"'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
Mark 9:23
The father's words said everything: "If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
He had already taken his boy to the disciples, and they had failed him. Their weakness had quietly convinced him that maybe Jesus could not do it either.
His faith had taken a hit, not from his own doubts, but from watching followers of Jesus fail to look like followers of Jesus.
That is a sobering thought.
People draw conclusions about Jesus based on how we represent Him.
When we fail to live and pray with faith, the people watching us do not just lose confidence in us; they lose confidence in Him.
Jesus gently but directly redirects the man.
The issue is never God's ability. The issue is always our belief.
"If you can" is the wrong question.
The right question is, do you trust Him?
We waste enormous energy asking whether God can handle our situations. He can.
The question He keeps asking us is whether we actually believe that.
Write down one situation you have quietly stopped praying about because you are not sure God will act.
Bring it back to Him today, and pray it as an act of faith, not a feeling.
Prayer:
Lord, I confess that I have sometimes doubted You more than I have doubted myself. Forgive me. You are able. You are willing. Grow my faith where it is thin, and help me come to You with open hands instead of closed eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen.