Did You Think to Pray?

Day 58: Mark 9:1-29

“And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” - Mark 9:23-24 ESV

One of the things that happened in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve fell, was an embedded resistance to asking for help (especially with men, right?).

In our reading today, we see Jesus having a necessary time with Moses and Elijah (accompanied by his top three) to prepare him for his death. They come down the mountain to see the other nine disciples in a hot debate with the scribes and a concerned father.

Being a parent with a sick child will drive us to do anything to see that they receive help, even seeking an outside source. The nine disciples couldn't help, but this man knew that Jesus could. In a vulnerable way, the father asks Jesus to close the gap on his unbelief. We would do well to pray a similar prayer.

I love the following quote concerning this passage: "The father cries for help, honestly confessing the poverty of his faith; and Jesus answers, not according to the poverty of the man’s faith, but according to the riches of his grace." - R.A. Cole

And what does Jesus tell the nine that they were missing, not being able to heal this child? They should have been asking God for help: "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

Have you tried everything to no avail? Make daily, honest prayer part of your routine (both personally and with others). God has always been in the business of responding generously to his children's cries for help.

Mary A. Kidder's lyrics (1876) from her well-known hymn, Did You Think to Pray, are great to close with today:

Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Savior,
Did you sue for loving favor,
As a shield today?
When sore trials came upon you,
Did you think to pray?
When your soul was bowed in sorrow,
Balm of Gilead did you borrow
At the gates of day?
Oh, how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So in sorrow and in gladness,
Don’t forget to pray.