{"id":10024,"date":"2024-03-29T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=10024"},"modified":"2024-03-08T06:57:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T11:57:08","slug":"10024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/29\/10024\/","title":{"rendered":"Prayerful Dependence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd he said to them, \u201cThis kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mark 9:29<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prayerful dependence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possessed by an unclean spirit, a young boy suffers from seizures that cast him to the ground, his mouth foaming and teeth grinding, his body becoming rigid. When his father asks the disciples for help, they do nothing, powerless to help. Desperately, the dad cries out to Jesus, who responds to the father\u2019s doubts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If you can\u2019! All things are possible for one who believes.\u201d Mark 9:23<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boy\u2019s father cries out, \u201cI believe; help my unbelief!\u201d <\/em>(Mark 9:24). Rebuking the unclean spirit, it left the boy\u2019s body, leaving him lifeless on the ground until Jesus took his hand, lifting him up and restoring the youngster to life. Witnessing Christ\u2019s actions, knowing their efforts failed, the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn\u2019t do what He did since they had authority over all evil spirits. Responding with today\u2019s scripture, Jesus told them they needed divine intervention to deal with this type of spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the disciples didn\u2019t understand, but learned, they can do nothing without God\u2019s help. Because of their connection to Jesus, they had authority over the evil spirits, but they failed when they tried to do it on their strength. Like a wi-fi connection, we must have it to connect to the internet, but if we don\u2019t join a network, we can\u2019t surf the web. The disciples tried to expel the demon without a connection to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How easily can we fall into the trap of doing things on our own accord, not including God in the decision? As a lifelong Christ follower, I still make this mistake, even though I know better. Disconnecting from the Lord happens instantly, just like a power outage from the cable company leaves you without a wi-fi connection. If you want to know how quickly you disconnect from God, try the Soul Revolution Experiment.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 For 60 days, set your watch or phone\u2019s alarm every 60 minutes. When the alarm dings, stop and think about God and your connection to Him in that moment. Use the timer to reconnect with God and invite Him into the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I did this experiment, I quickly realized how much time I spend disconnected from the Lord, trying to do things on my strength, with God\u2019s help. Life distracts us from the Lord.\u00a0 Busyness remains one of the enemy\u2019s most successful battle plans. Prayerful dependence gives us access to the Lord\u2019s power, enabling us to achieve more than we could ever imagine. But without God, we can do nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n