13/10/2026
MT. ZION DARE TO DREAM • WRIGHT MT. ZION PENTECOSTAL MINISTRIES
# # # SERMON: FASTING AND PRAYER RELEASE SPIRITUAL POWER
Main Text: Matthew 17:14–21 (KJV)
Theme: Breaking spiritual barriers through faith, prayer, fasting, and total dependence on God.
Sermon declaration: “When the flesh is disciplined, the heart is surrendered, and faith is activated, we position ourselves to seek God with greater focus and spiritual devotion.”
# # # Introduction: There Is More to Your Walk with God
Beloved, there comes a time in every believer's life when ordinary routines are no longer enough to sustain spiritual growth. There are moments when we must separate ourselves from distractions, humble ourselves before God, and seek His face with renewed determination.
There are battles that test our faith. There are seasons when prayers seem unanswered. There are circumstances that challenge our patience, shake our confidence, and cause us to question whether God is still working.
But hear this: the difficulty of your situation does not mean the absence of God's power.
Jesus taught His disciples that their walk with God required more than outward appearances. They needed faith, dependence upon God, and a deeper understanding of spiritual things.
Fasting is not a way to manipulate God. Prayer is not a formula for controlling heaven. Fasting and prayer are disciplines through which we humble ourselves, seek God's will, strengthen our devotion, and bring our lives into alignment with His Word.
Today, we will examine three powerful truths: why we fast, what prayer accomplishes, and how we must respond when our faith is tested.
# # # 1\. The Biblical Foundation: Matthew 17
In Matthew 17, a father brought his suffering son to Jesus' disciples, seeking deliverance. The disciples were unable to help him, but Jesus intervened and rebuked the demon.
Later, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they had failed.
Jesus answered in Matthew 17:20:
> “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.”
Matthew 17:21 in the King James Version states:
> “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
A textual note is important: Matthew 17:21 is included in the KJV, although some modern Bible translations omit it or place it in a footnote because it is absent from some early Greek manuscripts. The wider biblical teaching on prayer and fasting is nevertheless clear in passages such as Matthew 6:16–18, Acts 13:2–3, and Acts 14:23.
Notice what Jesus was teaching His disciples. Their ministry was not supposed to depend on human confidence alone. They needed to trust God, cultivate faith, and live lives of spiritual dependence.
The lesson is not that fasting forces God to act. The lesson is that believers must learn to depend upon God rather than their own strength.
There are times when we must stop relying on yesterday's victories and return to the presence of God with humility.
You cannot live forever on somebody else's prayer life. You must develop your own relationship with the Lord.
You cannot borrow another person's faith when your own faith is being tested. You must learn to stand upon the Word of God for yourself.
Church, it is time to deepen our devotion!
# # # 2\. Fasting Is an Act of Surrender
In Matthew 6:16, Jesus said:
> “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance…”
Notice that Jesus said when ye fast, giving instructions for the practice of fasting among His followers.
But He also addressed the attitude behind it. Fasting was not supposed to be a performance designed to impress people.
In Isaiah 58, God challenged His people to understand that genuine fasting must be accompanied by righteousness, compassion, and a willingness to turn away from wickedness.
This means fasting is more than an empty stomach.
You can abstain from food and still harbour hatred in your heart.
You can spend hours in prayer and still refuse to forgive somebody.
You can announce a fast to the world and neglect the very people God has called you to love.
True fasting must affect the heart, not merely the appetite.
When we fast, we are making room to focus more intentionally on God. We are reminding ourselves that our desires do not have to control us.
We are saying:
“Lord, I need Your wisdom more than I need my own answers.”
“Lord, I want Your will more than I want my personal preferences.”
“Lord, search my heart, expose my pride, correct my attitude, and teach me to walk in obedience.”
That is the spirit of surrender.
# # # Three things fasting should produce
* Humility: We recognise that we need God's grace.
* Repentance: We confront sin and turn towards righteousness.
* Compassion: We become more attentive to the needs and suffering of others.
Isaiah 58:6 declares:
> “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens…”
God is not impressed by religious activity that leaves our character unchanged.
If your fasting makes you proud, you have missed the purpose.
If your fasting makes you judgmental, you have missed the purpose.
If your fasting brings you into deeper humility, obedience, love, and dependence upon God, you are learning the heart of biblical fasting.
# # # 3\. Prayer Is Where We Seek the Face of God
Jeremiah 29:13 says:
> “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Prayer is not merely a list of demands presented to heaven.
Prayer is fellowship with God.
Prayer is where we confess our sins, express our concerns, seek direction, intercede for others, and learn to trust God's wisdom.
