In this passage in Mark, Jesus is having this conversation with a father who is simply trying to have his son healed. The father has probably heard stories about Jesus and his disciples, how they've been casting out demons, healing the sick, doing crazy miracles, and all that jazz. The disciples, however, were unable to cast out the unclean spirit, so the father takes the child directly to Jesus. I'm going to talk a little bit about the two main parties of unbelief in this story: the father and the disciples.
The father just wanted to join in on the action. The father knew what was wrong with his child and tried to get Jesus' disciples to cast out the unclean spirit. That's an important thing to highlight in this text: the father knew what to ask for. Sometimes I pray things. Nothing too specific. I just pray. Even when I don't even what I'm supposed to pray for. The problem with this way of praying is that it is unfocused. I do my little "God, you're great. Thank you for this and that. Help grandma and grandpa. Help me in my studies..." And it's not that these are bad things to pray for, but they are way too general. God wants the specifics. In John 5, Jesus goes down to a pool of water, which apparently was known for its healing abilities, and heals this crippled fellow. Jesus asks this guy, "Do you want to be made well?" Too often, we get side-tracked in our prayers that we don't even ask the right questions to God. We do a little song and dance, a few "Our Fathers," a couple um's, and not enough of asking God for what we want. Jesus had to ask the father if he believed that his son could become well.
Now, when I get to the disciples, I get a little confused. I would assume that these disciples would know how to pray for healing. They had been sent out with authority in Mark 6. They already knew how to do "the stuff" that Jesus was doing. Maybe not to the extent that Jesus was doing, but they were able to at least cast out many demons, anoint people, and heal in Jesus' name. They had been given the ability and authority to do things. Why weren't they able to cast out this mute spirit in this boy? That's actually the question that the disciples ask Jesus afterwards, and his answer seems a little "Christianese" for me. Jesus says, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." I'm sure the disciples were praying. I don't know how often they fasted. I'm sure they were doing the right things, but they couldn't heal this boy. Some of them had even seen Jesus transfigured in the passage before. They had seen Jesus in all his glory and lots of light. I don't get it.
Jesus does everything right in this passage. He calms the father by telling him that it's going to be okay. He again makes the disciples look dumb in front of everyone. Jesus says a little command to the spirit, and it leaves. The spirit had so much power on the boy that it took out almost all of his strength, but then Jesus restores him to life and totally heals him. Jesus answers both the father's unbelief and the disciples' unbelief by performing this miracle.
The reason why I chose this passage is because I was recently praying over someone for healing, and absolutely nothing happened. Fortunately, the guy that I was praying for didn't mind that my prayers weren't doing anything. After I said "Amen," I added, (and maybe I shouldn't have done this) "Sorry that my prayer didn't work..." I've prayed over so many people in my life, and I have yet to see a healing. I've been in a group setting and prayed over someone who ended up being healed, but I have not by myself seen healing take place. Maybe I don't have that gift. Maybe I don't pray and fast enough. But the more I pray for people and the less healings I see, the more discouraged I become. So, I too need help in my unbelief.
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