UNBELIEF CAN DAMAGE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, 
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 
(Mark 9:24)

MEDITATION:
A father had a child who was possessed by an impure spirit.
When Jesus asked him how long his son had been like this, 
the father said, “From childhood”.
Then he said to Jesus, 
“...if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 
When Jesus responded with, 
“If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes.”
It is at this point the father asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief.

It is easy to relate to the father, isn’t it?
Most Christians have faith and belief, 
but there are areas of unbelief as well.
“Unbelief” can be described as – doubt; lack of faith; 
presuming something to be untrue or fictitious.

It’s not that we lack faith that the Lord CAN do something, 
but we can have doubts that He WILL do something.
The father of the boy had the same challenge in his life, 
but he recognized it, admitted it, and asked the Lord 
to help him in his area of weakness.

Those areas of unbelief can rob us enjoying a closer relationship with God.
It can prevent us from experiencing the promises of God in our lives.
James says that those with doubts, or unbelief, 
are ‘double-minded’ and ‘unstable in all they do’.
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts 
is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should 
not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded
and unstable in all they do. (James 1:6-8)

How can we have areas of ‘unbelief’ if we are followers of the Lord?
It doesn’t come from God, so it must come from Satan, right?
Satan wants to find areas in the life of Christians 
where he can infiltrate and ‘devour’.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around 
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) 
If he can establish areas of unbelief, 
then he can create a foothold for other attacks.

So, how do we get ‘help for our unbelief’?
We do the same thing the father did, we ask for the Lord to help us.
We pray specifically for Him to help us with our unbelief.
It is not an admission that we do not have faith and belief in His power,
but rather a confession that there are times when we lack conviction 
that He WILL respond to our prayer in the way we prefer.

When we pray, 
we should tell the Lord that we believe He is going to answer our prayer.
Even when there are situations that seem hopeless, we still need to 
express our confidence in God that He will do the right thing.
His action may not always align with what we would like to see,
but we should express our confidence that He will do what is best 
(even though it may not be obvious to us).

We can pray for what we would like to see Him do, 
but as Jesus told us in His example of how to pray, we should include, 
“Your will be done” (Matthew 6:9-13)
This is how we can express our faith and belief in Him 
as we try to overcome unbelief.
At the same time we should ask Him to comfort us, 
by helping us to accept and cope with His decision 
whenever His actions are different than what we wanted.

ACTION:
Do you have those times of unbelief in your own life?
Rather than allowing Satan to use this as an opportunity to establish a 
foothold, pray openly and honestly about it, and ask for the Lord’s help.
You need the Lord’s help in all things, including areas of unbelief.
Without His help, it can become a temptation to rebel against God whenever 
His Will is different than yours on something that you have prayed about.

Expressing belief and confidence that the Lord will always do the right thing, 
can help in overcoming unbelief, and prepare us for whatever His Will might be.
Think of it this way: 
whenever we were children, our parents may not have given us everything 
we wanted, but they did try to do what was best for us (and in some cases, 
we received something better than what we expected, or wanted).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know the struggles I have with unbelief. I have 
faith and confidence that You can do anything, but I am not always sure 
what Your Will is, and it affects the way I pray. I ask You now to help 
me with my unbelief, and encourage me to increase my belief in all things 
when I pray. Teach me how to pray in the right manner so that my belief 
will be increased by Your response to my prayers. I don’t want anything 
to open the door for Satan to start damaging my faith, or jeopardizing my 
relationship with You. You are the One I worship, trust, believe in, and 
want to increase my fellowship with.”