Mark 9: 14-29

During my initial exposure with the ministry of deliverance, I noticed that when the priests prayed, they did so with much conviction. I told myself, “As if they were talking to the devil itself.”

Eventually, I shared this comment with the main priest doing the deliverance. He confirmed what I said, “Indeed we are ordering the devil to leave and go to the foot of the cross in Jesus’ name.” He added, “In this ministry, you will see the power of prayer. You will see the power of prayer with faith.”

In St. Mark’s Gospel, the disciples could not cast out an evil spirit from a boy. What did Jesus remind them? The prayer has to be done with faith.

My dear friends, for us to be people who pray with faith, three things we must remember.

1. God should be first in our lives. Jesus once said that we cannot have two masters in this life. If we do, we are going to love one and despise the other. Truly if God is first, our focus will be on Him and Him alone.
   
2. We have experienced the power of prayer. Whenever we pray, we should always be hopeful. It is only because the time of the Lord, the ways of the Lord, and the wisdom of the Lord is different from ours. Since we have already been beneficiaries of God’s goodness and God’s answered prayers, we know that He will not abandon us this time, nor in the future.
   
3. With the Lord, nothing is impossible. As human beings, our perspective of life is short and limited. Hence, our prayer is based on this reality only. However, God sees all and knows what is best. Hold on to the mnemonic, “GRABE” – God’s Response is Always Beyond Expectation.

That is why in this life, amidst all the challenges, we always have two options. One is to try to figure out life on our own and therefore, worry. The other is to surrender, let go and trust God. As Padre Pio said, “Pray, be Hopeful and do not Worry. Anxiety leads you nowhere.”