Matthew 17:14-23
As Jesus and the 3 disciples return from their mountain-top experience, they are met by a distressed dad.  His son was a "lunatic".  He was crazy.  He fell into the fire or into water.  He was demonized and in horrible condition.  The man had brought his son to the 9 disciples, but they were unable to help.   Jesus seems exasperated by their unbelief.  Nevertheless, He rebukes the demon and cures the boy.   The disciples are a bit embarrassed, for they come to Jesus privately to find out why they were unable to cast out the demon.  Jesus answered, " Because of the littleness of your faith;" .  The greek word is oligopistos - puny trust; incredulous; unwilling or unable to believe. And these are the disciples!  They had been with Jesus since the beginning.  They had themselves been sent out to heal and cast out demons.  Why was their faith so puny now?  Oligo - puny can refer to extent, degree, number, duration, or value.  Jesus speaks about the extent of their faith, the size, "I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you."  A mustard seed seems pretty puny to me!  So, maybe it is not the size of our faith that is most important.... maybe instead it is the duration and/or the value of our faith that moves mountains.  " But, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Jesus continues.
Prayer and fasting take time.  They take commitment.  They take sacrifice.

We often want the quick fix.  I know I do.  I've been dealing with a painful jaw for months.  Taking an anti-inflammatory for weeks, and praying for God to just touch me and make it go away.  I have to admit that my faith seems pretty puny.  Especially as time marches on and the pain remains.  It is a small thing compared to the pain of others... don't I have enough faith for such a small thing?  I try to keep believing.  I want to have larger faith. But the mountain isn't moving.  So what am I missing?  How can I grow my faith?  Faith ( pistis in the greek) means persuasion, credence, conviction, reliance upon, constancy... It is an action.  An expression of trust in the One who is trustworthy and faithful. I hear the Shepherd reminding me once again that it is not the size that counts, but the duration.  Keep trusting, keep believing.  Keep being persuaded and convinced.

God, You are faithful!  You can do anything, for nothing is impossible for You.  I do believe this and I will continue to believe this.  I am committed to putting my trust in You and to entrust myself to You.
Remove all doubt and disbelief Lord, I want none of that!  I want to see mountains moved for Your glory.  May my faith endure and grow in size, in duration, and in every way possible.

 God of all grace, You have called us to Your eternal glory in Christ. May we be firm in our faith, resisting the evil one, who prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us.  Will You, Yourself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish us?  To You be dominion forever and ever. Amen ( I Peter 5:9-11)