After Jesus had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” –Mark 9:28-29
We read in earlier passages that Jesus sent out the twelve disciples two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. We also read in Luke 6 that the disciples “went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” However, on one occasion, a man brought his demon possessed son to the disciples, but none of them could drive the demon out, so the man came to Jesus. When Jesus heard that His disciples could not do it, He said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” Then Jesus healed the boy after saying to his father, “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
When Jesus’ disciples saw how easily Jesus drove out the demon that they could not drive out, I believe they became a little ashamed, and when they were alone with Him, they asked why they were not able to do it. The verse above was Jesus’ response to them. The disciples were not able to drive the demon out because they did not pray. It is interesting to see that the disciples’ lack of faith did not lie in their failing to expect success, but perhaps in that that they took for granted that importance of prayer. If they previously rebuked and drove out demons, it probably felt so ‘normal’ that they began to think that the power they had was innate in them and did not need to be continuously prayed for. This situation humbled them and reminded them of the importance of seeking the Lord in prayer, even though He might have previously come through for them without it.
As I read this, I am challenged about my prayer life. It is quite easy for us to forget to pray when things are going well in our lives, but this leaves us very susceptible to temptation and weak in the face of trial. It is imperative that we understand that the power that God gives to us has to be asked for afresh on a continual basis. The moment we believe that the power of God is in our control is the moment we begin to make it about ‘us’ and not Him. We must always rely on the Lord for our daily bread, for a fresh anointing, for power, for renewed faith, etc just like the Israelites had to depend on Him daily for a fresh supply of manna.
Watching the Olympics last year taught me an important lesson that I hope we can all learn from. A swimmer, Michael Phelps, won a gold medal one night, and when asked the next day how winning the gold the previous night would affect the way he swam, he said (and I paraphrase), ‘I am very proud of the gold medal I won yesterday, but that was yesterday, and I need to leave it there for now and focus on winning today because my opponents are here to win the gold as well. I actually need to focus more and work harder today because my competitors are going to be doing just that.’ With every victory we win, our opponent, the enemy, works a bit harder to strengthen his attack against us, so it is imperative that we never cease to pray and continue to be on guard. Victories won yesterday are great, but never let them distract you from preparing for today’s battles.
Grace and peace be with you.
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