John’s tweets for today:

• Coming down the mountain from that amazing experience of seeing Jesus w/ Moses & Elijah. Another crowd is waiting for Jesus.
• A man brought his son to the other disciples.  He wanted them to drive an evil spirit out of the boy, but they couldn’t.
• The man said the demon made the boy mute & throws him to the ground so he writhes & foams at the mouth.
• Jesus is upset that they couldn’t drive out the demon. He called us unbelieving generation & wondered how long he’d have to put up w/ us.
• They brought the boy to Jesus. He was having a seizure, writhing on the ground. Jesus asked the dad how long this has been going on.
• The dad said since boy was very little, the demon has even tried to throw him in the fire or river to kill him.
• “If you can do anything, please help him.” Jesus told the man “There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”
• The man said “I want to believe. Help me w/ my doubts.”
• A crowd is running up to see it all now. Jesus commands the demon to get out. It left w/ lots of screaming & thrashing.
• Now the boy looks dead, pale. The people think he’s dead but Jesus takes his hand & he’s getting up!
• Later, the other disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t drive out the demon. He said it takes prayer to get rid of that kind.

There’s so much going on in this scene.  Jesus is coming down from the mountain with Peter, James and John.  They had just seen Jesus transfigured before their eyes.  The disciples who didn’t go with them are trying to cast a demon out of a boy.  They have evidently been able to do this before, but this time it isn’t working.

The boy’s father wants to believe Jesus can help his son, but he’s having trouble.  And no wonder.  The boy is writhing on the ground and a crowd is gathering.  It would be hard to believe with all of that swirling around, especially since the disciples have already tried to cast out the demon unsuccessfully.

The father asks for Jesus to help him believe.  I think this must be one of the most powerful prayers we can pray.  When the darkness swirls around us, we only need to ask Jesus for his help in believing that He can do what He says He can do.

Our situation may not turn out the way we hope or imagine.  But we can know that God will never leave us and He is always more powerful than any situation we may face.  And if we have trouble believing that, He will help us believe.

Bible reference: Mark 9:14-29