Matthew 17:14-20
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt in front of him. “Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son because he has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to cure him.” Jesus answered, “O unbelieving and perverse generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of the boy, and he was cured from that hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I tell you: If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Applying God’s Word for today: Moving those mountains
We all face challenges. Life is full of them: family issues, health concerns, financial struggles, unexpected events, and more. How do we deal with them? We should bring them to the Lord; he has promised to hear our prayers for Jesus’ sake. But what happens when our prayers are not answered as we hoped? We are like the disciples in today’s lesson, who were unable to cast out the demon. At times, our words are directed toward God, while our hearts drift toward our own efforts, feelings, or worthiness.
Perhaps, in the midst of the challenge, our faith has drifted toward ourselves. “Maybe God didn’t hear because I didn’t use the right words.” “Maybe I have to pray harder!” “Did I trust what I said?” However, God wants us to come to Him continually; He wants us to trust Him completely and know that He hears us. He demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to suffer in our place so that we will have the forgiveness of sins. Through even the slightest of true faith—the size of a mustard seed—Christ’s promise is received: the mountain of sin has been removed by His death and resurrection, and we are restored to the Heavenly Father.
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us when our prayers focus on ourselves and our actions. We often ask for Your help, but when our prayers are not answered as we hoped, we question ourselves. Turn our attention to You, who supplies all we need for life. Guide us to Your Son, who has redeemed us and died for our sins—so that all our transgressions are completely forgiven. In matters of faith, we ask Your Holy Spirit to lead and strengthen us, keeping us fully centered on You. Let us share the good news of salvation with those who do not know You, and send Your Holy Spirit to them so they may believe in Jesus. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
Our problem is our doubts: not trusting God’s will to care for us. Or we make our requests self-centered and not for our salvation. When Christ is the object of faith, we are not left to our own strength. Nothing is impossible for God, and He gives what is good according to His will.