I believe, but……

Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

How many times do we say that? How many times do we inject the “disclaimer” word “but” into our prayers and pleas before God? The father of the stricken child was not using that disclaimer, but pleading for help to strengthen a weakness he admitted to. He was admitting to the doubt that was in his heart as a result of the sin in him. Doubt is a product of sin, doubt is a product of sin in all of us and Satan uses that doubt as a very powerful tool against our faith. Our faith gets beat down by the world easily; Satan is the limited ruler of this world and it takes a true heart for God to battle the devil and his schemes. Spiritual warfare is on a plain that we cannot see, but feel the effects of, and God may grant us discernment glimpses of understanding of it at times. It is very real, goes on every day, and the more you live for this world and not the next, the less you understand of it.

This world has beaten me down this year. I have battled continued anxiety and depression on a level as never before. The demands of the world stole away my joy as the pressures of it wore me down this summer; mentally and physically drained to the point of exhaustion, robbing me of my quiet time with God. The Lord recently granted me a glimpse of understanding related to this year and my trip to India this fall; an understanding of the battle that raged on inside my head and a plain I could not see. The teaching curriculum is the spine of my testimony, quiet time alone with God. Satan has sought to destroy, but God has allowed his attack to strengthen. Spiritual disciples (quiet time in prayer, his Word, meditation, and fasting) are truly a matter of the heart; how much do you love God? The measure of your love is the measure of your practice of the spiritual disciplines.

If we plea anything to God, but use the disclaimer “but” in the prayer, aren’t we injecting our unbelief before Him? We can be using it as our escape route, or as a proclamation of our unbelief . We could really be saying to the Lord, “we don’t know if you can really do this”. Is God angered at those blasphemy prayers of limited faith? He knows your heart, mind, and words before they become audible; he knows the end before the beginning of your life; he knows your last breath time-stamp; he hold in his hands all the universe that he designed, sustains, and controls. “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23 Jesus openly discloses to his disciples in this passage the power of faith, prayer, and fasting. Jesus is encouraging them to practice those spiritual disciplines just as we must today. What are you doing to show your level of love of God to him? Where is the “but” in your prayer life…….