Daily Affirmations - Day 6 - A Teachable Spirit - One Who Believes

Day 6: One who believes

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered… But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:21-27).

Lord Jesus, You taught us to begin prayer with an immediate realization that we have entered into the presence of greatness, and holiness, and majesty—"Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9 - NASB).

How else could our finite minds can begin to understand, and worship, and prevail upon the infinite power, sovereignty, and magnitude of God? We are creatures of earth, and we are bound by earth in thought, in habit, in imagination, in expectation. We are limited by earth's rules, its structures, its boundaries, its impossibilities.

And sometimes in the troughs and waves of crisis, we lose perspective of who You are, and find ourselves in a whirlpool of worry and anxiety, blown and tossed by the winds of doubt and despair, unbelief and uncertainty. We find ourselves in a mass of conflicting emotions— tentative; betraying our doubt, even as we voice our hope. We find ourselves exactly like the father who approached the Lord for healing help for his son (Mark 9:14-25).

But You, Lord, are merciful, and compassionate, and You credit our modicum of belief, for You have promised that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed... nothing will be impossible (Matthew 17:20). And You hear the cry of a teachable spirit that calls out to You in its conflict, "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!"

Today, Lord our God, encouraged and emboldened by Your patience and Your compassion, we bring to You our sons and our daughters, our families and our communities, our nations and our governments.

We bring to You our tangles and our messes, our crises and our dilemmas, our "ifs" and our "unlikelys." We bring to You our barriers and our impossibilities, our ruins and our futilities. We lay them all down, as once again we pray, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

Click here to read the main devotional theme