> Matt. 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

> Mark 9:29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting."

If all things are possible with God, then what's all this about the need for prayer and fasting?

While some textual criticism suggests that "and fasting" might not be in certain manuscripts, the Church's living Tradition robustly affirms both.

That leaves prayer and fasting -- which of course are means of communion with God, so that it fits right in with our synergistic participation being required for the spirit to come out. In other words, this says nothing in terms of something not being "possible" for God, but rather highlights our necessary cooperation with His grace.

Skeptics sometimes argue there is a contradiction between Jesus teaching 'With God, everything is possible' (Matthew 19:26) and the fact that he was 'unable to perform any miracles' in his hometown (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5), suggesting a lack of genuine divine power. This argument stems from an improper understanding of the passages. The word 'unbelief' here is apistia, meaning a lack of pistis (loyalty and trust). In the context of the ancient Mediterranean client-patron relationship, the problem is not a lack of power on Jesus' part, but a lack of loyalty by those who reject him.

Like an ungrateful client, the people rejected Jesus as a patron in spite of his acts of grace, thereby dishonoring him. To reject a gracious act was the height of dishonor in this society. Jesus did not heal these people because of their ingratitude and rejection of his gracious patronage. A rejected patron would never force his gifts upon a client who did not want them.

Problem: According to this verse, “with God all things are possible.” However, Hebrews 6:18 declares that “It is impossible for God to lie.”

Solution: The context in Matthew indicates that Jesus is speaking of what is humanly impossible, whereas, Hebrews informs us that some things (e.g., lying) are actually impossible for God. Note that in the former passage, Jesus said, “with men this is impossible,” indicating that He was only speaking of what was humanly impossible, but not divinely impossible. However, there are some things that even God cannot do. For example, He cannot do anything that would contradict His nature, such as, cease being God, or be unholy, or do what is logically impossible (like making a square circle, or forcing people to freely love Him). God cannot make a stone so big that He cannot lift it, since the created cannot be greater than the Creator. However, God can do anything that is possible to do. He is all-powerful (omnipotent), the “Almighty” (cf. Job 5:17; 6:14; 42:2).