Dear Church,

In yesterday’s message, we listened to the plea of a desperate father who brought his suffering son first to the disciples and then to Jesus. As I said, his prayer was one of the most honest prayers in all of Scripture:

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” What makes this prayer so powerful is that it holds together two things we often assume cannot live in the same heart: faith and doubt.

In yesterday’s sermon application class, one group made a wonderful observation: God designed faith and doubt to coexist in the same person. That is true. Doubt does not always mean the absence of faith. Sometimes doubt reveals that faith is alive and wrestling. A person with no faith may not even be troubled by unbelief. But when faith begins to awaken, we become more aware of the unbelief still inside us.

In that sense, doubt can sometimes authenticate faith,  not because doubt is good in itself, but because only a believing heart is troubled enough to bring doubt to Jesus.

So, when the Father prayed, “Help my unbelief,” this father did believe. After all, why else would he bring his son to Jesus? But he also knew there were places in his heart still struggling. Years of pain, disappointment, fear, and helplessness had left him wounded. His faith was real, but it was not untouched by doubt.

And that is where many of us live. We believe God is powerful, but we still wonder why He has not acted yet. We believe God hears prayer, but we still carry the ache of unanswered questions. We believe Jesus can help, but sometimes it feels almost too good to be true.

But here is where faith becomes real, it brings their doubt to Jesus. Real faith says, “Lord, I am struggling, but I am struggling toward You. I am weak, but I am placing my weakness in Your hands. I do believe, but I need You to help the part of me that still trembles.” So, as we begin this new week, maybe the honest prayer we can pray is

Help the part of me that still fears.
Help the part of me that still doubts.
Help the part of me that struggles to trust Your timing, Your compassion, and Your power. Lord, I am bringing my whole heart to You, even the trembling parts.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.

Be encouraged,

Mathews