Help My Unbelief!!!

There is this great story in Mark 9 to teach us how to deal with strongholds that demons can have in the lives of people.  Jesus was with Peter, James, and John on a nearby mountain where Jesus was transformed for a while with Elijah and Moses suddenly showed up. Now Moses had been dead for over 1400 years, and Elijah died in 852 BC.  Never the less, there they were talking with Jesus and the clothes Jesus was wearing;

“…His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.”

After this fantastic event Jesus and his three disciples came down to where the other disciples were hanging out, but there was a significant crowd gathered around them.  There was an argument going on between the disciples and the scribes because that is what scribes were good at. When they saw Jesus approaching some people ran to Him.  Now there was one man who was there and highly motivated to get Jesus’ attention. He says;

“Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”

This boy was being controlled by a demon.  The demon took away his ability to speak and at times would seize him, slam him to the ground and he would foam at the mouth, grind his teeth and then his body would stiffen.  He had brought the boy to the nine disciples, and they tried to cast the demon out but could not.  This had been happening since his childhood sometimes throwing him into the fire to burn him or the water to drown him.

Then the dad says; “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”  Bad move dad.  Not a good idea to say to the creator and sustainer of the universe “If you can…”.  To which Jesus replies “If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” To which the father yells out; “I do believe, help my unbelief!”

So, they bring the boy to Jesus, and He says;

“You deaf and mute spirit, I command you,

come out of him and do not enter him again.”

Then the demon cried out and caused the boy’s body to go into great convulsions and then left.  The boy was laying on the ground so thoroughly still that the crowd thought he was dead.  But, Jesus takes his hand and helps him up, and then they leave.

Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out this demon while Jesus was able.  He simply replies;

“This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

Now, wait a minute.  There is nothing in the text that said Jesus stopped and entered a time of prayer to be able to do this.  However, we know that Jesus frequently got up early in the morning and went off to prayer.  So, He was prayed up and ready for anything that day.

Tomorrow we are going to look more closely at this miraculous casting out of the demon and what lessons we need to learn.  However, do you believe that Jesus can and wants to heal you of your sexual brokenness?  Of course, He does.  He has saved you so that He can ultimately completely heal you.  If there are footholds or strongholds in your life keeping you chained to sexual sin how can we pray against it?  It must start with you believing in the will and the power of Jesus to heal you.