Only Through Prayer

In the Gospels we hear of a father who went to Jesus and asked Him to cast out the demons that were causing his son to convulse and foam at the mouth. The father told Jesus that His disciples tried but were unable to cast them out.  Jesus seemed disappointed and wearied but of course He cast out the demons and healed the boy. The disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demons. I mean they walked with Jesus, listened to Him, and ate with Him.  If they were so close with the Lord why couldn't they cast out the demons?  Jesus told them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."  Well, what does that mean, Jesus?

The disciples may have walked with and listened to Jesus, but did they know Him?  Jesus told His disciples that the kind of demon that was inside the little boy can only be cast out through "prayer."  What is prayer?  Prayer is a relationship.  It comes from spending time with and getting to know the other. The disciples may have listened to and walked with Jesus, but did they really spend time with Him, getting to know Him, sharing with Jesus everything about themselves?  Sometimes being physically close to someone does not necessarily mean you are truly close to them.  What's more important than the proximal closeness is the interior closeness.  Faith is important, but so is prayer.  We have heard in the Letter of St. James that "faith without works is dead."  Likewise, faith without prayer is incomplete. We can know so much about Jesus but without a personal relationship with Him, what exactly is our faith?

It is not enough to know a whole bunch of facts about Jesus, we must desire to know Him. Have a personal relationship with Him.  That is prayer.  Call out to Him, "Lord, I'd like to get to know you.  Here is my story."  Then listen.  Listen to what He has and wants so badly to say to you.  Only then will your faith be able to conquer evil and banish the darkness.  Only when you have a personal relationship with Jesus will you truly believe that He will and wants to weather the storms of your life with you.  And when you do, even when you are experiencing times like the picture below, you will experience a deep sense of peace and hope because you know that this Jesus that you personally know is right there with you.

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt





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