in the desert because fasting, when accompanied by prayer, releases the power of God. When you fast and pray, God begins to set you free, uprooting the roots of oppression, depression, infirmity, poverty, and fear. There are situations that have kept us bound for years, but now is the time for deliverance. We must not conform to infirmity, oppression, or depression many get used to suffering, but God has prepared something greater for us. Many people live in fear after losing a loved one, afraid for their own lives, but God will set us free from fear, depression, and infirmity. Medical diagnoses may say that we have to live with a disease, but we declare that Satan is a liar, and we take authority in the name of Jesus. Some people live in continuous poverty, but today we will be set free because we have received the keys: prayer, fasting, authority, and power. Some have been struggling with family problems for years, with no peace, but now, through persistent prayer and fasting, we will achieve victory. We will not give up because prayer and fasting give God permission to intervene in our lives.