Mark 9:14-32

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24, NKJV)

Have you ever struggled believing in God to do something? Maybe your rent is due, and you wonder how you are going to pay it. Or maybe you have been diagnosed with a disease, and you wonder if God can or will heal you.

This poor man had a son who was demon-possessed since childhood. The demon made the boy mute and even cast him into the fire or water to destroy him. Imagine living with this terror 24/7! He had tried everything to deliver his son, but nothing worked. When he heard that Jesus had authority to cast out demons, he brought his boy, but Jesus was away. So, the man asked the disciples to cast out the demon, but they could not. Now Jesus came down from the mountain, and the man said to Him, “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Jesus replied, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

Jesus required people to believe in Him and believe that He was capable before granting their request and performing a miracle. But often the people were either faithless or weak in faith. This man had a measure of faith, or he would not have come to Jesus, but with so many disappointments, he struggled believing that Jesus could or would deliver his son. Nevertheless, Jesus required him to believe.

Now what do you do when you struggle believing? This man did the right thing. He cried out with tears and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” In other words, “Increase my faith!”

Faith is a gift from God. The more we exercise this gift, the more we trust God to come through for us. But there are still times when we encounter so many obstacles and setbacks that our faith is weakened, and we may become discouraged. That is when we can be honest with God and confess our unbelief. We can ask Him to help us and increase our faith.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God, and without faith we will miss out on God’s greatest blessings. But if we struggle having faith, then we can ask God for this gift. We should believe that He will grant our request, because we know He wants us to have faith.

What obstacle is before you that requires more faith? Pray today that God increases your faith to move that mountain!