I Believe, help me overcome my unbelief

"I'm going to South Africa later this year." This statement alone will not put me in South Africa; its not until my belief in what I stated is followed by some action. I thought I believed that I was going but because there was no action, there was no true belief. As I realized this truth, I took it before God and this is what he gave me:

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” Mark 9:24b

In Luke 9 there is a passage that deals with a father and his child who is filled with an evil spirit. The man is surrounded by disciples and when Jesus walks up there was a lot of arguing. The man tells Jesus that he brought Him his son but instead of waiting on Jesus he allowed the disciples to try to cast out the spirit, in which they were unsuccessful. Jesus rebukes his disciples and then addresses the man. After a brief conversation the man says to Jesus, “but if you can do anything…”. Jesus seems offended and tells him that everything is possible for him who believes. Immediately the boy’s father jumps back at him and says I do believe but even as he spoke he realized that he didn’t really believe, leading him to the statement in verse 24. After Jesus cast it out, the onlookers thought that the boy was dead.

This is what God had me to read during prayer time Saturday morning and even as I read he began to reveal what he wanted to show me. So let’s break it down…

• The man tells Jesus that he brought his son to see Jesus but when Jesus wasn’t there he settled for a representative who failed at casting out the demon. This was the cause of the argument that Jesus interrupted. He knew he had a problem that only Jesus could fix and was on the right track but somehow was convinced that a representative could do the job. When they failed, I believe his faith failed as well.
• This is seen in his response to Jesus when he says but if you can do anything. He may have had the faith to believe and seek out Christ but after that encounter disappointed him, his faith began to waiver.
• Jesus calls him on his unbelief and he immediately jumps to the defense. Being in Christ’s holy presence there is no room for falsehood so he corrects himself asking Jesus to help his unbelief.
• After the demon is cast out the people that were around thought the boy was dead but I believe the man’s faith was restored because he knew it wouldn’t make sense for Jesus to cast out a demon to kill the boy.
• At the end of it all, Jesus tells his disciples that some things only come out by prayer and fasting.

Belief is shown by actions, not just in thoughts and words. He had a problem that no one could fix but Jesus but because of influence or impatience he allowed others to try what they weren’t prepared for. Because they weren’t able to fix his problem his faith was shaken. Are we as believers in a position where when God wants to do miracles through us prepared or will we cause someone’s faith to be dashed because we’re not prepared? On the other side, when we face some things and we know they can only be fixed through Christ, do we settle for seeking to get it fixed by man or do we have the patience to wait for Christ?