Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Unbelieving Faith
Mark 9:23-29
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mar 9:25 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. Mar 9:26 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. Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Following the transfiguration and the voice of God from heaven, Jesus and His disciples were descending the mountain when one of them asked when Elijah would come. Following Christ’s response to that question, they arrived at the place the other disciples were staying. There they encountered a situation where a man had brought his son to the disciples for them to heal his demon possessed son. After the disciples had tried and had failed, Jesus came.
The Lord was greeted by a large group of people, and then He asked about the problem. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. Mar 9:16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? (Mar 9:15-16).
Out of the multitude, a father spoke up to explain. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; Mar 9:18 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 (Mark 9:17-18).
Then Jesus asked how long this had been happening to the boy, and the father responded that it had been for most of his son’s life. The demon had tried to kill his son by throwing him into the water and into fires. The father was desperate and asked for Jesus’ help. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
This brings us to our portion for today as we see the response of the father. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. How often do we come to a situation that for us is as dramatic as it was for that father. We want to pray and believe, but our faith seems weak. So, we respond as the father did and say to the Lord, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
This is when the Lord reaches out to us and says, “Can you trust Me; do you believe that I can do this for you?” We know that He can, for with God All things are possible. So, we look to the Scriptures and find the Lord’s promises. In Hebrews 4:16, He tells us: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. What a promise! We see also in 1 John 5:14-15, And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. Again, we find in Mark 21:22, And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
With promises like these, we can trust the Lord as we pray, and we can have faith to believe and not unbelieving faith.
Bible Reading for the Year
April 21st, 2 Samuel 4-6; Luke 18:18-43
Prayer Needs
Praise the Lord that Dr. Joe Jordan had a successful coronary artery bypass surgery. He is still in the hospital. His recovery is slow. He has a lot of congestion. Pray he will get better soon.
Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She had a CT scan on Friday, April 17th. All of the tumors had shrunk except for 2 that remained stable. The doctors were greatly surprised. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Please pray for Kat Radkins’ husband, Joe. He will have a total hip replacement on May 11th. Please continue to pray for a remote work job for Kat as they really need this.
Please pray for Robbie Harvey, who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs. He is now home from the hospital but in a lot of pain. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
Please pray for Carter Crandell (Corey’s Dad). He went into the ER in Tarboro. He has infection and two kidney stones. When they went in to remove the stones, they found the infection was too bad to remove them. If the infection does not clear up, he will go into ICU.
Please pray for Peggy Warren. She is in a lot of pain from a partially crushed disc in her lower back. However, surgery is not recommended.
Please pray for Phil Corey in his continual dialysis treatments. Please pray for Michelle and for Doris too. Doris is having problems with her blood pressure.
Please continue to pray for Beth Buchta that her hip will completely heal. Her recovery can take up to a year.
Please pray for Madison Bowers Millwee. She is now at 34 weeks and is doing well. Everything is relatively stable at this point. She will continue modified bedrest until she delivers.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia