Written by Ole Hallesby (1879-1961), a Norwegian theologian and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Prayer.”
Unbelief is something very different from doubt. Unbelief is an attribute of the will, and consists in a man’s refusal to believe, that is, refusal to see his own need, acknowledge his helplessness, go to Jesus, and speak candidly and confidently with him about his sin and distress. Doubt, on the other hand, is an anguish, a pain, a weakness, which at times affects our faith. We could therefore call it Faith Distress: Faith Anguish, Faith Suffering, Faith Tribulation. Such faith illness can be more or less painful and more or less protracted, like all other ailments, but if we can begin to look upon it as suffering that has been laid upon us, it will lose its sting of distress and confusion.
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” [Mark 9:24]
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