Text: Mark 9:24
By: OBUS, ODAFE
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“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
The text summaries a plea/prayer of a desperate father, who was interceding to Jesus on behalf of his afflicted child. He believes in Jesus and knows that He has the power to heal his son. “THE BIG QUESTION” If he believed in Jesus and knows that he has the power to heal his son, why did he make this statement?
“LORD, I BELIEVE; HELP MY UNBELIEF.”
“HOW CAN A MAN BELIEVE AND AT THE SAME TIME ASK FOR HELP TO OVERCOME UNBELIEF?”
There are differences between believing something is true in a general sense and belief that the truths can be real for you in your life. There’s faith in this request; that is why he sought Jesus out in the first place. But there’s also doubt (unbelief).
The father’s statement is actually a cry for help. He believed Jesus has the power to heal his son. He acknowledged that his unbelief (doubt) was hindering him from receiving the miracle for his son’s healing. In other words, he knows that he needs Jesus’ help to overcome his doubt to receive the miracle of healing for his son.
This implies that when we pray or ask God for something, we need to exercise believe. If we have doubt or wavering, we should ask God to help us to over our unbelief. If we begin to lose our faith and entertain fear and doubt, it results to blocking the channel of our faith and rob of our joy.
We saw this in Peter, who walked on water only to start sinking when unbelief set in (Matthew 14:28–31).
Thomas, who declared, “I will never believe” without physical proof of Jesus’s resurrection, while still believing enough to stay with the other disciples until Jesus finally appeared to him (John 20:25–26).
Most times we struggle to take God for His word and to trust His plan for our lives, especially when we are in a dire/difficult situation, frustrations, disappointments etc. We begin to lose our faith and entertain fear and doubt.
Conclusion – Hebrews 11:06
It is not how often or the length of prayers that maters, but the unwavering faith applied that drives it to God. Let’s eliminate our every element doubts and ask for His help to overcome our unbelieve.
May God give us the grace to continually trust him at all time in Jesus name.
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