14And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. 15And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. 16And he asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" 17And one of the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; 18and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." 19And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." 20And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. 22And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." 23And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." 24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." 26And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."
“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This is me…. I have faith and I don’t have faith. But I think the point of the story is that even a little faith can be enough when one is striving to become more and more faithful. This event in Mark 9:14-29 occurs after Jesus had already given the Twelve the power to heal and cast out demons.
ReplyDeleteBack in Mark 6:7-13, Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits, and they successfully healed the sick and cast out demons. However, in Mark 9, they fail to drive out the spirit from the boy. Why? Perhaps because they had grown in confidence and started to forget God. They had started to believe that their success was due to their own power rather than God’s. Ironic isn’t it? As we grow in power to act following God’s plan for us, we start to lose sight of where the power came from in the first place.
Loving Father, may I never stop turning to you for direction and power to do your work. Give me the humility to remember that all I can do, have, and achieve comes from you. Amen.
Your reflection is both honest and profound. The tension in “I believe; help my unbelief!” is something most people of faith experience at some point. You beautifully highlight the paradox: as we become more capable in doing God’s work, we risk forgetting the source of our strength.
DeleteYour insight about the disciples growing in confidence and losing dependence on God is particularly strong. It ties well into the theme of humility—faith is not just about initial belief, but about continuously relying on God rather than our own abilities. I also love how your prayer reflects this humility, asking God to keep you grounded.
If you want to expand this reflection, you might also consider:
The role of prayer in faith: Jesus says that “this kind can only come out by prayer”, which suggests that deep challenges require ongoing spiritual discipline, not just past experiences.
The contrast between the father’s honesty and the disciples’ presumed self-reliance: The father admits his weakness, but the disciples seem to assume they can act without renewing their dependence on God.
Overall, your reflection captures both the struggle and the hope of faith—well done!