Mark 9:24 records one of the most honest prayers in the Bible: I believe; help my unbelief.
The man who said it was standing in front of Jesus asking for his son to be healed.
He believed enough to come. He did not believe enough to be confident it would work. And Jesus healed the boy anyway.
Faith does not require the absence of doubt.
The Bible is populated with people who questioned God, argued with him, accused him of forgetting them, and asked how long the silence would last.
David did it throughout the Psalms. Job did it for thirty-seven chapters. Habakkuk opened his book with a complaint. Elijah asked God to take his life the day after the greatest victory of his career.
None of them were rejected for the questioning. Every one of them received an answer, though the answer was not always the one they were looking for.
The person losing faith is not necessarily moving away from God. They may be moving into a deeper, harder, more honest version of it.
When God Feels Distant
1. I Believe, Help My Unbelief
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!'” Mark 9:24, English Standard Version (ESV)
2. How Long O Lord? Will You Forget Me Forever?
“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 13:1, New International Version (NIV)
3. Why Are You Cast Down O My Soul? Hope in God
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Psalm 42:11, English Standard Version (ESV)
4. My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” Psalm 22:1, King James Version (KJV)
5. I Would Have Lost Heart Unless I Had Believed That I Would See the Goodness of the Lord
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13, New King James Version (NKJV)
God Does Not Leave When Your Faith Wavers
6. If We Are Faithless He Remains Faithful, He Cannot Deny Himself
“If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13, English Standard Version (ESV)
7. I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” Hebrews 13:5, New International Version (NIV)
8. Neither Death nor Life Can Separate Us From the Love of God
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38–39, New International Version (NIV)
9. The Lord Is Close to the Brokenhearted
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18, New International Version (NIV)
10. He Who Began a Good Work in You Will Bring It to Completion
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6, New International Version (NIV)
Reasons to Hold On
11. Faith Is the Substance of Things Hoped For, the Evidence of Things Not Seen
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1, King James Version (KJV)
12. We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7, English Standard Version (ESV)
13. Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart and Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5–6, New International Version (NIV)
14. Without Faith It Is Impossible to Please God; He Rewards Those Who Earnestly Seek Him
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6, New International Version (NIV)
15. For I Know the Plans I Have for You, Plans to Prosper You and Not to Harm You
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11, English Standard Version (ESV)
Strength When You Have None Left
16. Those Who Wait on the Lord Shall Renew Their Strength
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31, King James Version (KJV)
17. My Grace Is Sufficient for You, My Power Is Made Perfect in Weakness
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” 2 Corinthians 12:9, English Standard Version (ESV)
18. I Can Do All Things Through Him Who Strengthens Me
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13, English Standard Version (ESV)
19. Fear Not for I Am With You, I Will Strengthen You and Help You
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10, English Standard Version (ESV)
20. God Is Our Refuge and Strength, a Very Present Help in Trouble
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1, English Standard Version (ESV)
The Faith That Survives Difficulty Comes Out Stronger
21. The Testing of Your Faith Produces Steadfastness
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2–3, English Standard Version (ESV)
22. These Trials Have Come So That the Proven Genuineness of Your Faith May Result in Praise
“These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7, New International Version (NIV)
23. Suffering Produces Endurance, Endurance Produces Character, Character Produces Hope
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Romans 5:3–4, English Standard Version (ESV)
24. Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence, It Will Be Richly Rewarded
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35, New International Version (NIV)
God Is Still Who He Was Before the Doubt Arrived
25. Jesus Christ Is the Same Yesterday and Today and Forever
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8, English Standard Version (ESV)
26. The Grass Withers and the Flowers Fall but the Word of Our God Endures Forever
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8, New International Version (NIV)
27. Heaven and Earth Will Pass Away, but My Words Will Never Pass Away
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35, New International Version (NIV)
The Doubt Is Real. So Is the God on the Other Side of It.
Thomas refused to believe Jesus had risen until he could put his fingers in the nail marks. Jesus did not rebuke him for the doubt. He showed up and said: Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. John 20:27.
Jesus met the doubt with evidence, not condemnation. Thomas responded with the highest declaration of faith in any of the four Gospels: my Lord and my God. The deepest confession came from the man who had doubted the hardest.
Second Timothy 2:13 says if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. The faithfulness of God is not contingent on the strength of your faith. His character does not fluctuate with your confidence level. The person whose faith is wavering is being held by someone whose grip does not waver.
Psalm 42:11 records David talking to his own soul: Why are you cast down? Hope in God. The conversation is internal. David is correcting his own emotional state with a theological fact. The feelings say God is absent. The theology says he is not. David chose to address the feelings with the theology rather than revising the theology to match the feelings.
First Peter 1:7 compares tested faith to gold refined by fire. The refining does not destroy the gold. It purifies it. The faith that survives the furnace of doubt is more valuable than the faith that was never tested, and God considers the surviving version worth more than the untested original.
What People Ask About Losing Faith in God
Is it normal for Christians to lose faith?
Psalm 13:1 records David asking if God had forgotten him forever. Habakkuk 1:2 asks how long he must cry for help. Elijah asked God to take his life in 1 Kings 19:4. Peter sank in the water when his faith wavered in Matthew 14:30. Seasons of doubt and weakened faith are a common part of the biblical experience and do not indicate permanent disqualification from God’s purposes.
What does the Bible say about doubt?
Mark 9:24 models the prayer for help with unbelief. James 1:6 says the doubter should ask in faith. John 20:27 records Jesus inviting Thomas to examine the evidence. Jude 1:22 says to show mercy to those who doubt. The Bible treats doubt as something to bring to God honestly rather than something to hide, deny, or be ashamed of.
How do I get my faith back after losing it?
Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing the word of God. Hebrews 12:2 says to look to Jesus as the founder and perfecter of faith. Psalm 42:11 models redirecting the soul toward hope in God. James 4:8 says Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. The restoration of faith involves returning to the sources that produced it: Scripture, prayer, community, and honest engagement with the God who remained present during the absence of feeling.
Does God get angry when we doubt?
Psalm 103:14 says God knows our frame and remembers we are dust. John 20:27 shows Jesus responding to Thomas’s doubt with patience and evidence rather than anger. Mark 9:24 records Jesus healing the child of a father who admitted his belief was incomplete. God’s response to honest doubt in Scripture is consistently compassionate rather than punitive.
Can you lose your salvation by doubting?
Romans 8:38–39 says nothing can separate believers from God’s love. John 10:28 says no one can snatch them from Christ’s hand. Philippians 1:6 says God completes what he starts. Second Timothy 2:13 says God remains faithful even when believers are faithless. Doubt is a crisis of confidence in the believer, not a crisis of commitment in God. The security of salvation rests on his faithfulness rather than on the consistency of human faith.
God, Hold Me Together While My Faith Puts Itself Back Together
Father, I want to bring before you the honest state of my faith right now, which is not where I want it to be and not where it used to be, and ask you to do what 2 Timothy 2:13 says you do: remain faithful even when I am struggling to be.
Let Mark 9:24 be the prayer I am brave enough to pray: I believe, help my unbelief, because the help has to come from you since the unbelief is consuming what I have left on my own.
Hebrews 10:35 says Do not throw away your confidence; let me hold on to what remains, because you are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and my doubt has not changed who you are.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
