Bible Questions Answered: Faith

Bible Questions Answered:
According to Mark 9:24 are we supposed to pray for faith?
Roxanne/ El Paso, Texas

Bible Answers:

Yes, while we learn to trust the Lord, with all our heart.
Psalm 37:4,5 KJV
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Text:
Mark 9:17-29 KJV
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto Me.
20 And they brought him unto Him: and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, he is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29 And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:17-29 NLT
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.
18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy.
22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, He rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” He said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with His disciples, they asked Him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”

Yes, we are to pray that our faith will increase!
Having “faith,” is so important, for the people of God.

Habakkukk 2:4 KJV
"...the just shall live by his faith."

Luke 17:5,6 KJV
5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

Mark 11:22-24 KJV
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Hebrews 11:1,6 KJV (Read this chapter.)
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

II Chronicles 20:20 KJV
"...Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."

John 6:28,29 KJV
28 Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.

A great way to “increase,” our faith, is by reading the Word of God.
In this Holy Book, we read of the living God, and His reaching out to all of humanity, through His Son the Lord Jesus.

Romans 10:17 KJV
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I Corinthians 2:4,5 KJV
4 And my (The Apostle Paul) speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

We can be a people of faith, if our hearts don't condemn us.

I John 3:19-24 KJV
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and he in Him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.

Luke 8:15 KJV
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

James 1:5-8 KJV
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Philippians 4:13 KJV
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Hebrews 10:35-39 NRSV
35 Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward.
36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
37 For yet‘in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.’
39 But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.