Mark 9:28-29 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
Where do you go to for answers? Mark 9: 28-29 presents to us a tremendous picture of the search for understanding. The disciples have just been faced with the reality of the great distance between the authority that they are experiencing and the authority that Christ walked in and it is perplexing to them. They have just encountered a need that left them feeling helpless because they could not cast the demon out of this child and yet Jesus came onto the scene with such confident ability and displayed no struggle in evicting this demonic oppressor. The tension of their very public failure within the context of Christ’s seemingly effortless and faith filled demonstration seems to have left them perplexed and confused as to what it was they were lacking that left them unable to meet the need.
This condition seems to follow the lives of all of those who take up the yoke of Christ and say yes to His calling to a life of serving. We are chronically met with situations and needs that are seemingly greater than we have the capacity to respond to. Like the disciples we are faced with the great distance between the example of Christ that we see in the word and the measure of our own wisdom and power. And it is for such a time as this that Mark 9:28-29 is waiting for us!
What is it about Mark 9 that speaks to us with such simple clarity? The disciples take their uncertainty over the outcome they have just experienced to the best possible place. They go inside with Jesus and ask Him privately! There is no place better for finding answers than inside the secret place of God’s presence. When you are perplexed about the outcomes in your life there is no better course of action than to have a private meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ! But, if you are going to seek Him out, if you are going to ask for understanding from the Holy Spirit there must also be a willingness to accept the answers that are given. Truth can at times be diluted by an unwillingness to embrace it! When what we here in the presence of the Lord lies contrary to the desires of our heart a struggle of the will can erupt within us.
In the case of Mark 9:28-29 the answer is foundational. Jesus responds to the inquiry of the disciples with a truth that goes to the very core of their lifestyle. He does not explain some mystery that they needed to understand. He does not teach a formula that they had never heard before. Nor does He instruct them in a technique or method that would have helped them. Jesus addresses the foundation of their spiritual life, “this kind can come out only by prayer.” Some translations include in this passage the phrase “and fasting.” To some this is the missing ingredient but whether we are talking about prayer and fasting or simply prayer the answer of the Lord is quite simple. His answer to His disciples is at its essence the Lord saying “Your spirit man is not mature! You need to dig deeper into your spiritual relationship with the Father.”
This reality is powerful in its message about the ministry of Christ. Through this one short answer Jesus is saying to His disciples “my public ministry is a reflection of the inner life that I have developed before my heavenly Father. If you want to do the things that I do in public, first do the things that I do in private.” The needs of the world are awaiting a generation of people who will develop a secret life in God that will leave them powerful in their public ministry. Shut the door to your secret place of prayer and let your life be empowered by encountering God!
No comments:
Post a Comment