The Problem’s at the Source

Mark 9:28-29 (NIV)
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”  He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” I’m OK with my computer until there’s a problem. Do you know what I mean? You’ve possibly realized, like people, they can start going crazy – the power button starts flashing, the computer starts beeping. You think it’s going to blow. Actually, you remember that the computer acts this way when the battery power is running out. But you can’t figure out why it was doing that, because you had plugged it in. You check, and it IS plugged in. The beeping is still going on; the warning still going off, and you are about to lose a lot of work. Then you yell “help” to someone in your household that may have a bit more computer experience than you, and they come in quickly, crawl under the desk and come out muttering something like, “If there’s a problem, you have to start at the power source.” The problem? The power strip wasn’t turned on, or the light switch that turns the power on the wall outlet you had plugged it into. Duh!…… Let’s take a moment to consider The Problem’s at the Source. Our rhema word from the Word of God comes from Mark 9. Jesus has just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration only to encounter a demon-filled young man and his father, who were desperately seeking Jesus’ help. The disciples had tried to exercise their authority over the demon, but it wasn’t working, so Jesus casts it out. Beginning in verse 28, Scripture says, “After Jesus had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’ He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” In a sense, Jesus says what your friend told you about your computer: “If there’s a problem, you have to start at the power source.” We are so much like the disciples. We try to do the right thing. We work at it, hit it with our best shot, but nothing happens. What is the problem? It’s at the power source. We need to follow our cords back to the source by spending time on our knees in the throne room of God. Because for a Christian, a failure of power is almost always a failure to pray. Too often, prayer is an afterthought. We plan, we get on the phone, we talk to people with all the human resources, we make arrangements, we have committee meetings, and we work long hours. But Psalms 127 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, it’s builders labor in vain….In vain you rise up early and stay up late.” Dr. Bob Cook, the late President of Youth for Christ and the Kings College, said years ago, “Prayer is a method for getting things done.” Prayer is not just something to help our methods. Hear Jesus saying, “Only by prayer.” “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray….”(2 Chron. 7:14), that is when God hears from heaven and heals our land. God is not calling you to more effort; He is calling us to more prayer. You and your mate need to be praying together. You and your church need to be praying together. You and your Christian workers, as well as your son and daughter, need to pray together. God can do in a moment what people cannot do in fifty years. So if the lights are blinking and the warning signals are sounding, you have a power problem. Get on your knees to find the answer. The PRAYER OF FAITH turns on the power switch in the throne room of God.