Unlimited: The Reason For Powerlessness | Good News Unlimited
Unlimited: The Reason for Powerlessness
May 15, 2024 1968
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:28–29, NIV).
The disciples weren’t able to heal a boy possessed by an evil spirit, and their failure led to an embarrassing public spectacle. Jesus healed him through his word of power.
This left the disciples wondering what the reason was for their failure and the dramatic healing of the boy possessed by an evil spirit really troubled the disciples.
Jesus gave them the power to cast out evil spirits, and they had done it before. So why weren’t they able to do it this time?
So, they asked Jesus about it.
And the answer that Jesus gave them is a very interesting one.
He tells them that this kind of evil spirit can come out only by prayer.
This answer would have left the disciples baffled. As good Jews, they prayed many times a day.
Here’s what I think. I think that the answer Jesus gave the disciples didn’t go to the heart of the matter. It wasn’t the lack of much prayer that was the disciple’s problem. It was the lack a particular attitude in their hearts that Jesus was looking for. And he was also waiting for the right moment to challenge them about it. And so, for now, he gave them only a partial answer.
Later in Mark, we’re going to find out the full answer to their question: Why couldn’t they drive out the evil spirit?
– Eliezer Gonzalez
Eli’s Reflection: I wonder, have you ever thought that the more you pray, the more spiritual power you’ll have? It doesn’t work that way. It isn’t the quantity of your prayer life that ultimately matters; it’s the quality. Think about that.
