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Mark 9:24b - Lord, I Believe; Help Thou Mine Unbelief.

Mark 9:24b - Lord, I Believe; Help Thou Mine Unbelief. 

Mark 9:24b (KJV) Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 

In a moment of honest self-examination, the father of the 
demon-possessed boy acknowledged both belief and unbelief. He believed that 
Jesus could restore his son to health, but he questioned whether Jesus 
would do so. Sometimes we feel the same way. We see how God has 
delivered others and believe that God is able to help, but we are afraid 
that God will refuse to help us. Perhaps we are afraid that God will 
think us unworthy of his deliverance. God never works that way. Not 
only is he able to help us, but he also wants to help us. All we have 
to do is turn to him in faith, ask for his help and forgiveness, 
and do what we can to follow his revealed will for us. God will do 
the rest. [Life Recovery SB] 

   The father's response reveals a struggle that goes on in all 
of us. "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!" (9:24) is the 
honest confession of a person who has believed enough to bring his son 
to Jesus, yet whose doubts and fears continue to trouble him. It is 
important here to note that despite the man's confession of his inner 
struggle, Jesus did heal the son. Christ does not demand that we have an 
unwavering faith in order to act for us. He does require that we have 
enough faith to be open to the possibility of God's miraculous 
intervention in our lives, however dark the doubts that swirl within our 
hearts...  
   While Jesus has all power, it requires faith to open up our 
lives to an experience of that power. This does not mean that we must 
have a perfect faith. In all of us, faith and unbelief remain in 
tension. But we must have enough faith to come to Jesus and appeal to Him 
if He is to act for us. [Victor Bible Background Commentary] 

   God is always seeking to teach you the way of faith. Your 
training for a life of faith requires many areas of learning, including 
the trial of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, 
and the courage of faith. Often you will pass through many stages 
before you finally realize the result of faith - namely, the victory of 
faith. 
   Genuine moral fiber is developed by enduring the discipline 
of faith. When you have made your request to God, and the answer 
still has not come, what are you to do? Keep on believing His Word! 
Never be swayed from it by what you may see or feel. Then as you stand 
firm, your power and experience is being developed, strengthened, and 
deepened. When you remain unswayed from your stance of faith, even in view 
of supposed contradictions to God's Word, you grow stronger on 
every front. 
   God will often purposely delay in giving you His answer, and 
in fact the delay is just as much an answer to your prayer as is 
the fulfillment when it comes. He worked this way in the lives of 
all the great Bible characters. Abraham, Moses, and Elijah were not 
great in the beginning but made great through the discipline of their 
faith. Only through that discipline were they then equipped for the 
work to which God had called them....  
   It is this discipline of faith that will bring you into a 
knowledge of God that would otherwise be impossible. [Streams In The 
Desert By Cowman] 

   If your doubts still persist after facing them, praying about 
them, and developing the habit of talking to yourself with a Scripture 
passage that refutes them, then seek the help of a minister or a 
Christian counselor. God has given us three resources to help us whenever 
we get into spiritual difficulties: the Word of God, the Spirit of 
God, and the people of God. The final answer to doubt may come as you 
share with an experienced Christian the things that are going on in 
your heart.  
   If you are not able to get the kind of help I am suggesting, 
then get in touch with your nearest Christian bookshop and ask them 
to recommend some helpful reading on the subject. Whatever you do, 
don't allow yourself to settle down into a complacent attitude about 
your doubts. Adopt a positive approach and determine to do something 
about resolving them. This will ensure that even though your doubts 
may take a certain amount of time to be cleared away, they will not 
be able to degenerate into unbelief...  
   If the only thing you are able to do is pray, then that by 
itself will prevent doubt from becoming unbelief. If you also adopt the 
principle of "talking to yourself" from the Word of God, then you have in 
your hands the strategy for overcoming doubt.  
   Father, help me, whenever I don't know what to do, to turn 
naturally to prayer. Then no moment will be empty or fruitless. But help 
me also to utilize the power of Your Word, the Bible. Let these two 
things become my central strategy. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible 
with Selwyn Hughes devotional re John 20:27] 

ONE LINERS

Every step toward Christ kills a doubt. Every thought, word, and 
deed for Him carries you away from discouragement. Theodore Ledyard 
Cuyler (1822-1909)  

Prayer is an antidote to unbelief, because it shifts our focus 
from what we can or cannot do to the LORD, who can do all things. 
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

The Lord does not demand that we have mountains of faith before 
He acts on our behalf; a little mustard seed of genuine faith is 
all He requires. Then He steps in and supplies what we lack. [Life 
Principles SB By Charles Stanley] 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE:

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20080229-1307.html

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2009/20090312-1122.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Seeking God Video Clip: http://vimeo.com/31489782

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice 

Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657