When you pray, for yourself and for others, for what do you ask? Do you pray specifically, making direct requests? Or, are you prayers filled with churchy words, a string of 'hallelujahs' and 'thank you, Jesus' phrases that mean little to you? Such prayers reflect little of the passion God wants to see in us. God reserves the right to answer our prayers as He sees fit, but we do not have to protect Him or ourselves by avoiding direct petitions.
Ask God for specifics for
your friend. Does she struggle with
addiction, for example? Then …
Pray against the strategies of the Evil One.
Pray that she will find people to stand with her to encourage and provide
accountability.
Pray that God will let her touch the bottom of desperation and
that the Spirit will shine the light of hope into that pit. Yes, that kind of specific prayer
is what God desires from us.
In Mark 10, we are told the story
of a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. He sat by the roadside everyday depending
on the generosity of others for survival. One day, he heard a commotion of a
crowd. “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,
"Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (10:47) He believed
Jesus could help him and he believed he needed to make his need known. In his
desperation, he set aside propriety!
Blind beggars were used to calling out to
those passing by for help, but they also were used to being ignored. Bartimaeus
was not going to be ignored and so he shouted for Jesus' attention. His
'prayer' irritated people who were standing nearby and yet he kept it up! "Many
rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of
David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48, NIV)
Jesus stopped and asked that
the yelling beggar be brought to him. The question He asked of the man might seen
cruel: "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.
(10:51) But, Jesus was urging the blind
man to go deeper, to understand what he really wanted Him to do. "Do you
want some money? Do you want someone to care for you? What do you want?" Bart says, "I WANT TO SEE!"
The request is direct, focused, and
begs an answer. It is a prayer full of faith, too. Jesus healed him on the
spot. “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith
has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the
road." (Mark 10:52, NIV)
Jesus taught this about our most earnest praying. “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6, NLT) Public prayers are not wrong, but our most earnest praying will be done where we get real with God, where we are able to cry, shout, groan, and speak honestly! That kind of prayer changes us and our world.
If we are convinced that
Jesus Christ is One with the solutions to our problems, then we need to ask Him
boldly and clearly, for what we need and/or want. It is His place as Lord and
Master to say, "yes" or to say "no." It is our place to
ask. More than a few of us are blind today -- not physical blindness, but blind
to the true state of our heart, blind to the needs of the world around us, and
even blind when it comes to 'seeing' God's plans for our lives. We need to get
desperate and cry out, yes... SHOUT, even.... "Lord, have mercy on me!
I want to see!"
Here at at the start of 2024, I pray for clear vision, for a renewed desire to dream the dreams He has for me, for the courage to ask God for BIG things on behalf of others, and for the resolution to keep faith connected to my day to day life. How about you? “And all God’s people said, … Amen.”
Here is a word from the Word.
Lord, increase our faith! "Keep on asking, and you will be given what
you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door
will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And
the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents—if your children ask for
a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish,
do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good
gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:7-11, NLT)
(Video of this blog at this link)
____________________
Open my eyes, that I may see,
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now, I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see!
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine.
Open My Eyes That I May See (Open My Eyes)
Clara H. Fiske Scott
© Words: Public Domain
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