Friday Morning Devotion (Praying, Being Heard, and Not Getting It)

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

7Who, in the days of his flesh, offered entreaties and petitions to the one who was able to save him from death with loud cries and tears, and he was heard because of his piety. 8Even though he was a son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered, 9and being made whole he became a means of eternal salvation to all those who obey him, 10since he was designated by God as a priest according to the priestly order of Melchizedek. — Hebrews 5:7-10

I wrote this on the national day of prayer. A “national” day of prayer makes me wonder just what we’re praying for and how. But it reminded me of a question I hear frequently: “Why should anyone pray if they’re not going to get what they pray for?” That question starts with a false premise. It assumes that you won’t. But since I believe that quite often you will not get what you pray for, I should give it consideration.

In Hebrews 5:7-10, we have the statement that Jesus prayed. He prayed to “the one who was able to save him from death.” I presume such a prayer might have, and did, occur many times during his ministry, but likely this reference is primarily to his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” He also placed that prayer under subjection to God’s will. Now if the text stopped in the middle of verse seven, we might imagine that the prayer of Jesus was not heard because he didn’t get what he was asking for.

But the text explicitly says that Jesus was heard. And there is what’s hard for us to get hold of. Praying is not about getting stuff. Praying is about our communion with God. That’s why all these scientific tests about prayer and healing largely miss the mark. They’re interesting, but the can’t test prayer because prayer is not a means of getting things.

What if the prayer of Jesus was counted in a scientific test? It would certainly go into the “failed” column. He didn’t get what he asked for. And yet he was heard, and what actually happened was better–in the end–than what he had requested. It happens that way because there’s a lot more knowledge on God’s end of the prayer than on mine.

So a national day of prayer invites me to commune with God, and that is the only purpose I have to have. If I have communed with God, my prayer worked. The amazing thing is that I often would rather have God do it my way. I’m in touch with infinite power and infinite knowledge, but what I ask is that God use his infinite power to make things work the way I–oh so incredibly finite–want them to.

One of the most blessed characteristics of this universe is that God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way that we would prefer.

Jesus was the great example of this. One thing was refused him–escape from the cross. Through that one refusal, a refusal he invited by saying “not my will but yours,” our salvation was secured.

Aren’t you thankful that God doesn’t do things your way?

Note: This is cross-posted from the Participatory Bible Study Blog with permission.

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Thursday Morning Devotion (People or What)

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

(15) And they came to Jesus and saw the demonized man, who had had the legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. (16) And those who had seen what had happened to the demonized man and about the pigs told them all about it. (17) And the started to beg him to leave that area. — Mark 5:15-17

There are quite a few instances in the book of Mark when Jesus is helping someone, and some people around complain instead of rejoicing. We saw it with the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12. In Mark 5 there are a number of such instances. Our text tells of the people in the region of the Gerasenes who witness a spectacular miracle—the healing of a possessed man whom nobody before had been able to control.

Many readers automatically assume that the reason they wanted Jesus to leave was the pigs. I must admit that I’ve always wondered about those pigs and why Jesus allowed the demons to go into them. There are various explanations, but none so far completely satisfy me. It’s natural for people to assume that the reason these folks wanted Jesus to leave was that they had lost money in the form of their pigs.

But notice in verse 15 just when they become afraid. It’s when they see the demonized man clothed, peaceful, and mentally healthy. It’s the authority that Jesus has that frightens them. They become afraid when they witness a healing. So they send the healer away because of their fear.

Further on in the chapter, Jesus is going to the house of Jairus, and a woman touches his garment. Jesus knows what has happened and he has something to say to the woman. The disciples think he’s wasting his time, but he stops, finds the woman, and speaks to her.

When he continues to Jairus’s house, he is again interrupted as people inform him that Jairus’s daughter has died. But even this doesn’t distract him from his mission. He keeps going forward. The folks at the house laugh at him. It’s time to get on with mourning. Nobody comes back from the dead, and this girl is dead. They know precisely how things work. But Jesus just moves forward and calls the girl back.

