A CLEAR REQUEST
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!” (Mark 10:51, NLT)
The blind man sat by the street corner and, when he heard that Jesus was nearby, he cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus approached him, knowing full well what the man wanted. Yet He asked the man to make it clear. He asked him to speak out what he was hoping to see done in his life.
This story introduces another secret to effective prayer. Jesus, though He knows the need full well, still wants the man to declare his need in clear and plain speech. And until this man speaks out his request, he is not healed.
Often we make vague appeals to God. We ask for very generic things. "A good day." "A great trip." We make vague appeals to God's mercy, an indefinite appeal for blessing, but refuse to name the specifics of our need. This story challenges us with the reality that God, who is always willing to give mercy and blessing, is also looking for us to specifically name what we are seeking Him to do in our lives. Why would God require this of us? Why not simply answer our unspoken prayer request? Surely God knows what we need before we even name it! There may be a few good reasons for this.
First, God desires it for our own sake. The process of searching out our own hearts and learning to name our need in a specific way is a valuable and helpful process. Naming our need takes time. It takes thought. It takes introspection. It tests if our desires are flippant or naive. It causes us to really understand and name what is most important to us. This process leads us to discern if our desires are in harmony with God's desires for us. It helps us to wait for a special answer. It builds faith when the special answer comes to us.
Second, there is spiritual power in clarity. Praying, “Lord deliver me from sin” is different from naming a specific sin and asking the Lord to deliver us from it. There is a power to that level of clarity that will truly lead to transformation within us. Praying, “Lord bless me” is different from naming the blessing we are seeking. It takes more faith to pray specifically than it does to pray generally. To ask God for a specific blessing risks that God will not answer and we may be disappointed, while at the same time a specifically answered prayer can build and strengthen us. To pray specifically requires faith because there is a greater risk involved. We know that the prayer of faith is powerful and effective, and thus, naming the need specifically - an act which requires faith - places us deeper into the territory of faith, placing us at the mercy of God in greater measure, causing us to seek God more diligently, which is where spiritual power comes from. Clarity leads to faith, and faith draws us to our knees before God, which is ultimately what God wants and what we need. It is in God’s presence that we have access to the power of God.
Third, there is spiritual authority as we exercise our will. Notice that Jesus does not ask the man, “What do you wish Me to do for you?” Instead He asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus wants the man to exercise his will. This is because our will rules our heart and our life. God has designed us to exercise our will. If we wish for something, we may stop wishing when we do not receive it. When we want something we will continue until we have it, regardless of the price. If I wish for a better marriage I may do nothing to achieve it. If I will to have a better marriage, I will go to any reasonable length possible to make myself a better partner and I will find a way to encourage my partner so that they can grow. So there is a difference between our wishing and our wanting.
When it comes to prayer, the process of exercising our will in prayer makes us more and more like the Father. It doesn't mean that we will live a life at variance with God's will. It means we are engaging in a process where we learn to pray, "Lord not my will but Yours be done.” A process where our will becomes renewed by God and becomes more and more aligned with God's purposes and plans. And once the believer has accepted the will of the Father and submitted to it, it is God's desire that we will use our renewed will to serve Him, both in prayer, and in our day to day lives.
So why not start today? Take some time to pray; to pray specifically, to clarify your need; and to set your will on it while still submitting to God's will.
What is God saying to me today?
My Prayer List:
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