The passage
      v14-15. Jesus and the three apostles come upon an embarrassing failure. Members of the Sanhedrin, obviously gathering evidence against Jesus, are haranguing the disciples for a failed exorcism.
      v16-18. Jesus asks why the Scribes are attacking his disciples, and the father of the child intervenes to explain. The boy is epileptic, but also possesses an evil spirit which has not only destroyed his capacity to communicate, but has sought to destroy him. The disciples had the power to exorcise, but on this occasion they got it wrong.
      v19. Although it may seem that Jesus' feelings of loneliness, anguish, and disappointment, stem from the little faith of the father, the crowd, and particularly the Scribes, it is the disciples' unbelief that has hurt him. The exorcism failed due to their unbelief.
      v20-22. In the presence of Jesus, the Satanic power oppresses the boy. Jesus' question to the father demonstrates empathy and interest. After the disciples' failure, the Father's plea now carries doubt. Can Jesus act for his son ("If you can")?
      v23-24. The power and authority of Jesus is not limited, for nothing is impossible to God, 10:27. The only limitation rests with the father's ability to believe in God's revealed will. The father affirms his willingness to rely on Jesus, but exposes his humanity in identifying himself with the disciples' unbelief, and as a consequence, seeks God's mercy in the face of his little faith.
      v25-27. Release is again effected through Jesus' powerful and authoritative word. The description of the near-death struggle of the child's release, images the death and resurrection of Jesus through which the powers of darkness are defeated.
      v28-29. In a short epilogue, Mark records the reason for the disciples' failure; they did not pray the prayer of faith. The disciples' power and authority was not their own, it came from Jesus. On the basis of his declared will ("he gave them authority over evil spirits") they needed to express their reliance on Jesus "in the prayer of faith", "according to the will of God."

Unanswered prayer
      The early church was fascinated with demon possession and took the view that demons were driven out with prayer and fasting. Most of the later manuscripts of Mark have Jesus' words in v29 as "prayer and fasting", the word "fasting" being an obvious later addition. For the church today, the words of Jesus to the bewildered disciples are often used to empower prayer. Failure in prayer is often linked to a failure in faith. Is doubt, even little faith, behind unanswered prayer?
      We can categorically assert that a failure to fast has nothing to do with unanswered prayer, but what about a failure of faith?. Little faith, in the terms of "help my unbelief", is also not responsible for unanswered prayer. We know well that faith as small as a mustard seed moves mountains. Perfect faith, doubt-free faith, lies in the province of God's perfection, and is certainly not within the reach of we mere mortals. We may convince ourselves that our faith is free from doubt, proclaim it loudly, but in the full light of day our perfection is nothing more than "filthy rags." No, all of us can well identify with the words, "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief." Such faith, weak as it is, can move a mountain of Satanic oppression.
      So then, why is it that so many prayers go unanswered? For the disciples it was an information problem, and for us it is usually the same. Jesus said of them that they were "faithless" ("unbelieving"). They did not have faith in Jesus in that they did not understand their Master's power and authority. As Jesus' representatives they could certainly do the deed. He had already told them they could, had even given them the authority to do it. So do it they could. Yet, they were not free agents of exorcism; they could not do it in their own power. They were "faithless" in that they were still struggling to understand the person of Jesus. It was as if they were back on lake Galilee asking, "who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?"
      Our unanswered prayers are nearly always related to false information. We may well recognize the real Jesus and his unlimited power, but we often ask for things that were never promised us. The prayer of faith is always a prayer according to the revealed will of God, according to the promises of God. It is good to bring all our concerns to the Lord, but in the end our Lord is God, thus, he will act according to his sovereign will, not according to our will. We are best to consider our Lord's sovereign intentions before we fall to our knees in prayer.