From Unbelief to Belief Through Prayer and Fasting

God is building His church, even in seasons of transition. The churches of the Rocky Mountain District remain connected, praying for one another, serving alongside one another, and trusting that the gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church. Living Rock’s search for a new senior pastor is not a pause in God’s work. God already knows the person He will call, and this season invites the church to reflect, evaluate, and ask where He is revealing strengths, growth areas, and greater dependence on Him.

Prayer brings that dependence into the open. The Lord’s Prayer begins with God’s name being hallowed, because a clear picture of God must come before personal requests. God’s kingdom coming and His will being done require surrender, especially when circumstances look nothing like what faith hoped for. Families, marriages, children, churches, and seasons of waiting all reveal how easily people can grip tightly what belongs to God.

Hebrews warns against an unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. Sin’s deceitfulness hardens hearts quietly, because deceit is hard to recognize from inside it. The church therefore needs brothers and sisters who exhort one another, remind one another of God’s promises, and help one another keep circumstances from becoming bigger than God.

Mark 9 gives a raw picture of that struggle. The father comes to Jesus with a son no one can help, and his prayer becomes one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: “I believe; help my unbelief.” Jesus alone has authority over what no human strength can overcome. The disciples’ inability to cast out the spirit reveals that “apart from me, you can do nothing” is not a slogan. Prayer expresses real dependence on Christ.

Prayer and fasting also guard the heart during long seasons of waiting. Fasting is not merely going without food. Fasting says no to something lesser in order to say yes to drawing close to God. Whether through a complete fast, a selective fast, a partial fast, or a soul fast from distractions like social media and constant scrolling, fasting helps bring focus, surrender, rest, and clarity.

Jesus lived in continual dependence on the Father. His life calls the church to become intentional in prayer and fasting, not only for answers and breakthroughs, but so hearts do not give up, become hardened, or stop believing that God is still at work behind the scenes.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Prayerlessness reveals practical unbelief Prayer is more than asking God for help when life gets hard. Prayer says that Christ is the source of authority, wisdom, strength, and endurance in every part of life. A heart that stops praying can slowly begin acting as though circumstances, fear, or human effort have the final word. [71:49]
• 2. “Help my unbelief” is honest faith The father in Mark 9 does not pretend to possess a strong and polished faith. His cry brings real belief and real struggle to Jesus at the same time. Christ does not turn away from that kind of honesty, because He alone can carry faith beyond what human strength can produce. [66:22]
• 3. Fasting makes room for dependence Fasting is a deliberate choice to lay aside something that has a grip on attention, appetite, or comfort. That empty space becomes an invitation to seek God with greater focus and surrender. The practice does not manipulate God, but it can expose distractions and train the heart to value His presence more deeply. [72:41]
• 4. Waiting requires guarded, encouraged hearts Waiting on God can make visible circumstances feel bigger than God’s promises. Hebrews warns that hearts can harden through sin’s deceitfulness, especially when answers seem delayed. The church needs regular encouragement so that faith remains rooted in God’s character rather than immediate outcomes. [62:25]
• 5. Christ alone has all authority The spiritual battles, addictions, wounds, and strongholds that overwhelm people do not overwhelm Jesus. Human effort cannot accomplish what only Christ’s authority can do. Prayer and fasting keep the church close to the One who is able to do immeasurably more than people ask or think.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [48:20] - God Is Building His Church
• [50:20] - A Season for Reflection and Prayer
• [52:25] - Praying for Workers in the Harvest
• [58:09] - Learning Surrender Through Family Trials
• [61:15] - The Warning Against Unbelief
• [64:11] - Mark 9 and a Father’s Cry
• [67:10] - Prayer, Fasting, and Spiritual Battle
• [71:49] - Prayerlessness Is Unbelief
• [72:41] - Fasting as a Gift of Grace
• [77:39] - Types of Fasts and Practical Wisdom
• [82:26] - Jesus Models Dependence on the Father
• [83:14] - A Call to Pray and Fast

Bible Reading

Mark 9:14-29
“And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, 'What are you arguing about with them?' And someone from the crowd answered him, 'Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.' And he answered them, 'O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.' And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, 'How long has this been happening to him?' And he said, 'From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.' And Jesus said to him, 'If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, 'I believe; help my unbelief!' And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, 'You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.' And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, 'He is dead.' But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, 'Why could we not cast it out?' And he said to them, 'This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” [01:04:11]

Hebrews 3:12-13
“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” [01:01:15]

Matthew 6:9-10
“Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” [59:55]

Observation questions

1. In Mark 9:14–29, what details show the father’s long struggle to find help for his son, and how do the disciples’ efforts compare with Jesus’ response?
2. What does the father say to Jesus that reveals both faith and uncertainty at the same time? [01:06:22]
3. According to Hebrews 3:12–13, what two dangers are believers warned about, and what are they told to do for one another?
4. In Matthew 6:9–10, what comes before personal requests in Jesus’ pattern for prayer, and what attitudes toward God are expressed in those opening requests? [59:55]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Jesus’ response to the disciples in Mark 9 connect their inability to cast out the spirit with a need for deeper dependence on God through prayer? [01:07:05]
2. The father asks Jesus to help his unbelief rather than pretending his faith is stronger than it is. What does this reveal about the kind of honesty Jesus welcomes in prayer? [01:09:42]
3. Hebrews warns that sin can harden hearts through deceitfulness. Why is encouragement from other believers especially important when circumstances have not changed and waiting feels long? [01:02:45]
4. Jesus teaches His followers to begin prayer by honoring God and seeking His kingdom and will. How does this order reshape the way believers bring family needs, church transitions, and unanswered prayers to God? [01:00:12]

Application questions

1. Where is there a situation in life that has begun to feel bigger than God’s promises—perhaps in a family relationship, health concern, work situation, addiction, or season of waiting? What would it sound like to pray, “I believe; help my unbelief,” about that situation? [01:11:18]
2. Prayerlessness can reveal that a person is relying mainly on personal effort, fear, or visible circumstances. What area of life has been handled mostly alone lately, and what specific rhythm of prayer could help express greater dependence on Christ? [01:11:49]
3. Is there a person in the group, church, or family who may be discouraged or quietly drifting toward unbelief? What is one concrete way to encourage that person this week with God’s character, promises, or prayer? [01:03:03]
4. God’s will being done requires surrender, especially with people and outcomes that cannot be controlled. What is one thing that has been held too tightly, and what would surrendering it to God look like in a specific prayer this week? [01:00:19]
5. Fasting creates space by saying no to something lesser in order to seek God more intentionally. Would a food fast, a selective fast, or a fast from a distraction such as social media, television, or constant scrolling be a meaningful next step? What would be set aside, for how long, and what prayer focus would fill that space? [01:20:17]
6. During a season of transition, God continues building His church and invites His people to reflect on both strengths and growth areas. How can the group pray specifically for unity, wisdom, endurance, and trust in God’s timing during this season? [50:42]