It's Time To Prayনমুনা

DAY SIX: God Looks Upon the Heart

Nothing can bring about the tears of brokenness more than the revelation of your own weaknesses. The father’s snarky attitude with Jesus’ disciples had now melted into a pool of spiritual weakness. With tears streaming down his face, he cried out from his heart—he was no longer concerned about the thoughts or views of others; this was now a confrontation between God and a broken man.

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

The father was saying that he was convinced no earthly man could set his son free—it had to be God and His divine power. After all, no one person had been able to help him or his son.

With one foot through the open door, he needed help in taking the next vital step of trusting God through His sent Messiah, Jesus Christ. It was an internal battle—a battle that was even tougher than his son being bound by Satan.

The father made an honest confession from a broken heart, and it carried him across the finish line of faith!

My dear fellow Christian, God looks upon the heart. He looks upon your heart. Jesus saw the father’s battle and dispelled his unbelief by performing a miracle of deliverance for his possessed son. It is here in the heart where man believes (Rom. 10:10) and where faith in God is rewarded. This father’s prayer came from a place of little strength in himself, yet it was enough with God to propel him through an open door of impossibility to the reality and freedom of God’s power.

These devotionals are excerpts from Carter Conlon’s book It's Time to Pray.