Mark 9:28-32 They were afraid to ask Him
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: February 28, 2018, Mark 9:28-32
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.”
(Understanding the Text) Whose house? This was not Peter’s house in Capernaum because a few verses later they are traveling to Capernaum. According to Matthew the events previous to the transfiguration took place at Caesarea Philippi. “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). Thus, some commentators believe the transfiguration was Mount Hermon which is the highest mountain located near there. So maybe they were back in Caesarea Philippi or maybe they had gone to Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. I tend to think they were still in the Caesarea Philippi area because the next verses say that they went on from there and passed through Galilee which implies a time of travel before reaching Galilee.
(Application) The disciples’ confidence had been lowered, and they had been mulling over their failure to heal the boy and the scribes’ accusations, so they waited until they had privacy and would not be interrupted to ask what their problem was. Jesus told them that the only way to drive out that kind of demon was with prayer. Some versions say prayer and fasting. I used to assume that this meant putting a lot of personal effort into working up the power to get rid of the problem. However, now I think that this means that we have to prepare ourselves to be open to the Spirit working in us. If this healing required the total rework of the brain, then this would have been a great and complex healing. If healing works by faith, then the prayer would have something to do with increasing faith maybe. It seems that it is faith that opens the pathway for the Spirit to work in us to heal.
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
(Revelation of God) Jesus was trying to travel in secret at this point. They had been away from their usual places way up north, so the usual crowds did not yet know they were back. The reason that He wanted secrecy was so that He had time to instruct his disciples. He, Moses, and Elijah had finalized their plans, and Jesus was now on His way to the cross. He needed time with the disciples to try to get them to understand the lessons He had already taught them and to tell them the next steps in their future. He told them that He was going to be taken prisoner by men and killed and after three days be resurrected.
(Understanding the Text) It says that they did not understand Him. For us, it is simple to understand, but before the fact maybe it was not so easy to understand. Jesus had not yet raised Lazarus from the dead, so maybe rising from the dead was a new concept. Or maybe they associated resurrection with the end of the world and thought that He was saying that the world would end three days after He died. The prophecies may have all been mixed up in their heads, and they were afraid to ask Him to explain because they did not want to think about the judgment. I don’t know because I can’t put myself in their place without my foreknowledge of what happened.
(Application) When we have fear, it may be that we have a wrong understanding of what God has told us, or it may be that we think that we are not ready to face what God has told us. It could be imposed on us externally by dark forces. It could be legitimate fear for someone we love who is threatened. In all cases, there is one answer to fear. Take it to God in prayer. The disciples did not ask Jesus about their fear, so they were unprepared when the trial that they feared came. They did not believe in Jesus rising from the grave in three days because they had not taken His warnings seriously and refused to think about them. In avoiding their fear instead of taking it to Jesus, they lost their potential comfort in the time of trials.
(Prayer) Teach me to stop avoiding my fear and take it to You instead. Help me to pay attention and understand the warnings and lessons that You wish me to learn. I am slow to understand and avoid anything that I don’t like, so help me to overcome these tendencies to follow where You want to lead me.