In Matthew 17, after Jesus comes down off the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, they run into a man with a son who is a lunatic. The young man falls into the fire, then the water. His body is being ripped apart. His mind is gone. The remaining nine disciples are unable to help the boy or the dad. These confused disciples, who had already been out and had the power of God flow through them are confused. They want to know why it did not go the way they expected. They ask Jesus directly, “Why could not we cast him out?”
The reply of the Lord should be a wake up call for every Christian regarding living for the Lord. Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The word, “unbelief” means faithlessness, or lack of faith.
Think, therefore, about this. In your life, how much of it is spent in unbelief, faithlessness? We go to God and look for help in this area of life or that challenge. We walk away from bringing our requests, our needs, unto the Lord, saying, “I wonder if God can help me?” Isn’t that really the same question as “Why could not we cast him out? We may ask it a little differently. “I don’t understand, Lord. I know your power. I have had your power within me, and I cannot do this. Why doesn’t this happen?”
The Lord’s answer is till the same. “Because of your unbelief.” It is not that those disciples did not believe in Jesus. They absolutely did. They did, however, suffer from faithlessness. If there is one thing that really keep us from seeing the miracles of the Lord in our own lives, it is faithlessness.
How did Jesus explain it? “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hench to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” We need to take this and apply it to our lives. It is more than trusting and believing Christ for salvation. It is belief that our Saviour is indeed the God of mighty miracles who will make us to see great and mighty things that we don’t even know. In your walk with God and mine, we need to realize and live out the truth that belief makes it happen! Lord, help thou my unbelief!