And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
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.
He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?
bring him unto Me.
And they brought him unto Him: and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare him;
and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
And He asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him:
but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
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.
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.
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.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
And when He was come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
And He said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Matthew 9:17-29
This is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible to encourage faith: Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
This father explained to Jesus what life had been like with his child: And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away…And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him…Even as Jesus was speaking with the father, the evil spirit was performing his evil: and when He saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming….And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him:
This father was in need of Jesus’ help. The father knew Jesus could help his son.
but if Thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 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.
The father needed Jesus to heal his son, he also needed the belief that Jesus wanted to and would heal his son. The father needed to hear from Jesus. That increased his faith, right then and there. The father’s faith had just been disappointed because the disciples had tried to cast out the demon in the boy but could not. The father’s hope was in Christ alone.
Jesus was disappointed in his disciples also. The disciples did not understand how they could not cast the demon out. When casting out demons, it is not any power people have on their own, it is always God’s power that has the authority and seeking Him about the action needed beforehand and during would have been necessary for a successful exit of the demon. We have no authority without Him. Without Him, we can do nothing.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples
John 15:5-8