Life of Christ 140
It is the last week of
Jesus' life. He and His Apostles are traveling the regular pilgrim route from
Galilee to Jerusalem. Along the way, they cross over the Jordan River, and pass
through Jericho. Normally, the pilgrims would rest in Jericho before spending the
next day ascending 3600 feet in elevation through a rocky gorge to the
outskirts of Jerusalem.
It is in this setting,
while resting at Jericho, that Jesus heals two blind beggars, one of whose
names we know, Bar Timaeus, the son of Timaeus (Mark 10.46-52). As Jesus walked
through the crowd of pilgrims in his vicinity, Bar Timaeus heard the commotion,
and yelled loudly for Jesus. Jesus heard him, and instructed Bar Timaeus to be
brought to Him. Jesus, of course, heals him of his blindness, but I want to
draw from this familiar story one particularly wonderful lesson I find here –
the importance of specific prayer.
Bar Timaeus called
loudly for mercy, and as a blind man it was rather obvious what he most wanted
from Jesus. Yet Jesus asked Bar Timaeus to be specific in his prayer. 'And
Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?
The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight' (Mark 10.51).
The moment Bar Timaeus called for Jesus he was
praying. He prayed boldly, not ashamed that other people looked down on him for
it. He prayed fervently, crying out repeatedly. He prayed respectfully, giving
Jesus a messianic title. He prayed perseveringly, continuing on even though
those around him tried to shut him up. Yet he did not receive anything until he
prayed specifically.
We pray for God's blessing. How do you want Him to
bless you? When do you want Him to do this? Why are you asking for this
blessing? Certainly we ought to pray yielded to the will of God, and conscious
that God has the right to refuse our request or amend it. Certainly some
concepts we pray for will be rather nebulous. But neither of these facts ought
to stop us from coming to God with clear and definite specific requests.
Specific prayer teaches us to know our own needs
better. I've known men who were rather bad fathers and husbands to utter
generic prayers asking God to bless their families. On the other hand, if they
would have specified actual biblical truth with their requests they would have understood
their own needs better. For instance, if you are unmarried, ask for a mate
(Proverbs 18.22). Ask for help bringing up your children in the Lord (Ephesians
6.4). Ask God to bridge the generation gap between you and your children
(Malachi 4.6). Ask God to keep close union in your marriage (Matthew 19.6). Ask
God to help you love your wife (Ephesians 5.25). Ask God to help you follow
your husband (Ephesians 5.22). Ask God to help you lead a holy life so the
unsaved in your family will be convicted (I Peter 3.1). Ask God for your
children's obedience (Ephesians 6.1). Ask God for your children's respect
(Proverbs 30.17). We become more conscious of our Scriptural responsibilities
and thus of our desperate need to have His help in order to accomplish them.
Definite prayer leads to a specific rendering of our needs, and thus to a
broader understanding of what those needs actually are.
In this way, specific prayer puts our desires to the
test, revealing whether those desires are indeed scriptural. 'Ye ask, and
receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts'
(James 4.3). Think of a liberal church in your area, one with a woman pastor,
for instance. They probably ask God to bless their church just like you do. But
if they would begin to pray specifically for God to bless their pastor they
would quickly find that God will not, for their pastor is in open violation of
the Word of God. When you ask God to bless something on a definite level it
forces you to examine whether He scripturally can or not. Can we ask God for
this? Should we ask God for this.
'God, bless the missionaries all around the world
tonight.' How would you ever notice if He did? You have not asked Him anything
specifically and so you have no idea if He has answered you. If your idea of
prayer is to say words to God you have the wrong idea of it. Prayer is designed
for you to use to get things from God. But if you do not ask for anything
specifically you cannot receive anything.
Eliezer and Rebekah, Salomon de Bray, 1660 |
Additionally, specific prayer
helps us to be thankful. You can spend zero time thinking and murmur a prayer
of gratitude to God on Thanksgiving Day for all the blessings He has given you.
Alternatively, you can sit down, make a list of 75 different things God has done
for you in the last year, and spend a very sweet 30 minutes praising the Lord.
Unequivocally, I promise you the latter is marvelous. Yet most of God's people
live the former, and live much poorer spiritual lives because of it.
Do not just ask God to help
you today. Tell Him specifically what you want Him to do.
'Jesus, thou Son of
David, have mercy on me.'
'What wilt thou that I
should do unto thee?'
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