As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter,
James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around
them and scribes arguing with them. Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd
was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. He asked them, “What
are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him,
“Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it
seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and
becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to
do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be
with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” They brought the boy to
him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions.
As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then
he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He
replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to
kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus
said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then
the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” Jesus, on
seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it,
“Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him
again!” Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became
like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the
hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples
asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to
them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
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Reflection:
Do you have a rock solid faith in the Lord?
By their lack of faith the disciples were not able
to cast out the mute spirit that possessed the boy. Add to that was their lack
of prayer also; thus Jesus admonished them for this deficiency. A life of faith
and prayer is a must for all of us who are followers of Jesus.
But how do we define faith? Faith is when we believe
in something even if others do not, faith is something that we hold on until
the very end even if we don’t see what we hold on. And what is the fuel of our
faith? It’s our active prayer life. We pray from the depths of our hearts for
this is the prayer that connects with God.
Let us not try not to pray because not only that we
will lose our faith. We will also lose our moral balance to discern what is
wrong from right. Let us therefore at all times give priority to our unvarying
prayer life for this is the fire of our faith and this is also our hotline to
Jesus.
When Jesus cured the possessed boy the disciples
asked Him why were they not able to do what He had just done. All though Jesus
did not told them that they lacked faith it was very obvious that it was the
cause of their failure to cure the possessed boy. What was the cause of their
lack of faith? It was the disciples’ inadequate prayer life as told to them by
Jesus (Mark 9:29).
Do you have an active prayer life? – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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