(Mark 9:14-29)
By Pastor Rob Keller
Today we’re looking at the centrality of prayer in successful Christian ministry. Mark in chapter 6 of his gospel tells us that Jesus called the twelve to him and sent them out two by two with authority over evil spirits (Mark 6:7). He then reports (Mark 6:12-13) the outcome of the ministry for which they were commissioned: that they went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Clearly, their ministry was successful and the source of much amazement and delight to the disciples.
Yet in Mark 9 we read of the incident of the boy possessed by a demon that the disciples (en masse) were powerless to address. How can it be that in twos the disciples experienced phenomenal success over the spiritual realm, and yet were spectacularly unsuccessful on this occasion? If we can understand the factors contributing to their failure in ministry, we might learn how to avoid failure in our own Christian ministries.
I believe Mark wanted his readers to understand that success in ministry must be bathed in prayer (Mark 9:29). Interestingly, in Matthew’s account mention is made of unbelief – in the disciples! I believe that the subtle lesson to be learnt is that often in ministry we start out with great dependence on the Lord; we know we are weak and not the best person for the ministry and so spend much time praying for guidance, power and effectiveness. But after we’ve done ministry for a while we find ourselves more comfortable with the role, so much so that we find ourselves spending less time in prayer. A subtle form of unbelief sets in: I can do this work and our dependence on God’s enabling falls away. Faith in God, actualised through prayer is central to successful Christian ministry.
