Dear Trekker,

Friend wife asked me an interesting question recently, “How do you decide what to write on each month?” Good question! “Usually in my reading (lectio divina) something leaps out of the text that gives me pause. I ponder, begin a dialogue with the Spirit, and out of this focus comes conviction of truth. The Spirit so grips me, I want to write about it.” Words of that effect comprised my answer! It surely describes this effort.

Barbara also came up with a quote recently I find applicable as we lean into Easter…“We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.” Ooo – I like that! As Easter people we know of resurrection power…the Holy Spirit has brought life to us as He brought life to Christ (Romans 8:11. Trekker, you must memorize this verse). A Good Friday world says we have learned little in 2000 years…we still crucify anew the Christ and each other and are almost totally clueless to the significance of the Resurrection and its possible impact on our lives, were we to choose to take Easter seriously. 

So. when I recently read in Mark 9 the story of the epileptic boy (possessed of an evil spirit) and his caring, frustrated father, conviction gripped me and I knew I had to write about it. Here is the passage…

“Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” And He answered them and said, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:17-29).

May this story underscore the need and availability of power through prayer, and the absolute necessity to trust Jesus for life and ministry success! For isn’t this the essence of the Easter Sunday morning surprise…recognizing Jesus and then bringing His power into our daily lives, calling upon His name to finish His work in each generation? Indeed it is!

Now the father was a bit disappointed to say the least. The disciples could not heal him! What is to be done? Jesus has just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration to find his followers ineffective after He had given them the power to heal (Mark 3:14,15) and drive out demons. So Jesus healed the boy and said this type of healing can occur only through prayer!

What was Jesus saying in his private response to his disciples? “You are not totally filled with me. I gave you authority and a commission (Mark 3) to drive out demons, but you can’t do it alone. You must live closer to me, not relying on a one time charge or authority I gave you days ago.” There is a powerful lesson here for us as Easter people. We may have a gift or talent useful for ministering to others. However, without dependence on Him, seeking His strength and wisdom, gifts and talents may wither and die. We have no real power apart from His Spirit, which we must rely upon continually. We can accomplish a lot of things through natural grace, but we can become people of power only through prayer, unleashing His presence and power.

I have alluded in past writings of the impact of the noted J.B. Phillip’s statement when translating the New Testament. “For the early disciples the new-found faith was not a performance; it was a way of life.” This is the issue here. The Spirit of God brings vitality to our believing faith in action. Without the Spirit, there is no real authentic power…a performance instead of offering to and for God! Trekker, we are called to be “Jesus with skin on,” and to set God before men. If we do not first lift Him up, we set ourselves up, not God, before men. All power and loveliness of thought and action depart when this occurs. We are then powerless to accomplish His work.

Here are three things of conviction I take away from this poignant Gospel story:

1) God, in our prayers, wants us to build upon the relationship He has given us. He wants us to maintain our relationship in praise, thanksgiving, love, and reliance on and obedience to Him. He knows what is best for us and is desirous to give “good things” to us. Since He knows our needs before we express them, and all things are possible for Him, He could grant our requests as we pray them. Usually He gives us something better suited in the long run than our requests. He wants us to acknowledge in prayer that He is the focus, not our requests.

2) I am convinced bringing God into the picture is not an unconscious thing. It is intentional, a highly motivated desire to please and honor our Heavenly Father. It is not relying on past accomplishments…it is day-to-day, conscious, dependent living. We remember (and learn) from yesterday and we plan and prepare for tomorrow… but we only live in the moment of each day.

3) God’s desire is that we discover the vast resource we have in Him. We really  do little until we pray and bring Him into the equation. This is genuine humility in action. It is the “he must increase, I must decrease” attitude of John the Baptist! God wants us to be totally dependent on Him without shirking our responsibility to choose to invite His leadership and empowerment into every situation. Is not this the essence of petition in prayer? Or shouldn’t it be?

Trekker, God can do anything except deny His nature, which is perfect, good, righteous and always giving. We must believe this and trust Him to answer our prayers as He chooses, always for our good (Romans 8:28).

Hang in there in prayer, trekker,

Jim Meredith