When will they get it?
Mark 9:14-29
Jesus, after having quite a mountain top experience, descended back to the valley and into a situation. While He was gone, a crowd had gathered around His disciples and asked them to heal a demon-possessed child. They could not. Jesus slapped his forehead and said “You unbelieving people; how long do I have to put up with you. Bring me the boy.”
The boy came and Jesus asked the father how long the boy had been possessed to which the father replied, “most of his life.” The father then asked, “Can you do anything about this situation?” Jesus, who was probably shaking His head, maybe slapping it again, because the people just didn’t get it said, “All things are possible if YOU believe!” The father replied “I do believe!” Jesus told the demon to go away and it did. Later, His disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demon. Jesus replied, “because this kind of demon can only be removed through prayer.”
Wow, there’s a lot going on in this section of scripture. First off, did you know that demon possession is real? It’s not just in the movies — it’s real and we as Christians can do something about it. In verse 23, Jesus empowers us to take action if this situation ever comes up. Actually, the statement “all things are possible if you only believe” gives us carte blanche to take action in any situation through our belief in God (and only through God’s power, not our own!). He then gives us a “tool” in verse 29 that we are to use if action is required; He states that some demons can only be removed though prayer. Was this a statement of fact (yes) or was Jesus softly telling His disciples that they forgot to include God when they tried and that’s why they failed? (probably)
Aah, prayer… how often, when given a situation, do we try to handle it ourselves, fail, then pray as a last resort or give up without seeking God at all? I’m sure the disciples had the right words to say when rebuking the demon, but without God, it was just a useless incantation. Perhaps they even had the faith required that told them that casting out a demon was possible. Without seeking God first through prayer however, the disciples failed because God was not a part of what they were doing. We can apply this to our own lives, and for any given situation as well.
Philippians 4:13 says that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength, and it’s the truth; Jesus told us so in Matthew 9:23. Remember though, it’s only THROUGH Christ that we gain our strength. We must first believe that God can handle it, then ask Him to handle it. It’s not about anything we can do, and so often, that’s why we fail. Apart from God, we can do nothing (John 15:5b). Ask Him to help you in your situations today through prayer.
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