May Our Faith Stand in Jesus

October 7

One of the reasons unbelievers pose most often for their denial of Christ and the veracity of His Word, the Bible, is the fact of unanswered prayer. When someone pours his heart out to God and walks away disappointed, he will either acquiesce to the denial of his answer or use it as an excuse to prove God’s non-existence.

The choice presents itself often. We know our Heavenly Father desires that we “walk by faith, not by sight” II Corinthians 5:7. He has never wanted those who follow after Christ to do so for the blessings. He wants those who profess faith in Him to hold on to Him because of who He is, not because of what He can give.

Toward that end, our prayers are often met with failure to attain the thing for which we’ve beseeched Him. Luke 9:39, 40 reminds us that we are not alone. Even the disciples sometimes came away from their missionary efforts as abject failures. Even those who walked closest to Jesus sometimes did not see results.

Here a man comes to Jesus and says of his son, “Often a spirit seizes him…and it throws him into convulsions…I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” The passage goes on to tell us that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child. The message seems to be that only HE has ultimate power.

May our faith stand in who JESUS is, not in what He has the power to do.