Verse: Matthew 17:14-21
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Devotion:
It’s hard to think that maybe the things that I pray for don’t happen because I don’t have enough faith. It’s difficult especially when I pray for things that I think must be in line with God’s will, like for someone to be healed, like in this situation in Matthew 17. I can’t really wrap my head around it. It’s a difficult concept that I cannot explain to myself or to anyone else. Faith isn’t based on sight. So my faith can’t be based on the results of my prayers. I have to still trust that God is good, that he knows my heart, that he has all things under his control.
If my prayers are directed at building my faith up by their result, then they are not prayers of faith. Right? Honestly I’m just working through this for myself. I don’t have it figured out at all!
But the disciples were having success it seems, healing in Jesus’ name, and this situation had stumped them. But maybe there is not an explanation needed here. Jesus knew the hearts of his disciples. For whatever reason, they were lacking in faith for this particular situation. What is clear, is Jesus’ compassion, his desire and ability to heal, and his power to do so. And he casts out the demon and the boy is healed. Maybe that is the most important part of the story.
We already know that we are here in a broken world, a place where God’s kingdom is both here and not here fully. And the evidence of that is in the fact that not every prayer is answered in the way we hope. But we have a God who has promised that one day we will experience the fullness of his kingdom, and trade us our sorrow for joy. That is the hope that we are running toward. And I do believe that along the way, Jesus wants us to pray and see results of those prayers.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are good. Thank you for saving us and for your word that teaches us. Give us the strength and faith needed to continue on in you and ask boldly for what we need and on behalf of others, what they need. Help us to lean in to you and keep on praying for things, even when the results are not as we hoped. Amen.
Author: Emily Costa
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