“And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” -Mark 9:29
As
long as we are in this world, the temptation to trust in what we see is in us. Humans are sight creatures by nature, and
prone to solutions that offer tangible results; and if those results happen
quickly, that’s even better. Spiritual
concepts, unseen truths; words such as belief and faith are contrary to us.
However, they are real, necessary, and more powerful than anything that is
seen.
Jesus
said: “This kind can come forth by
nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
These words came at the conclusion of a conversation between Jesus, a
father, and his son. The father’s son
was afflicted with a foul spirit that caused him hurt and pain. This no doubt caused the father hurt and
pain. Therefore, the father brought him to Jesus pleading for help. Jesus told him that all things were possible
to them that believe. This a hard thing to a Dad who most likely spent his life
trying to heal his boy. A father who
spent his life believing in the tangible.
Trusting in the tangible. I
imagine he took him to every healer, called on every physician, and spent his
life savings in hopes to help his son. I mean, what wouldn't a parent do for
their children? The natural options
bankrupted him and here he was coming to Jesus, Jesus had helped so many, and unlike
others, Jesus’s price was only belief. The father replies, speaking the heart
of many before and after him, “Lord I
believe help mine unbelief.” Jesus
heals the boy and the disciples confess they could not. Why could they not? It
was not the father’s unbelief but their own, which is why; no doubt, Christ
exhorted them to prayer and fasting.
Prayer is communication with God that disconnects us from the nature and
brings us into the spiritual. When we pray, we recognize His providence, yield
to His direction, and ask for His guidance; for His help. In faith, we lift our petitions and in His
time, in His will, they are granted. This discipline strengthens our belief.
The same can be said for fasting. Fasting can include but not limited to,
habitual abstention from food. Fasting, like prayer (or rather coupled with
prayer), brings us away from the natural things of this world and closer to the
spiritual. When we abstain from things which
promote the world and ourselves (social media, entertainment media, and amusement
venues, for example), it causes us to see more clearly the things of God, which
helps us to trust in God, thereby strengthening our belief in God. The temptation is to the tangible things in
life for healing a sickness that is spiritual.
Jesus is the only healer of our soul and Savior of our lost condition, nothing
seen can cast out the sin within. We
must have Jesus for our salvation, and for the salvation of others. When we consider that all things are possible
to them that believe. Does it not follow
that we should be in rigor to practice every discipline, which will promote
belief? Should we not consider, as the
people of God, every opportunity to save them that are lost, hurting, and
broken? If we who are Disciples of Christ
cannot believe to save, then who can? There
is not one among us who can say they have nothing to do for God, if in prayer
and fasting we can strengthen belief in Jesus Christ.
The
work of God is evident when it is far away missions, preaching to masses, and
mighty movements of evangelism (as it should be). That said, the work of God is not limited to
tangible, oh no, we can/should do the work of God in our own living room; daily
praying, reading, and fasting. We should
do all we can to “help our unbelief;” because when ask “what shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” Jesus replied: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