There are people who only pray when trouble comes. They call upon God in a crisis but neglect Him when life is comfortable.
Yet a mature believer does not treat prayer as an emergency telephone number.
Prayer must become a way of life.
In Luke 5:16, we read that Jesus withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. If the Son of God made time to pray, how much more should we recognise our need for communion with the Father?
Beloved, do not wait until your world falls apart before you build your prayer life.
Pray when the door opens.
Pray when the door closes.
Pray when you understand what God is doing.
Pray when you do not understand.
Pray when your heart is full of joy.
Pray when your tears are falling.
And when you have no eloquent words, come before God with an honest heart.
The power of prayer is not in how loudly you speak, but in the God to whom you pray.
Do not measure the value of your prayer by how quickly circumstances change. Sometimes God changes our circumstances; sometimes He gives us wisdom to navigate them; sometimes He strengthens us to endure; and sometimes His answer requires us to wait.
Our responsibility is to remain faithful.
# # # 4\. Faith Can Move Mountains
Jesus said in Matthew 17:20:
> “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed…”
The mustard seed illustrates how something very small can be associated with remarkable growth.
Jesus was teaching His disciples not to underestimate the significance of genuine faith in God.
Some mountains are external: financial pressures, family difficulties, opposition, disappointment, and uncertainty.
Other mountains are internal: fear, bitterness, pride, unbelief, and destructive habits.
And sometimes the mountain we most desperately want God to remove becomes the very place where we learn perseverance, patience, wisdom, and dependence upon Him.
Faith does not mean pretending that the mountain is not there.
Faith means facing the mountain without surrendering your trust in God.
David saw Goliath, but he also remembered the God in whom he trusted.
The three Hebrew young men faced the fiery furnace, yet they refused to compromise their allegiance to God.
Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns while imprisoned, demonstrating that their circumstances did not have the final authority over their worship.
The question is not whether you will encounter difficult seasons. The question is whether difficulty will cause you to abandon your faith.
Do not allow a difficult season to convince you that God has abandoned you.
Keep praying.
Keep obeying.
Keep trusting.
Keep walking in the truth.
Faith is not a guarantee that everything will happen according to your preferred timetable. It is confidence in God's character, even when the outcome is not yet clear.
# # # 5\. Spiritual Power Must Be Accompanied by Spiritual Character
Church, we must be careful not to reduce spiritual power to dramatic experiences, emotional moments, or public displays.
The evidence of a growing Christian life includes the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22–23 describes that fruit:
> “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance…”
What is the value of praying for hours if we refuse to practise patience?
What is the value of fasting if we continue to mistreat our neighbours?
What is the value of shouting about spiritual warfare while refusing to make peace with our brothers and sisters?
God is concerned with both our devotion and our conduct.
Spiritual maturity is not measured by how many people know that you are fasting. It is measured, in part, by the transformation taking place in your life.
When you fast, become more loving.
When you pray, become more forgiving.
When you study Scripture, become more obedient.
When you experience God's grace, extend grace to others.
Do not use fasting as a reason to condemn people who are not fasting. Do not use your spiritual discipline as a weapon of superiority.
The Pharisee in Luke 18:9–14 trusted in his own righteousness and looked down upon others. Jesus contrasted that attitude with the humility of the tax collector, who cried out for God's mercy.
We must never become so proud of our spiritual disciplines that we forget our need for grace.
The purpose of spiritual discipline is not to make us look superior. It is to help us become more surrendered to God.
# # # 6\. When You Fast, Expect God to Work in You
Many people begin a fast asking God to change someone else.
“Lord, change my situation.”
“Lord, change my circumstances.”
“Lord, deal with my enemies.”
“Lord, open doors for me.”
Those are understandable prayers, but there is another prayer we must be willing to pray:
“Lord, change me.”
Before you ask God to change the people around you, ask Him to examine your own heart.
Before you ask for a new opportunity, ask Him to prepare you for the responsibility.
Before you ask for promotion, ask Him to develop your character.
Before you ask for greater influence, ask Him to purify your motives.
Before you ask Him to remove every obstacle, ask Him to give you the wisdom to recognise which obstacles require perseverance, which require repentance, and which require a change of direction.
James 1:5 says:
> “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally…”
During your fast, ask God for wisdom.
Ask Him to show you what you need to stop doing.
Ask Him to show you what you need to start doing.
Ask Him to reveal where you have become distracted.
Ask Him to strengthen you to obey what He has already shown you.
Sometimes the most significant breakthrough during a fast is not an immediate change in your circumstances. It is a change in your heart, your perspective, and your willingness to follow God's direction.
