Successfully

"This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer," Mark 9:29.

That's Jesus' answer to the big question. To what question? The question his hand-picked and personally empowered missionaries asked: Why couldn't we cast it out? So what were they trying, unsuccessfully, to cast out? A demon from a tormented boy. So, again, what did Jesus say? Clearly: somebody had not been in prayer. Somebody thought of Jesus' empowerment as their own personal skill and intellect. Somebody thought God's mighty power to create worlds and control climate and restore health and order demons was their own. They did not come as children before a loving father for their daily sustenance. Indeed: Jesus stood, surrounded by a faithless, lost generation. And his own men didn't get it.

As we join with a brother or sister today, we confess our God's goodness and sovereignty. And, together, we give thanks to our God for his faithful provision. For Christ, our brother who prayed to the Father for us all. Successfully.