Throughout chapter 5 of Mark the people around Jesus are continually trying to turn Jesus aside from his ministry. Perhaps I shouldn’t say “trying,” but their actions would pull Jesus away from the people he wants to serve if he let that happen.

The question for each of us is this: Can we see the mission Jesus is on and go along with him?

It’s easy to get distracted. It might be fear, as it was with the Gerasenes. Their fear resulted in Jesus leaving. How many sick people in that area never had a chance to receive his healing touch?

For the disciples it was “the program.” Jesus must not get distracted. But for Jesus the woman who touched his garment wasn’t a distraction; she was the mission.

When a little girl was reported dead, the distraction was simply the way things are. She has died, and that’s the end of the trail. Don’t keep trying to heal, Jesus. It’s already too late.

But for Jesus there’s one priority: The people he can save. He’s never lacking time, and he never shows up too late.

I ask myself this: How does my agenda compare to his?

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Wednesday Morning Devotion (Correction and Redemption)

Posted on May 9, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

15So when they had eaten, Jesus says to Simon Peter,”Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He says to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He (Jesus) says to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He says to him a second time, “Shepherd my sheep.” 17Jesus says to him a third time, “Do you love me?” And he says to him, “Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you.” Jesus says to him, “Tend my sheep. 18Very truly I tell you, when you were a young man, you dressed yourself and you walked about wherever you wished, but when you get old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and will take you where you don’t want to go.” 19Now he said this signifying what type of death he would glorify God with. And having said this he said thim, “Follow me!” — John 21:15-19

When you find that you need to correct someone—or that you want to—just how do you go about it? Do you yell? Do you spend a long time detailing their many faults and failings? Do you threaten them with dire consequences should they fail to mend their ways? Or do you treat them with respect, speaking to them a someone you are sure can do better but just needs some guidance and encouragement?

How do your superiors treat you? Do you feel respected? Do you feel like someone who is a valuable asset to your company, your church, or your family? Do you feel as though you can become a much greater asset if you take the constructive criticism to heart? Or do you feel put down, irredeemable, a waste of someone’s time?

Jesus gave us an example of redemption in this little story about Peter. Our pastor at Gonzalez UMC, Riley Richardson, preached on this, and I got to hear it twice, two weeks in succession. I normally hear his sermons twice, but this time we had different messages at two services two weeks in a row, and I just happened to catch the same one twice those two weeks in a row. It was a good sermon to catch twice, even three or four times.

Peter had claimed to be the great disciple, the one disciple who would “disciple on” no matter how tough things got. But around a little fire as he watched Jesus on trial, he gave up at the first challenge. He denied his Lord three times. The other disciples probably let him know of his failure. “Hey, faithful disciple,” they likely said, “What was that again about never leaving him?” Of course they didn’t really have much cause for pride. They had all run off.

Now there are two attitudes one can take when approaching someone who has failed. The first is to assume that the person is going down hill, will likely fail, but might possibly be stopped, or at least prevented from causing more damage, if we hit them hard enough. That’s the world’s attitude. In the world, that’s sometimes the way things have to be. But all too often it becomes our attitude as Christians as well.

But that’s not an attitude worthy of Jesus. As Christians, redeemed by the blood of the lamb, we MUST believe in redemption. If we don’t believe in redemption, how can we believe we ourselves are redeemed? Jesus approached everyone as someone who could potentially be redeemed. He approached Peter as one who WAS redeemed from his failure already—he just needed to know it.

How will you face your subordinates, superiors, coworkers, and family members today? Will you do it as one redeemed by the blood of the lamb, who knows they are also redeemable, or will you assume failure?

One last thought: Will you think about that when you’re about to yell at your children too?

