What would you do to save your child's life? Literally anything, right? Me, too, dude. Me, too.

The father in today's story brought his son to Jesus. His son, his only son, since he was a young child, was mute and had an evil spirit that would throw him on the ground, sometimes into the water or even the fire, and cause him to foam at the mouth. The boy had almost died from this affliction many times.

"If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us," the father begged.

"If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe. Please help me overcome my unbelief!" (Oh man, how many times I have prayed that same prayer! Oh God, I want to believe, I want to trust, please help me!)

Jesus commanded the spirit to come out of the boy, who was convulsing violently on the ground. Immediately the spirit left, and Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

The family could now lead a full and normal life! Imagine the boy's mother. How do you think she felt about having a son with such violent outbursts? Perhaps her family and community looked at her with shame in their eyes. Perhaps they wondered what she and her husband had done (or not done) to let this happen. How did her feelings change when her husband and son returned home from meeting Jesus? How do you think she felt hearing her son tell her he loved her for the first time perhaps in years?

Do you need to ask God to help your unbelief? I read once that prayer is less about changing God's mind or making God do something for us and more about changing our hearts, more about aligning our beliefs with His, our plans with His. What do you need to give to Him today?

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This model is wearing what we call "white henna." White henna is just white body paint applied henna-style. It does not stain and washes off.