October 12

Scripture Mark 9 17-29

The disciples had walked with Jesus and had seen miracle after miracle. They had even prayed for people themselves and had seen them healed by the power of God. Yet, this case was different. A man had brought his son to the disciples because he had a dumb spirit, but the disciples could not cast this spirit out. What made this situation different?

The man finally brought his son to Jesus. Jesus told the man that anything was possible to him that believed. Does this mean that the disciples didn’t have the faith they needed? Jesus noticed that a crowd was gathering so He quickly rebuked the spirit and commanded him to come out of the boy. The spirit obeyed and came out. Jesus then took the boy by the hand and lifted him up. How happy the man must have been to have his son restored to normal.

When they were alone with Jesus, the disciples asked Him why it was they couldn’t cast that spirit out. Jesus replied...this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting. There are times when we need to combine the two. We have to pray and believe but there are also times when we need to fast as well. Fasting is not always popular because not many people want to do without anything, especially food. Still, as we can see from this scripture, it is sometimes necessary. We must be prepared to all we have to do when we are seeking answers for some need, even if it means a bit of sacrifice.




Sometimes we go a bit extra
When there’s a special need
Sometimes it’s more our spirit
Than body we should feed

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