Few things in life deeply grieve a parent’s heart more than a child’s unrelieved suffering. This grief arises not only from the child’s relentless torment, but also from the parent’s profound sense of helplessness to ease the child’s burden. Mark’s gospel recounts Jesus’ encounter with one such parent who came seeking Jesus in a desperate bid to secure healing for his son, who had suffered many severe torments over a long period (Mark 9:14–29).¹ We quickly learn that these torments were not merely physical in origin, but were themselves the outward symptoms of demonic affliction (Mark 9:17). The unclean spirit was vicious. The father’s description of his son’s condition underlines the unclean spirit’s malice: it “makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid” (9:18).² If anyone could bring an end to the suffering of this man’s son, would it not be the one who had already displayed His ability to exorcise unclean spirits (Mark 1:21–28; 4:35–5:13), cleanse lepers (1:40–42), heal the paralyzed (2:3–12), restore withered hands (3:1–5), raise the dead (5:25–43), heal the deaf (7:31–8:9) and blind (8:22–26), and many other miracles besides these? He displayed power over both the physical and spiritual worlds. News of Jesus’ miraculous ministry must have cut through this father’s despair like the bright rays of the sun piercing a gloomy sky. 

Few things are more debilitating than dashed hopes of a desperate man. The man had come seeking Jesus, but Jesus was away on a mountain with Peter, James, and John, giving them a glimpse of divine glory (Matt. 17:1–13; Mark 9:1–13; Luke 9:28–36). The unnamed father was left to rely on the remaining disciples. Had not Jesus invested them with authority to cast out demons and heal the sick (Mark 3:14–15; 6:7–13)? Their miraculous labors were just as public as Jesus’ own, so Jesus’ absence should not have caused concern. However, try as they might, the nine who remained behind were unable to aid the boy (9:17–18). If even Jesus’ disciples were impotent to help, what more could the man do?  

Meanwhile, Jesus had descended from the mountain with Peter, James, and John and had arrived to find the nine debating scribes (9:14). ³ “The scribes, mentioned twenty-one times, are the chief opponents of Jesus” in the Gospel of Mark,⁴ which suggests that the dispute was anything but amiable. Jesus’ timely arrival defused the situation and recentered the narrative. His commanding presence drew the crowd, and his pointed question laid bare the central issue (9:16–18). The man himself named the issue: “I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able” (9:18). He had come for relief but found only disappointment. Their failure points to a deeper problem expressed in the Lord’s rebuke: “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” 

This language recalls Deuteronomy 32:20–25, and the Lord draws a connection between the hardness of heart and the unbelief of the wilderness generation and crowd assembled around his disciples.⁵ While the disciples seem to escape the force of the rebuke, they too have been known to falter under the weight of confusion and unbelief (Mark 8:14–21).⁶ They were impotent not from of a crass form of unbelief, but from weakness of effort. They failed to avail themselves of prayer and thus failed “to trust in Jesus’s authority over the demonic realm” (9:29).⁷  

Prayer was the missing ingredient. It underlines that the power and authority to exorcise unclean spirits and heal the sick was not inherent in the disciples, but an ability that resides wholly in the Lord. After all, the Lord is the one who had invested them with the authority to perform miracles similar to his own. Had the disciples approached the tormenting spirit with this in mind, they would have undoubtedly succeeded.  

There is a clear lesson here for Christians, who must be keenly aware that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). By the same token, the means by which to combat such forces are of a different order. “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). Prayer is one of the greatest weapons at the Christian’s disposal (Mark 11:24–25, 13:33, 14:38; Eph. 6:18).  

This lesson was not only meant for the disciples. The lesson was also meant for the anguished father, his son, and the rest of those assembled together on that day. More than this, the lesson is for anyone who reads of Jesus’ encounter with this unnamed man. Perhaps this is why the father remains unnamed: he serves as a place-marker into which any person might insert himself. Though the circumstances might differ, one can easily relate to the man’s deep sorrow and agonizing grief over his son’s terrible affliction. Have not all the sons of Adam in some measure felt the profound sorrows that accompany the miseries that belong to this life?  

The family had faced a prolonged crisis that must have seemed to him to be akin to a mountain whose peak reached into the heavens. How could a mere man such as himself ascend to such an unattainable height? This ordeal became all the more palpable with the disciples’ failure. One can hear his exasperation in his despondent plea to Jesus: “if you can do anything” (Mark 9:22). The “if” is full of meaning.⁸ Here the faith that led the man to come to Jesus in the first place is intermixed with doubt that sprouted only a few moments ago. Perhaps his disappointment with the disciples had led him to lower his expectations. His son had suffered for so long, so any relief however small would be a welcome change. Perhaps he began to doubt whether Jesus was able to do anything to help. Remember, Jesus’ disciples were laboring under His own authority. Did their failure portend a similar outcome? Nevertheless, the weakness of his faith did not dissuade him from making a final plea, one last desperate bid towards hope. “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  

Jesus returns the father’s first words in the form of a challenge: “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23). Jesus’ response takes hold of the man’s uncertainty and drives him to reflect not on the state of his son, as important as that was to him, but on the state of his own heart. Would he believe that Jesus was able to do now what he has already done in the past? This is not an open-ended guarantee that mere faith of itself can accomplish whatever one might conceive; it is a statement that God is not limited by human vicissitudes. The Lord has already demonstrated his compassion and power. “Jesus asks the father to surrender his skepticism prompted by the seemingly hopeless situation and to believe that he, Jesus, has the ability to do all things.”⁹  

Not a moment passes before the man lays bare the stirrings of his heart. His answer to the Lord comes both as a contrite confession and a pleading prayer. “I believe; help my unbelief!” (9:24). The man came to recognize his own weakness, a weakness that was far greater and grave than the affliction of the unclean spirit, and in doing so he humbly laid himself at the feet of the Savior. We are not surprised to see the Lord rebuke the unclean spirit and compel it to leave the man’s son (9:25–27).  

This father’s honest cry must pierce the heart of every believer. No one is free from the specter of doubt, since our faith is never perfect in this life.¹⁰ The circumstances of life are not always hard, but sometimes hardship comes to us. These times of hardship can be difficult to bear. Like the unnamed father, we sometimes experience harrowing circumstances that would test the mettle of even the one with the strongest faith.  Whether the matter is a wayward child, a crumbling marriage, a tormenting anxiety, a chronic illness, or a besetting sin, facing such miseries can leave us utterly fatigued and forlorn.  

One response to such things is to lean on our strategies, our programs, our experience, and our efforts, but these will ultimately fail to break these strongholds of doubt. The only solution, the right solution, is to follow the path laid before us in this passage. The same Savior who healed this man’s son, and strengthened the father’s weary heart, stands ready to meet us where we are in the thick of our affliction. When we turn our eyes to the Lord in the midst of our affliction, we come to realize that the various circumstances are under His guidance to lead us into deeper realms of glory. This does not diminish the sorrow we feel. The grief is real (1 Pet. 1:6, 5:10). Nevertheless, the heart of faith knows that “all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28; James 1:2–4), and through them he is “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 5:17). Bring Jesus your mingled faith and doubt. Lay bare the stirrings of your heart. Cry out with this hopeful father, “I believe; help my unbelief!”