“…But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!” But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up. Then, after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:23-29 — NET)
God loves sincerity. The father of this boy did not hide that fact that he was struggling to have faith—like all of us at one time or another—and had the humility to ask Jesus to help him with his unbelief. He could have insisted that his faith was strong in an attempt to impress Jesus, but where would that have gotten him? Instead he was totally sincere, admitted his mistake, and threw himself at the mercy of Jesus… and his son was freed.
At the end of today’s passage we are given a small glimpse of the importance of prayer: “This kind can come out only by prayer.” When we develop the habit of prayer, not for a particular thing we need, but as a way of developing our relationship and dependence on God, something changes within us. We gain strength, show our dependence on Him, and develop a proper perspective of life. When we have a habit of praying to God with faith, certain problems will not be too much for us to handle, (like happened with the nine disciples).
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