It is recorded in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew that the father of a sick child once brought his son to Christ Jesus' disciples, pleading for a restoration of the lad's health. The disciples failed to cast out the error, however, and the case was subsequently referred to the Master, who rebuked the false sense and effected an instantaneous cure.
"Why could not we cast him out?" was the question asked concerning the devil or false belief which had claimed to control the child. Coming directly to the point, the wise Teacher replied to his disciples, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
"If ye have faith"! An absolute faith that God is able to supply the needed good for which we pray brings a tangible realization of that good into human experience and crowns prayer with success. On the other hand, a too feeble trust in Spirit or an attitude of hopefulness tinged with timidity and doubt often leads to frustration and disappointment. Such states of mind would indicate that one is considering the possibility of a power opposed to God. However, true faith involves an unwavering moral firmness in which spiritual assurance and expectancy of good are not qualified by mortal apprehension, fear, or uncertainty as to the divine supremacy of Spirit.
