August 27

Lord, increase our faith. — LUKE xvii. 5.

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. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. — MATT. xvii. 20, 21.

CHRIST was away from his disciples for a little. By even that brief absence they lost their power. They could not cast the evil spirit out of the possessed child. When Christ had performed the miracle, they asked why they had failed. He tells them it was because of unbelief. A living faith will work the impossible. A mustard seed being alive can be matched against the inert mass of a mountain. Science tells us that the weakest life is too much for the largest mass of mere matter. The smallest stream will draw down the mountain. Faith in Christ is a living force. It is not hyperbole to say it can move mountains. Besides this, Christ says such an extreme case required special effort. Some victories are easily won; some devils easily cast out. But this was a violent case and of long standing. It needed prayer and fasting, — that is, reliance on God and self-discipline. When our work fails, like the disciples we should seek the reason. That is the first condition of doing better; and the Master tells us we will find the reason either in a lack of faith that takes hold on God, or a lack of self-renunciation. The child's definition of faith covered these two points when she said in a child's simplicity and a saint's knowledge, "Faith is letting go of everything else and taking hold of God."

Chas L Thompson

I am trusting thee for power,

Thine can never fail;

Words which thou thyself shalt give me

Must prevail.

F. R. HAVERGAL