NOTES for Mat 17:20

The words of the Lord Jesus Christ about the power of faith cannot fail to strike us, because we immediately understand that we have not come anywhere near such a level. But the question is this: is that all the Lord wants to say to His disciples? He answers their question about why they could not heal the possessed boy, and Christ's answer concerns a person's whole life. Victory over the spirits of evil in the heavenly places is won, the Lord says, by the power of faith, prayer, and fasting. Thus a person's whole life can become a weapon in the struggle against evil.

It is also very important for us to realize that Christ's words are least of all a reproach to the disciples and to us, people of little faith. On the contrary, they can become an incentive for a person to seek faith. Faith is plainly a gift of God; it cannot be cultivated, taught, or imposed. It can only be asked for. But in order to receive this gift, first of all one must desire it greatly. And in any case one must not think that everything is fine with us "in this area." For if we truly believed as God wants us to believe, we could move mountains.