Faith and Fellowship

"Lord, thank you for a wonderful night’s sleep” is what I uttered as I rolled out of bed. “Now let us get back to this study guide. I think I truly understand what you were saying last night. I think I really got it. Well, we shall see, won’t we? You know, Lord, fellowshipping with you is a marvelous thing.” I sat down in front of my computer and began to set up for another chapter, when I heard the Lord say, “I long to fellowship with all my people, but they will not walk with me in communion. Prayer is the only time they talk to me. But even in prayer, they come to make their petitions known with much speaking, never expecting me to say anything.

“Wow!” I said to myself, “That’s really cold.” I started to think how I would feel if I had a bunch of children who never spoke to me until they wanted something. And even in that, to just tell me what they wanted me to do and then walk away. They never waited for a response from me, but really expected me to perform, simply because they are my children. “This is what you call prayer and communion with God. My people have robbed me of the fellowship I desire to have with them. It is in my fellowship with them that my love for them is truly manifest. But they have spoken to me even as the heathen speaks to his idols. They bow down to me, ask for what they want and then look upon me as one would an image of stone that is not expected to speak.” “Okay Lord, let’s talk about that. Explain to me what it is to truly pray. I mean we have had a lot of successful prayers go up in this ministry.” “You have also had many failures. And many of what you call successes were my acts of sovereignty and not the answer to prayer. I told you long ago that prayer is communication with me. But true communication is the result of real fellowship. Without fellowship, there is no true prayer. Go to the scriptures and I will show you how to rightly divide them.”

Matthew 17:15-21

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. 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 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

This is a well renowned story that has been mauled over by preachers in pulpits around the world. But what is its true meaning? Without conjuring up a lot of insignificant words, I will simply speak that which was spoken to me. Jesus had given the disciples power over demons and devils, sickness and disease. However, because of their unbelief, they were unable to cast the demon out of one young boy. Jesus referred to them as faithless and perverse. But He went on to say that this kind only goes out by prayer and fasting.

Now is He referring to the demon or unbelief? If He is speaking of the demon then the inference is that when such a situation occurs, one must fast and pray before they are able to cast out such a spirit. If He is speaking here of unbelief, then He is implying that the only way this type of unbelief can be done away with is through fasting and praying. Which is correct? Well, the Lord maintains that both answers point to fellowship with the Father.

Unbelief is dispelled by fellowshipping with God and in doing so nothing is denied the sons of God. I wonder why the disciples doubted whether they would be able to cast out the demon? They had no reason to doubt. They had experienced 100% success up to that point. But remember, Jesus called them faithless and perverse. They doubted in their heart. But this doubt was a result of their perverseness. The righteousness of their sentiments towards God or godliness had changed. Sin was in the camp. Judging from their attitudes in previous chapters and situations, they were in pride and arrogance.

Whatever the sin, Jesus called it perverse. But He went on to say, this kind of demon or unbelief can only be dealt with by communion with God. Fellowship with God is the key to walking in holiness and the WHATSOEVER YE SHALL ASK

John 16:23-27

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

Gird up your spirit and believe the testimony of Jesus Christ. He has opened the door and given us direct access to the Father. Whatever we ask in the name of Jesus, the Father will do it. That is the promise. But we must agree that there has been a lot of asking and very little receiving in the Body of Christ. The truth is, we have read this scripture many times, but have no real confidence in it being consistently fulfilled in our prayer life. That is the key; we have no confidence in the spoken Word of God. This we must admit is true. However, the question is, “Why is it true? Why don’t we have confidence in the Word of God?” Once again, the answer is a lack of fellowship. We are void of true fellowship with the Father. Therefore, we lack confidence in that which is testified of Him. We do not hasten to fast and pray.

Communion with God is not an urgency. This is true because most of us do not really know God. And the reason we do not know Him is that we, His very own children, have denied or not believed the testimony He gave of Himself. Neither have we embraced the testimony He gave of us. We are as wild oats blowing in the wind and carried away from the field that was prepared for them. We have no root of belief in the great mystery of Christ within us. We have turned away from our very birthright. Therefore, we are powerless in the face of the enemies of God. If we only believed the report, we would seek out that place of fellowship that affords us the confidence to walk in the might and valor of the Holy Ghost.