And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:23-24.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Nothing is too hard for Me, nothing is too wonderful for Me, and nothing is impossible for Me. And all things are possible for those who believe that. Blessed is the one who trusts in Me, such a one shall have great peace, double shalom, to guard them, because they are firmly established in Me, the everlasting rock. Nothing that comes against you can shake you when you know Me.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.
Many people, however, believe that I have the power to do impossible things but they doubt I will do them. They are unbelieving believers. Why is that? They are walking by sight and not by faith. They are living according to the default mode of the flesh rather than pushing ahead to walk in the Spirit.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12.
It takes much less effort to doubt than to believe. Doubting is not pleasant but to be an overcomer you must take hold of My promises and push forward despite the backward pull of the flesh. You must trample down the doubt and go forward with a joyful shout. To have days of Heaven on earth you must be an overcomer. An overcomer of what? Your own doubt and unbelief.
The flesh gives up quickly if it does not see immediate results. There are many who do one or two readings of healing scriptures and they still have the pain so they say My Word does not work. But they had no faith in it to begin with or even one speaking out of it would do the job. They are double minded and toss back and forth.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8.
The prayer of faith of a righteous man is effective indeed. One prayer can do it, one command can move it. But did you notice it is of a “righteous man.” In Christ that is not your own righteousness, that is My righteousness in you. I accounted all your sins to Jesus and in return accounted to you My righteousness. When you understand that I have made Jesus to be wisdom unto you and righteousness and sanctification and redemption and that in Him you are righteous, not with your own righteousness, but Mine, you are far from oppression. No weapon formed against you can prosper and every tongue raised in accusation against you, you will prove false for your righteousness comes from Me.
But I will tell you the basic problem with all doubters whether believers or atheists, they do not know or believe in My love for them and they do not love Me. I know them and they have no love for Me in their hearts. They do not believe good about Me but evil or indifferent intent. But those who know Me and love Me have no doubt that they cannot get out with a joyful shout. They just remind themselves of who I am and that I already have the answer prepared for them before the foundation of the world. That I look ahead and provide and have already taken care in Jesus of all they need for things to work out good for them.
The Israelites I redeemed out of Israel believed in Me, they did not argue about My existence, even when they worshipped a golden calf that Aaron had crafted, but they attributed evil intent to Me and saw Me as withholding things rather than giving freely.
Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4.
Even with manna falling every morning, water gushing out of rocks, and quail flying in from nowhere to fall at their feet all around the camp, they questioned, complained, and doubted I would meet their needs. And this mentality will make you turn against Me and sin to get what you think I will not or cannot give you. Like Adam.
Where there is no love there is no true faith that endures. Faith works by love. Faith overcomes the world, but faith in what? Not just in My power but in My love that is that power. I am All Powerful and I am all love.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:16-19.
Do you still not understand? Faith, hope, and love, these three endure, but the greatest of these is love. Love is the overcomer. And it is effortless when you really know and believe in My love for you. You laugh at a bad report. Why? You have a healer who loves you, a good Shepherd who takes care of you, and a Father who only gives you good things when you ask, all out of love. Not a deserved or earned love, a family love that is there due to the relationship. You are Mine, you are precious in My sight, and I love you. It is My desire to shower you with blessings, and I have already done so in Christ Jesus. In Him I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heaven, you have only to receive them.
So let us look at today’s conversation that we are considering and you will see why My Son was grieved by a group of His people that should have been believers, including His disciples, but had become doubters by what they were seeing. He called them a perverse and unbelieving lot. No love, no faith, no faith no connection with grace.
This conversation takes place as the Peter, James and John were coming down from the mountain with Jesus where He had been transfigured before their eyes. His inner beauty had shone forth through the covering of his earthly flesh and they had feasted their eyes on the supernatural beauty of a spirit and soul born from above. They had also experienced My voice proclaiming Him to be My beloved Son to whom they must listen and the privilege of looking into the spirit realm and seeing Moses and Elijah. All are alive for Me.
As they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. When the crowd caught sight of Jesus they were amazed (they could still see the glow of the supernatural around Jesus and the three who had been with Him, like when Moses came down the mountain from speaking with Me. Look to Me so you may be radiant and your face shall not blush with shame.
So the crowd came running up to greet Him. And He asked the disciples who had not been up on the mountain with Him, “What are you discussing with them?” And one of the crowd answered Him, “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.”
Jesus surveyed the situation and He was not pleased. A lack of faith does not please Him because it limits My power flowing unhindered to heal, restore, and recreate. He is looking for hearts of faith, which are hearts of love, My love in them. Why do I look at hearts? I am looking for My image in them, which is pure love.
So Jesus answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”
The father of the boy was expecting action on the part of Jesus and the disciples and was voicing his dissatisfaction with them with their inability to do what he was demanding, the disciples were wondering how to move that demon out and were disappointed it was not working as before, the whole crowd was looking for Him or His disciples to work signs and wonders, and they all got a surprise. He was pointing the finger for miracles back on them. On their faith and not just His.
They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. The antics of the demon had put fear into everyone there and made the problem look impossible of solution but not so with Jesus. He knew Me.
So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He was interested to know how long the father had been putting up with this condition without rebuking it and stopping it from possessing his child. As a parent he had the duty and the authority to drive that demon out of his child. And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Mark 9:22.
Jesus picked up on the double mindedness of the request. The boy’s father had come for a miracle but he was not sure he could get one. It had been too many years that he had lived with it and let it run their household without check. So Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
This was a very profound answer and holds truth in it you should know. Do not question whether I can do something, because there is nothing too hard or impossible for Me, the question is on your side, “Do YOU believe I can do this?” The power is always there with Me but the only way you can connect and receive that power is your faith.
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” Matthew 9:27-29.
Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” He wanted to believe, he did believe in My power, but it seemed so tremendous a problem and he had lived with it so long with no change, it only got worse, that he had given up hope. He needed help. Sometimes your best faith prayer is “Please help me,” said with faith, knowing that I will step in the gap.
When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” One short confident faith command can move a mountain and cast out a demon on the spot. Jesus knew My love, My Will to heal, and the power of My Words in His mouth of faith. And the demon had no choice at the voice of authority from a man submitted to Me who was resisting him, he had to flee. And that demon, that had been sassing the father for so many years had no choice, one faith command spoken with authority had him out.
After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. The father went away rejoicing and giving glory to Me. As did the crowd.
When He came into the house, His disciples were questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” They wanted to know what had gone wrong. And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
You must be a person who has a relationship with Me to have confident faith. If you never pray, the devil knows that what you say has no real power behind it. Knowing My Word will give you faith, but prayer is fellowship and partnership through which direction, protection, revelation, impartation, and love is truly born.
I love you. Do you love Me? That makes all the difference in what you can have faith for.