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Tuesday Morning Devotion (Who Are YOU Turning Away)

Posted on May 8, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

Note – we had a great trip to New Orleans and are now back putting our noses to the grindstone. Also, I apologize for sending Monday’s devotional out without a title. – HN

(13) And some people brought him children to touch and bless, but his disciples rebuked them. (14) But Jesus was indignant and said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! The kingdom of God is made up of such! (15) Truly I tell you, whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God like a child will never come into it. (16) And he embraced them, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. — Mark 10:13-16

This is such a short story, but it has a powerful lesson for us. We often read this and assume that the only people Jesus is concerned with in this story are actual, physical children. And he certainly is concerned with them. Even though we read this over and over, very commonly we have little patience for the needs of children in our churches, our worship services and even our homes. We are quickly put off by crying, or by “silly” questions (often ones we can’t answer). We’re constantly deciding that they’re too young for this or that, or that the adults shouldn’t be interrupted.

If you’re inclined to think that way, remember what Jesus would do. He let the children interrupt him in his very busy activities. This story is followed by the encounter with the rich young ruler. I picture in my mind the crowds gathering around Jesus, pressing in, with various important people wanting to ask questions. The disciples even see this young rich man. He’s a good evangelism target. We need more like him in the kingdom. He’ll fill up the treasury!

But then there are some parents, in that day and age most likely mothers with their children. Why are they bothering Jesus with children? They’re too young to make a choice to follow him anyhow! We don’t have childcare out here on Discipleship Highway!

But Jesus is indignant. He takes the children in his arms, embraces them, blesses them, takes up his valuable time on them.

My question is this: Who am I keeping away from Jesus? And let’s also ask, Who are you keeping away from Jesus?

Is it someone that doesn’t smell right? Is it someone whose lifestyle is questionable? Is it someone whose politics you don’t like? Are they poor? Are they rich and arrogant? Perhaps they just have annoying personalities.

I’m not talking here about whether these people need to reform or not. They probably do. So do I. I’m not a finished work. So do you. You’re not finished either. I’m not talking about the problems they have that they ought to do something about.

The gospel message tells me that whatever their problems, they’ll be better off with those problems PLUS Jesus. This story suggests that Jesus will be indignant if I don’t welcome them. I prefer not to make Jesus indignant.

Who are we keeping away from Jesus? How can we welcome them to him instead?

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Posted on May 7, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

Monday’s devotion is set to appear automatically on Monday morning, because Henry and Jody are in New Orleans this weekend watching their son pitch. – J (If you see this, it did arrive as I scheduled it! – H)

11Now every priest stands day by day offering these various sacrifices which can never carry sin away. 12Christ, on the other hand, has offered one sacrifice, perfectly good, and sat down at the right hand of God 13The only thing left is a time of waiting until his enemies are made footstool for his feet. 14For by means of one sacrifice he has made the ones who are being made holy completely perfect. — Hebrews 10:11-14

One of the great problems of my life has always been getting the job done. I’m really good at starting things. I produce ideas that seem brilliant (to me!) but often don’t have the time to complete them. My filing cabinets, and now the folders on my computer hard drive are filled with these ideas.

Though there are many people who do not have the same problem I have, I still think that “not quite getting there” is a very human problem. We continually strive to complete various tasks, to make them perfect, but we never quite arrive at the goal line. There are things that I have made a priority and thus have finished, but there is always something that I wish I could spend more time on. There are always those few imperfections. It has been said that no matter how many times a book is proofread, for example, there will always be a mistake that will only be found after the printing is completed.

The law in the Old Testament taught many things. We often miss it, but it taught about God’s grace. It taught about learning discernment, how to tell right from wrong and how to get in the habit of choosing what is right. But one key thing the law taught us is how futile it is for us to try to produce our own redemption.

Day after day, year after year, century after century, the sacrifices went on. Now that wasn’t wrong. The sacrifices were supposed to go on and on. They were supposed to help us learn about sin and its consequences, amongst many other things. But it’s also very easy to get tied up in the things that we are doing and forget the purpose. The Israelites quite often put the law in the wrong place, thinking that it would produce righteousness, that it would accomplish everything.

