Failure at a non-praying Church

When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.  And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"  And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."  And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."  After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!" But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?" And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer." - Mark 9:14-29 NASU

Jesus is returning from the mountain of transfiguration with Peter, James, and John when He sees a rancorous crowd surrounding His other disciples. The public turns to Jesus as a father brings his son to Jesus to heal. This man explains the problem and then throws the disciples under the bus for underperforming.

Jesus gives a diatribe about the unbelieving generation not excluding His disciples when the devil overperforms with a dramatic performance of a demonic-induced seizure. Jesus is unimpressed and asks the father for the history of his son. Like many people, his son had a history of going from one extreme to another. Start a crisis of fire and put it out with water.

Disillusioned by the lack of power with the disciples, this young boy's father made an offensive statement to Jesus. Jesus, if you can do anything, then please do! Jesus confronts this man's word and follows up with a faith statement. All things are possible to him, who believes.

The boy's father saw his wrong in placing the responsibility of faith in the disciples instead of believing fully in God. The boy's father acknowledged his unbelief. Help my unbelief!

It is easy to place responsibility for our faith in those in the church. And when nothing happens, it is easy to reason that it must not be God's will. We had faith. Now we have unbelief—an undoing of faith because of man's failure and not God's.

Jesus commanded that the boy's death and mute spirit come out, and the seizure stopped. It also looked like Jesus made things worse when the boy stopped moving. Love never fails. God is love. Jesus took the boy by the hand and raised him. Don't allow the process of a miracle to stop you from believing. It is one thing to kick out a squatter and another to fill the house with the Holy Spirit—no vacancy when the squatter tries to return with seven friends.

When Jesus and his disciples went home, they asked why they didn't have the power to cast out this demon. The disciples had done it before. Jesus replied because you do not have a prayer life.

Everything from God comes by grace. And this grace is maintained by the humbling of ourselves in daily prayer. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. We can do nothing separate from Jesus. We must continually pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus, to maintain the power He has granted us with the name that is above all other names, Jesus.

If you are struggling with unbelief, it may be because you are prayerless and attend a church that does not pray as a house of prayer for the nations. A poor experience can affect your faith. An unresolved experience can impart unbelief in our heart. Don't allow the unraveling of your faith cause unbelief. Forgive the prayerless church and start praying yourself.