I Believe, Help My Unbelief

"And when they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. And immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed, and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, 'What are you discussing with them?' And one of the crowd answered Him, 'Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out. And I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.'" Mark 9:14-29

The first thing Jesus encounter here was human insufficiency. The failure of His own disciples to deal with a demon-possessed boy. A large crowd had gathered around His disciples and the scribes were arguing with them. No doubt, the scribes were giving the disciples a hard time.
Jesus asked the crowd to explain what the discussion was about and one man spoke up. In his answer we sense the anguish of a father as he says in verse 22, "Take pity on us and help us."
This man was not condemning the disciples. He was pleading his case.

An Exhortation To Dependency on Prayers

"And He answered them and said, 'O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!' (v. 19ff)

Unbelief on the part of the people around! Even Jesus in such a situation will not perform miracles. In Mark 6:4-6, But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Jesus has the power to do anything, so His "lack of ability" to do miracles in His hometown is on account of unworthiness of the potential recipients of these miracles, and therefore is due to God’s self-imposed policy restraint, and not to any lack of inherent ability. For example, Christ could have turned the stones into bread at the devil's behest, but He did not because it would have been a violation of the testing which He had been led by the Spirit to endure (Matt.4).

"But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!' And Jesus said to him, '"If You can!" All things are possible to him who believes.' Immediately the boy's father cried out and began saying, 'I do believe; help me in my unbelief.'" (vv. 22b-24)
Understandably the father in his request to Jesus contained an element of the doubt: "if you are able". Now the centurion (Matt.8:13), and the Syro-Phoenecian woman (Matt.15:28) were commended for recognizing that our Lord was able, if only He were willing (Mk.7:24-30; 8:13). And on many, many occasions, Jesus tells the recipient of His miracles "your faith has saved you".

Then the man spoke the prayer that is the central text: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Was he trying to say, "I do believe that you care, that you can help. But there is so much that I don't believe. I'm so much more acquainted with the struggle than I am with the victory. I have so much more evidence of demonic success than I have of divine intervention. Help my unbelief." This short prayer is wise because it acknowledges connection and calls for help. This man cried, "Help me in my unbelief. Only you can give me faith where I have no faith." He was calling for help rather than walking away in despair.

Through the exercise of this father's faith, Jesus would act to heal his son.

"And when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, 'You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.' And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, 'He is dead!' But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up." (vv. 25-27)

Why did the disciples fail?

"And when He had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, 'Why is it that we could not cast it out?' And He said to them, 'This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.'" (vv. 28-29)

What was so different in what Jesus had done? The disciples had tried the same thing. They had earlier gone about performing miracles.

The disciples had attempted to exorcise this demon by relying on their own experience rather than in the power of God as the scripture says there was unbelief on the part of the apostles. Jesus said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer." What Jesus was revealing was the place of prayer as central to any true ministry. Only as they ministered out of that close fellowship with God could they have the power to do effective ministry.

The same is true for us. If we are not "prayerful," we do not allow God to work with us when we attempt to do His work. We may roll up our sleeves and work hard, but we may fail. The work of God must be done according to His will, or we will not succeed. Prayer is central to tapping into the blessings of God.

Dependence on God

There is futility in human effort without God in the picture. Man's dependence on God is illustrated by reference to basic human endeavors.
Unless the LORD builds the house, They labour in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. Ps 127:1
Building a house and watching over a city cannot succeed (according to divine standards of success) if God is not included in man's plans and efforts. Even the diligent man who works from early morning until late evening cannot hope for success without God's blessings and sanction.

Depending on Our Own strength

Independence, Self-reliance, Competence, all of these words are used to describe the ideal man -- total self-sufficiency. But it is this self-sufficiency that ultimately leads to destruction. In Job 8:14-15 Bildad speaks of the result of those who forget God, "Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider's web. He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.”

Depending on our own strength rather than God's is as foolish as leaning on a spider web for support.

It is right to depend on God. It is not shameful to trust God and depend on His presence as our refuge, our glory, and strength. Paul says, 2 Cor 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,”

Self -Will vs God Dependence

Each of us has a will. The will exerts conscious control over actions, exercises choice between alternatives, applies practical reason, and brings one to act. It is also a power, and as such, a facet of the self. The will consciously guides the person towards self-actualization and esteem.
Self-will is part of our human nature and always strives to make self the centre of its own universe. In this manner, our self-will is selfish and it desires to pull away from God and deny others justice and mercy to advance its own ambition.

Self-will conforms to the world and its beliefs; God's will does not.

Clearly, we should do, not our will, but God's. Apart from His will, we are like the undisciplined child—nervous, unstable, and blown about by the winds of whim because we really do not know what we ought to want. In due time, our continuance in doing the will of God will grant us the ultimate benefit: of entrance into His glorious Kingdom!

Help My Unbelief

Life is sometimes filled with disappointments and shattered dreams which create great pain; there are times we lose it all. Sometimes we ask of God only to have no patience in waiting for His answer. Often we start to think like the father of the demon possessed child having doubt and wondering if God is there for us. This is when the father’s prayer is relevant to us! When we have learned to be content and let God have control; then we'll have gained that which will bring, peace and contentment to heart and soul!

Lord, Help me in my unbelief! Truly that could be the cry of each one of us. Almost every Christian has experienced unbelief and doubt. We do believe God can work, but sometimes it's hard to believe that He can work in our situation. We must never be afraid to confess our sense of inadequacy, our struggle with faith. As we humbly come to God, He will bless the little faith we do have and increase that faith. After all, it only takes faith the size of a small mustard seed to move mountains. Jesus will reward any size of our faith if we will but put it in Him.