And there was another lesson that the law taught. No matter how many times you brought a sacrifice for your sins, no matter how many high priests had officiated on the Day of Atonement, the people still kept on sinning and still needed to do it all over again. The job never got completely done.

Until Jesus, that is. Until Jesus came and did it completely once and for all.

What about you? What about me? We’re not offering animal sacrifices any more, so surely this doesn’t apply. I’d suggest you think again.

Any spiritual discipline, any act of worship, in fact any act at all that we do can be just like the repeated sacrifices. The action may be good in itself, but if we depend on that action to take care of our sin problem we’re going to be disappointed. No matter how good we get, no matter how many people we’ve helped, how many prayers we’ve said, or how many worship services we’ve attended, those actions will never make us righteous. We’ll always be looking for one more possibility.

Until Jesus, that is!

Jesus has come and done the righteousness thing once and for all. Can you trust him? Let him finish the job for you and in you.

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Friday Morning Devotion (No Matter How Much You Offer)

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

11Now every priest stands day by day offering these various sacrifices which can never carry sin away. 12Christ, on the other hand, has offered one sacrifice, perfectly good, and sat down at the right hand of God 13The only thing left is a time of waiting until his enemies are made footstool for his feet. 14For by means of one sacrifice he has made the ones who are being made holy completely perfect. — Hebrews 10:11-14

Ben and Sam wee at the bottom of a cliff. Neither thought he would be able to climb to the top without a rope that was secured at the top. Ben offered Sam a rope that he was carrying in his backpack. Sam rejected the rope. Just then another man looked down from the top of the cliff, saw their predicament, and lowered a rope to them. Sam grabbed hold of this rope and started climbing, only to be asked by Ben. “Why do you prefer this rope to the one I offered you? Mine is just as good of quality!”

“Because this rope comes down from the top of the cliff,” he replied.

Now doubtless there is nobody stupid enough to fail to understand the difference between those two ropes, right?

But don’t we do something similar in our spiritual lives? We look for every possible avenue to get to God that we possibly can. We go to spiritual leaders, to friends, to theologians, to other family members. We look for all the rituals and procedures that we can follow.

We look for sacrifices we can make. If I give money and time to the soup kitchen, perhaps I’ll get closer to God. Maybe if I go isolate myself for a few years and think only of God, that will do it. If I tithe, perhaps God will come closer to me. Maybe I need to spend three or more hours daily in prayer.

But you see, there are two reasons this won’t work for you. First, God already did it. God already sent Jesus, already offered the perfect sacrifice, already reconciled himself to you. You aren’t going to find a better sacrifice to offer. Second, no matter how good of a sacrifice you find, it always came from here. Both ends of your rope are here on earth.

That’s the simple truth this text is trying to teach us. No amount of doing, even of doing good things, is going to take care of sins and provide forgiveness.

Now you may object that the sacrifices were commanded by God, and so they must not be something foolish, like the rope at the bottom of the cliff. But consider this: The rope is a perfectly good rope. It has many uses. It is a very positive thing. It only looks foolish when you apply it to the wrong thing.

The sacrifices of Old Testament times were good things. They taught lessons. They helped God’s people in their spiritual walk. But when they were applied to the wrong thing, they became foolish.

Jesus has offered that once and for all sacrifice. He’s lowered the rope to you from the top. No matter what you offer on this end, it won’t be enough. Will you just grab hold of the rope he offers and accept it?

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Thursday Morning Devotion (Positive Temptation Resistance)

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

(11) I have hidden your word in my heart,
so that I might not sin against you. — Psalm 119:11

Last week I heard a speaker on the radio use this passage. His suggestion was that you find scriptures that relate to particular temptations that you face, and learn them well, perhaps even memorize them, and then when facing the temptation, call those scriptures back to mind.

I’m not opposed to his idea. It’s a good one for facing temptation. But I wonder why we focus so much on the negative ways of dealing with temptation. We ask how to fight it, how to resist it, and in some cases how to avoid it. All of those things are necessary at one time or another.

