Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
This passage illustrates the most concise and powerful prayer a man can pray… “help me Jesus!” Mark 9:24 is a picture of a willing but struggling heart. This father is faced with the grievous condition of his son and the repeated failure of others to provide any lasting help. His most recent disappointment has been the failure of Jesus’ disciples to exorcise this demonic presence that is threatening the life of the man’s son. And now Jesus has spoken life to him. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Whispers of hope begin to rise in this wounded heart and he lifts up a cry to the Lord. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”
One of the powerful messages contained in this passage is revelation of what faith is. Faith is not the absence of internal conflict but rather the determination to not submit to the fears that assault the heart and mind. “I do believe, help me…” To some people this condition would appear as unbelief, but to the Lord this was a heart of desperate faith. What is reflected in this passage is the compassion of the Lord. When we consider this passage it becomes clear that Jesus’ response to this man is a response filled with the awareness of all that this man has suffered. There is not condemnation for his wounded condition. He had no power to help this son that he loved. All that he had been able to do for these many years had been to suffer with him as together they explored every conceivable avenue of help.
The struggle within this man to believe is immense but the intensity of his immediate response is fueled by the passion that comes from a glimpse of hope returning to his heart! Prov 13:12 states passionately “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life,” and it is this principle that is speedily at work in the heart of this father. With the words of Jesus something that has been dead inside of Him is beginning to come to life. With the words of Jesus the hold that despair has had upon his heart is beginning to lose its grip! And so he cries out “I do believe, help me…”
How many other people find themselves at just this same place in their lives? Their hearts are shut down by their pain and they cannot see a doorway that leads to hope. That doorway is Jesus! Jesus is the doorway for the desperate heart! Turn to Him in your moments of despair, your times of weakness. You will not be despised for it. In fact the scriptures make it clear that one of the main goals of the humanity of Christ was to present to all mankind a compassionate God who is mindful of our weaknesses and who deals with us in mercy. He is slow to anger, patient and kind. Take your pain to the Lord and join yourself with the heart of this father who received mercy from the Lord by lifting up the very same cry “Lord I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
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