Victory to Victory | 7 Day DevotionalSample

Day Four: Help My Unbelief

In Mark chapter 9, we see a desperate father who brings his son to the disciples to cast an unclean spirit out of him. The father had lived through traumatic experiences of this demonic spirit casting his son into fire and water to destroy him. As a parent, it is difficult to imagine the horrible experience of an unclean spirit actively trying to destroy your own child. When the disciples tried to cast this unclean spirit out of the child, they were unsuccessful. As Jesus approaches, He hears the crowd and scribes arguing with them, and Jesus asks in verse 16: “What are you arguing about with them?” They began to explain the situation to Jesus and He asked how long this was happening to the boy, and the father responded, “since childhood.” I believe the boy’s father could have easily become discouraged, given up, and walked away, ultimately settling that this would always be his reality. However, he did not give up and asked Jesus in verse 22, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus responded in verse 23, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

In Matthew 7:7, the Bible teaches us how to have effective prayer: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” There is a popular cartoon image that shows two men digging for treasure, and one man would have only needed to continue a moment longer and he would have reached the treasure he desired. However, instead of continuing, the man walked away discouraged and treasure-less. This cartoon shows us how easy it is to give up too soon when praying and believing for the Lord to respond to our situations or prayers. Like the father of the son with the unclean spirit, we have to continue to ask for the Lord to intervene in our circumstances. The Lord is reminding us that all things are possible for those who believe, and faith comes by hearing the word of God.

Maybe you have felt like your situation will always look the way it currently does. However, God is encouraging us through His word to turn to Him and keep praying, keep seeking, keep knocking, and believe that all things are possible for our God. Even if we struggle to believe, we can turn to Him and declare as the son’s father did in Mark 9:24, “I believe; help my unbelief!”