If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed...The disciples had failed to cast out a devil. They were told that they failed because of "unbelief". Additionally, "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Is unbelief equivalent to doubt? In this case, it was the disciples who were at fault for unbelief, not the father of the afflicted. In this case apparently it would have taken preparation (prayer and fasting) before they could believe in the will of God (which was that the boy should be healed). Maybe prayer and fasting are the remedy for doubt?
Unbelief is akin to unsurety that an action (or outcome) is aligned with His will. Or perhaps it is akin to doubting the ability of God. It could be either one. Faith is believing the will of God once it has been manifested to us; and then an expectation that He can and will carry it out.
Moving a mountain is something that only God can do. In our eyes such an act would be a great miracle. But the Master taught that such a miracle would require only a small amount of faith. Faith is often referred to in quantities: "little faith", "as a grain of mustard seed", "great faith". Our faith can increase through the exercising of it, but great faith is not required for great miracles. The level of our faith depends upon our ability to accept (not resist) the will of God.
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