Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
After Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah on a mountain, a man with a demon possessed son was waiting in the valley. “I asked your disciples to drive out the demon, but they couldn’t,” the man said.
Jesus sighed and said, “You unbelieving generation. How long shall I put up with you?” (Mark 9:19).
They brought the boy to Jesus, but the demon threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell down foaming at the mouth. The father said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity and help us.”
‘“If I can”?’ said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
The boy’s father said, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” Jesus healed the boy.
The disciples, just coming off a successful ministry trip of preaching, healing, and casting out demons, asked Jesus, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
Jesus replied, “That kind comes out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29).
This story repeats several themes Mark has been highlighting in his gospel–lessons that Jesus’ disciples then (and today in 2025) are still slow to learn.
First, Jesus expressed surprise at how spiritually obtuse the disciples were. “O unbelieving generation,” he said. “How long shall I put up with you?” (Mark 9:19).
Jesus put up with his disciples for three years. I wonder what emotion he was feeling about putting up with them this time. Disappointment? Annoyance? Frustration? I wonder what he feels about me.
Second, Jesus raised the question of faith. “Everything is possible for one who believes,” he said to the boy’s father (Mark 9:23).
Do you believe? Is everything possible for you? If not, what’s your excuse? These are questions I often ask myself.
A third lesson: desperation trumped proper religious form. The mainline religious leaders argued with the crowd, but could not exorcise the demon (Mark 9:14). Jesus’ disciples were there too, but their faith and spirituality just wasn’t up to the task.
What touched Jesus was the father’s desperation: “I believe. Help my unbelief!” Jesus accepted how difficult faith can be for humans, he received the father’s pain, and granted his request.
Does this story teach that I need to be more desperate in order to grow in faith? Interesting question, but I don’t see an answer in Mark’s gospel.
My experience is that sometimes Jesus helps the desperate with a miracle. Sometimes he leads us through desperation to a more stable emotional life. And sometimes he lets us go on being desperate. The lesson I’ve learned is to bring whatever I feel of faith, unbelief, and desperation to Jesus, and wait for his answer.
The last lesson is that, once again, Jesus encouraged the disciples to pray. “This kind of demon comes out only by prayer,” he said. I wonder what was wrong with the disciples’ prayers. Were they praying the wrong prayers? Maybe they didn’t pray enough? Perhaps their prayers lacked fervency and conviction?
Jesus didn’t analyze or correct what was wrong with their prayers. He didn’t give instructions for improving their prayer life. He didn’t tell them how long and how fervently to pray. All he said was, “What you are missing is prayer.”
Let’s pray.
O Jesus, you often went to quiet places to pray.
But when others came to you, we see desperation, not quietness. The disciples in the storm prayed, “Master, don’t you care if we drown?” The leper prayed, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” The synagogue leader prayed, “My daughter is dying. Please heal her.”
O Jesus, when we lead lives of quiet desperation, transform and heal us. When we live lives of quiet comfort, teach us to pray in quiet places, as you did.
Teach us that everything is possible to those who believe. Teach us that we can cast out entrenched sin and even demons by prayer. Teach us to pray.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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