# # # 7\. Do Not Give Up When the Answer Delays
Daniel 10 describes Daniel seeking God through a period of mourning and partial fasting. The passage depicts a spiritual struggle associated with the delay in receiving understanding.
It reminds us that Scripture contains accounts in which seeking God involves perseverance.
But we must not use Daniel's experience to assume that every delay is caused by a demon or that every unanswered prayer will be answered in the exact way we expect.
We do not know every reason why God permits a particular delay.
What we do know is that Scripture repeatedly calls believers to perseverance.
Galatians 6:9 says:
> “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Do not confuse waiting with failure.
Do not confuse silence with rejection.
Do not assume that one difficult season defines your entire future.
Continue doing what is right.
Continue seeking wisdom.
Continue serving others.
Continue trusting God.
And remember that perseverance does not mean refusing practical help. If a situation requires medical care, sound financial advice, reconciliation, or protection from harm, taking appropriate action can be part of responding wisely.
Prayer and responsible action are not enemies.
Faith and wisdom belong together.
# # # 8\. Five Commitments for Your Fasting Journey
As you enter a season of fasting and prayer, make these five commitments before God.
1\. I WILL STUDY THE WORD
Read Scripture daily and allow God's Word to challenge your thinking.
2\. I WILL WALK IN LOVE
Reject bitterness, pursue peace where possible, and practise forgiveness without compromising healthy boundaries.
3\. I WILL SERVE OTHERS
Let your devotion produce practical compassion, generosity, and concern for people in need.
4\. I WILL PRACTISE SELF-DISCIPLINE
Set aside time for prayer, reduce unnecessary distractions, and follow a safe fasting plan appropriate to your circumstances.
5\. I WILL OBEY WHAT GOD SHOWS ME
Turn prayer into faithful action. Make the necessary changes, fulfil your responsibilities, and walk in integrity.
Remember, fasting does not require you to endanger your health. Consider a non-food fast from entertainment, social media, or other distractions if abstaining from food is unsuitable for you. Maintain appropriate hydration, and seek medical advice before prolonged fasting, especially if you have a medical condition or take medication.
# # # Conclusion: Return to the Altar
Beloved, the altar is not merely a place where we ask God to do something for us. It is a place where we surrender ourselves to Him.
We come with our burdens, but we also come with our pride.
We come with our requests, but we also come with our failures.
We come asking for direction, but we must be willing to follow when God directs us.
We come seeking breakthrough, but we must also be willing to undergo transformation.
The message of fasting and prayer is not that we have discovered a secret formula for commanding God's power. The message is that we need God, and we must seek Him with sincere hearts.
Joel 2:12 declares:
> “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
God calls His people to return to Him with their whole hearts.
So, if your prayer life has become weak, return to prayer.
If you have become distracted, return to the Word.
If you have allowed bitterness to take root, seek God's help to forgive.
If you have wandered from obedience, repent and return.
If you have become discouraged, remember the faithfulness of God.
This is not the hour to abandon your devotion. This is the hour to deepen it.
Let your fasting be sincere.
Let your prayer be persistent.
Let your faith be grounded in Scripture.
Let your character reflect Christ.
And let your life become a testimony of God's grace.
# # # Final declaration
I will seek the Lord with my whole heart. I will not place my confidence in religious performance, but in the grace and faithfulness of God. I will pray with sincerity, fast with humility, walk in obedience, love my neighbour, and persevere in faith. My circumstances will not determine the depth of my devotion. Through Christ, I will continue to grow in faith, wisdom, discipline, and spiritual maturity. In Jesus' name. Amen.
# # # Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we come before You with humble hearts.
Lord, teach us to fast with sincerity and to pray with faith. Remove pride, bitterness, hypocrisy, and every distraction that hinders our walk with You.
Give us a hunger for Your Word and a desire to live according to Your truth. Strengthen those who are weary, comfort those who are grieving, guide those who are confused, and give wisdom to those facing difficult decisions.
Father, let our fasting produce genuine repentance, deeper devotion, compassion for the poor, love for our neighbours, and obedience to Your commandments.
Where we need wisdom, grant us wisdom. Where we need courage, strengthen us. Where we need to repent, give us humble hearts. Where we need to take responsible action, guide our steps.
We pray for our families, our communities, our churches, and our nations. Raise up men and women who will stand for truth, demonstrate compassion, and serve with integrity.
May our lives bring glory to Jesus Christ. May our faith grow stronger, our character become more Christlike, and our commitment to Your Word remain steadfast.
We place our hopes, our burdens, and our future in Your hands.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen and amen.
MT. ZION DARE TO DREAM — SEEK HIS FACE. STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH. WALK IN OBEDIENCE.
