“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” ~ Mark 9:24
REFERENCE:
As we look through the scriptures, we see that mountains can move, the dead can live again, the lame can walk, the blind can see, and little can multiply and become much. The God of the Bible is omnipotent; all things are possible with Him. His power knows no limit, and we have not fully seen the extent of His exploits. The only thing that ties His hands in a man’s life is unbelief.
The father of the boy in our text brought him to Jesus (symbolic of praying). He must have trekked for miles, traveled for days, or paid to rent a donkey. He likely heard about this great Healer and sought an opportunity to have Him heal his boy. It is ironic, however, that, with all the effort he put into coming and praying, he didn’t think Jesus could solve his problem. He said, “IF You can do anything.” Did this man go through all that trouble on an ‘IF?’ It sounds absurd doesn’t it? Well, the reason soon escapes from his lips; UNBELIEF.
Although this man got the attention of Jesus (in prayers) and the opportunity to lay his petition before Him, his unbelief began to steal his chance of getting answers. Hear the subtle voice of unbelief: “Your disciples could not cast it out – it is a big issue;” “It has been since the boy was a child – it has a long history;” finally, he dared to say to Jesus, “If you can do anything…” What? If Jesus can do anything? Very typical of unbelief to play up the type, size, antecedents, etc., of the problem and then, downplay the power and ability of God.
God is never intimidated by the size or kind of things we need Him to do in our lives; His only limitation is, ‘can we believe Him to do great and mighty things in our lives?’ Unbelief is the chief thief of our miracles and the unscalable mountain we unconsciously put before God. It is difficult to spot because we often pray with great intensity and for long hours, but it lives silently in the corner of our hearts. It took the probing charge of Jesus to expose the unbelief in his heart: “If you can believe…all things are possible.” He then cried, “…help my unbelief.”
How many things do we pray to God about but have never really asked ourselves, “Do I believe that God can do this thing?” Take time today to review your prayer points and the condition of your heart – your confidence in God’s power and His readiness to turn that situation around. Ask Him to heal your heart of unbelief and let absolute faith reside therein. When you get to that point, ALL THINGS WILL BE POSSIBLE TO YOU!
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL STUDY:
Matthew 17:20-21, John 20:27-29, and Hebrews 11:6
REFLECTION
+ Are there areas of your life where you struggle to believe God can come through for you? If yes, in what areas?
+ What would you do from hereon to rid your heart of unbelief and develop faith in the power and goodness of God?
To help me overcome unbelief, I will meditate more on God’s word as I pray, and then deliberately remember what He has done before so that I can trust and believe Him for what I am asking now.
Awesome idea.
I will quickly answer any thought to doubt with God’s word and antecedents.
I will not be unbelieving. IF is not a part of my vocabulary when it comes to God. In Jesus Name
I will not be unbelieving. IF is not a part of my vocabulary when it comes to God. I will not doubt the Lord!! In Jesus Name
Like that man I say, Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Amen