{"id":2729,"date":"2016-02-17T22:51:36","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T03:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=2729"},"modified":"2016-02-17T22:52:11","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T03:52:11","slug":"a-prayer-to-believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2016\/02\/a-prayer-to-believe.html","title":{"rendered":"A Prayer to Help to Believe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI believe; help my unbelief!\u201d<\/i> (Mark 9:24)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mustard seed faith will do. Just a bit is enough to begin. As a cup of water poured down the old well can prime the pump and set the water flowing, all I need today is a sample-packet of faith to pray for faith to pray. All I need muster is the courage to ask, \u201cLord, help me ask!\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

A father with an ailing child once came to Jesus pleading for a miracle. Jesus\u2019 apprentices on their own had failed to deliver. But the poor fellow wasn\u2019t deterred. He asked to speak to management. Jesus answered him with one of his surprising, puzzling riddles, \u201cAnything is possible if a person believes\u2026\u201d <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

It strikes me. Who is Jesus challenging here, with \u201cAnything is possible if a person believes\u2026\u201d<\/i> My bet is that he\u2019s aiming more at his bumbling followers than at this frantic father. Earlier when Jesus learned of his lads\u2019 incompetence he had scolded them, seemingly in frustration, \u201cYou faithless people!\u201d<\/i> (Mark 9:19) Clearly, he\u2019d expected more.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the poor, frightened, discouraged father, hanging by a thread that can barely be called faith who responds honestly. Knowing and admitting that he\u2019s \u201cpoor in spirit,\u201d is his first step to breakthrough.<\/span><\/p>\n

All he needed \u2013 and this encourages me today \u2013 was enough scavenged faith to not retreat, to stay and ask one more time, even after a bitter disappointment. He believes that much, though he knows he\u2019s fragile. The man spends his remaining hopes wisely, in a single, brilliant prayer: \u201cI have just enough belief to ask you to give me enough belief\u2026\u201d He\u2019s the man in the fable granted one wish who shrewdly wishes for a thousand wishes. In praying for faith he gets both<\/i> miracles.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Response<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLord, there are only five words here: \u2018I believe; help my unbelief.\u2019 But those five words, honestly spoken, given to you in humility are enough. They have to be enough because they are all I have. Like the lad who brought you five fish to feed a multitude, this is my simple contribution, my prayer, today.\u201d <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI believe; help my unbelief!\u201d (Mark 9:24) Mustard seed faith will do. Just a bit is enough to begin. As a cup of water poured down the old well can prime the pump and set the water flowing, all I need today is a sample-packet of faith to pray for faith to pray. All I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,24,7,4,25,3],"tags":[1613,1363,117,1360,1612],"class_list":["post-2729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-current-events","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","tag-effective-prayer","tag-help-me-in-my-unbelief","tag-prayer-3","tag-prayer-of-faith","tag-unbelief-in-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nA Prayer to Help to Believe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2016\/02\/a-prayer-to-believe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Prayer to Help to Believe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI believe; help my unbelief!\u201d (Mark 9:24) Mustard seed faith will do. 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