Help My Unbelief...

Jesus teaches the crowd that, through faith, anything and everything is possible:

Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit..."

...Then (Jesus) questioned his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"

He replied, "Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."

Jesus said to him, " 'If you can!' Everything is possible to one who has faith."

Then the boy's father cried out, "I do believe, help my unbelief!" -Mark 9:17-24, NAB

Just prior to Jesus' arrival, the disciples had tried to drive out this spirit, but they failed.  The father of the boy was willing to do anything to help his son.  When he asked Jesus for help, Christ responded that faith was the answer, and the man gave one of the most honest answers possible - help my unbelief.

The man knew that his faith was not adequate enough.  He understood what Jesus was trying to tell him.  He believed that Jesus could help his son, but his doubts, fears, and other negative emotions, his unbelief, kept him from accepting it fully.  Asking Jesus to help overcome his fears was a wise thing to do.

Our own unbeliefs can be difficult to overcome.  Instead of allowing God to work in our lives, we take things upon ourselves, over and over again; however, over and over again, we fail.  We lack the faith to allow God to handle and lack the understanding of what went wrong.  Stubborness prevents us from letting go, and letting God.

Handing our lives over to Christ, completely and fully, can be a challenge.  It begins with this man's honest, sincere request - help my unbelief.

• Jesus, cure me of the sickness - and help my unbelief.
• Jesus, help me find a job - and help my unbelief.
• Jesus, bless us with a baby - and help my unbelief.
• Jesus, save the unborn children - and help my unbelief.
• Jesus, allow me to escape this addiction - and help my unbelief.
• Jesus, hear all of my prayers - and help my unbelief.

With God, everything is possible.  There is nothing outside of the realm of His capabilities.  When we turn to Him in prayer, the limitation does not come from Him, but from our unbelief.  Letting go of our unbelief, our fear, worry, sadness, anger, and other negative emotions that hinder us, can bring change into our lives by allowing the fullness of God's love to come through.  It all begins with one simple prayer - "Lord, help my unbelief."