February 4, 2015

“A father said to Jesus, “I brought my son to you, for he has a…spirit; and wherever it seizes him, if dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid…” Jesus said “Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” He said, “From childhood. If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus said “All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:17-24

“Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only he who is helpless can truly pray. Listen to this, you who are often so helpless that you do not now what to do. At times you do not even know how to pray. Your mind is preoccupied with what the Bible calls the world. G*d…seems so distant and foreign to you that you feel that you add sin to sin by desiring to approach G*d in such a state of mind. Listen my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of G*d with greater effect than all your uttered pleas.” Ole Hallesby (1879 – 1961) “For All The Saints”, volume I

If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we often feel like the father in the text above – we do not know what to do with our unbelief. We believe that unbelief is a sin – or at least we treat it that way. Unbelief, as is indicated in our text, is often a catalyst to belief – or at least is a catalyst to act. When we have questions, we should not keep them to ourselves to the point that we do nothing with them. When I hold bible study classes, I have noticed those attending seem to sit as far away from me as possible. Often I wonder why? I have come to the conclusion that some feel that if they sit far enough away from me, then I won’t call on them to answer a question. I have also heard folks say that some do not come to bible study because they think they need to have some prerequisite knowledge before they can attend.

None of us will ever know too much about G*d – we all need to learn and to study. Our faith is dependant on the Holy Spirit who calls us through the Gospel, gathers and enlightens us as well. And when we have no idea what to do, when we feel the most helpless, one thing we all can do is to pray – to cry out to G*d for help. Another way we can help our unbelief is to build up and strengthen our knowledge that is the base, the support of our faith lives. Knowledge does not puff up, as Paul says in his letter to the Corinthian church; but love builds up – and we will know nothing of Christ’s love if we do not do some reading, studying and some praying. As Hallesby says, “Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of G*d…”

Pastor Dave