Unbelief is a distinct and separate issue from your level of faith. You can have both unbelief and faith at the same time.
It is recorded by The Holy Spirit in Matthew chapter 17:
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”
The other nine disciples awaited the return of Jesus and the three disciples. They were approached by a man with an epileptic son. The disciples were unable to heal the boy.
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
These are the same disciples who have previously healed the sick and cast out demons in Matthew chapter 10 (Mark 6, Luke 9:1-6).
Mark chapter 6 records:
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 17 in response to the disciples’ failure to heal the boy:
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
When considering their past performance in casting out demons, they asked an important question:
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
The following response is critical to our understanding when it comes to walking in power and authority.
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Unbelief is not a lack of faith. The disciples had faith and unbelief at the same time. Unbelief works against faith. If the disciples had no unbelief, the demon would have responded and would have been cast out of the boy. They had faith to attempt to heal the boy so faith was not the issue. Were they intimidated by power of the demon to be thrust into both fire and water?
It is recorded in Mark chapter 9 concerning the same boy:
20 So they brought him to Jesus. As soon as the demon saw him, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground, rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus turned to the father and asked, “How long has your son been tormented like this?”
How would you respond if you saw the same thing that the disciples saw? Would you be intimidated by the power of the demon? The disciples were but Jesus wasn’t as we shall see in the following passage:
So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
“If you can believe” is different than having faith as a mustard seed. Think about it. Jesus told the father to believe rather than have the healing independent of him.
The phrase “seeing is believing” similar to what Thomas spoke after the resurrection of Jesus, is a common problem among most believers. They rely more on what they actually receive through their five physical senses rather than what The Word says. They spend too much time in front of the TV, PC, and/or smart phone taking in what the world is promoting. Be assured, it will conflict with The Word.
What is one aspect of fasting? Reducing input from your five physical senses. What is one aspect of prayer? Praying in The Holy Spirit. You should do both if you want to eliminate unbelief. Allow The Holy Spirit to show you the source of your unbelief and get rid of it.
Other peoples’ prayer failures should not move you for they may have had multiple issues preventing their healing. Agape Love will dissolve unbelief and give you assurance of FATHER’S willingness to see you healed of anything! This applies to those to whom you are called to pray over. Spiritual warriors cannot be timid!