“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

These are the words of a father whose son was possessed by a spirit that frequently threw him to the ground with seizures.  The father said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  Jesus replied, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” The father cried out in desperation, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of the boy and he was healed. (Mark 9:14-29)

Belief and faith are something Jesus holds in high esteem.  He says to people who have been healed through his prayer, “Your faith has healed you.” Yet, we sympathize with the father of this boy who has seen his son suffer for such a long time.  He has some belief, or he would not have asked Jesus to intervene.

Like the father in this story, how often is our faith challenged by a lengthy illness in ourselves or a loved one that continues indefinitely without any sign of improvement, or an addiction in a loved one that no amount of prayer seems to bring under control. We pray, we fast, and we ask friends to intercede.  We read scripture that tells us, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  (Mt. 21:22)

Yet, the illness, the addiction, or the circumstance continues.  We become fearful that our belief is not adequate.  

Seventeen years ago, I was diagnosed with an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer. My Gleason score, a marker measuring the severity of prostate cancer, was a nine on a scale of ten. The pathology report from surgery showed that the cancer had migrated outside the prostate into at least one lymph node.

My wife, our five children and their families, and friends prayed for me. One friend was even so bold as to push his way into the pre-op room and pray over me and the two surgeons.  After surgery, I underwent hormone therapy for three years and my PSA, a measure of the presence of prostate cancer cells, was undetectable for nine years. Then my PSA started to rise again, and a tumor was detected above my bladder in 2021.  I underwent thirty-eight sessions of proton radiation, and my PSA has now fallen below the level of recurrence in the past year.

This week will mark the seventeenth anniversary of my surgery.  While I may have had moments of wondering whether my belief was sufficient, the faithful prayers of my wife, family, and friends re-enforced that belief.  I praise God for his healing presence through prayer, and for revealing his knowledge to the medical profession for the advances in prostate cancer treatment during this period.  Like the father of the possessed son, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!” 

How do you overcome your unbelief?