But there’s a better idea. How about occupying our lives so positively that temptation can’t find any space to work with?

In our churches and in our lives we often tend to deal with problems negatively. Problems with sexual sins? Resist! Resist! Resist! And you must resist. But the best foundation from which to resist sexual sins of all varieties is one of healthy relationships, both with the opposite sex and with others of one’s own sex. There are some purely sexual temptations, but the devil’s helper in those cases is feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, abandonment, and many other problems that result from poor relationships. Don’t forget to resist, but you’ll do so much better if your life is filled with healthy relationships.

Healthy relationships and a healthy self-image contribute to resisting temptation in the area of anger, resentment, and unforgiveness. Often our anger is fueled by the fact that we can’t really do anything about it. Sometimes we just have a habit of anger, and so get angry even when we can manage a situation. I work at times with some folks who, by nature of their position always have the upper hand, yet they will often get angry instead of taking the appropriate action.

And what is resentment except an acknowledgment to ourselves that we can’t really do anything effective, so we’re just going to hang out and stew about the problem. Finding a healthy way to relate to the people who tempt you to resentment is going to build your own mental and physical health.

So how does this relate to Psalm 119? Where are you going to find a healthy self-image? I’d suggest that you will do so in and through Jesus Christ, and through God’s word. That includes the written word, the Bible, but it also includes the creative word.

God’s creative word tells you that God made you and then declared you good (Genesis 1:26-31). It says that God sees you as important and cares about you (Psalm 8). God’s creation will give you an insight into God’s mind. Yes, by looking at yourself, even, you can learn something about God.

Once you learn how important you are in God’s view, and how you are redeemed by Jesus and made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), then you know how to spend your time—building up God’s creation and building those positive relationships.

Instead of talking and thinking about how bad other people are (Muslims, Pagans, non-believers, whoever), talk about the wonderful things God has done for you. Instead of talking and thinking about all the things God has forbidden you as a sexual being, concentrate on the positive things God has made possible.

Spend your time in God’s word, learning about God’s will, and carrying out God’s plans, and you’ll find that you have many less temptations to resist. The ones you do have to resist will be easier to handle as well!

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Wednesday Morning Devotion (Fight or Flight)

Posted on May 2, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

1And he went in again into the synagogue. And there was a man there who had a paralyzed hand. 2And they watched him to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him. 3And he said to the man who had the paralyzed hand, “Rise up in the middle!” 4And he said to them, “Is it lawful on Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they were silent. 5And he looked around with anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” And he stretched it out and his hand was restored. 6And the Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him as to how they might destroy him. — Mark 3:1-6

Many of us, in our spiritual walk and in our leadership have a problem telling when is the time to fight, and when is the time to back off. I have known some extremely confrontational people. For them, all times are confrontation times, and all issues are fighting issues. They would never consider toning down their rhetoric or their actions in order to avoid offense.

There are others for whom all times are fleeing times. Their primary mission is to avoid offending anyone. If there is something that might annoy anyone else, no matter how good an idea they think it is, they will hold it back until nobody is going to be offended.

The Bible has support for both sides of this debate. The easiest place for me to go is the chapter that has the two sides in consecutive verses:

4Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness, lest you become like him yourself.

5Answer a fool according to his foolishness, lest he be wise in his own eyes. — Proverbs 26:4-5

I use this text to illustrate the “toolkit” concept in using the scriptures. We could look at these verses as a contradiction. One tells us to do something, but the other commands the exact opposite. Which one are we to obey? The answer requires wisdom—no surprise, considering this is the book of Proverbs! Which one applies to your situation?

In our text, Jesus is confronted by evil and by evil’s helpers. Why do I call the scribes “evil’s helpers?” Because they are the critics. They’re looking for reasons to attack Jesus. They want to be offended.

Some people think they aren’t critics, but rather just people who want to see to it that things are done right. If someone is doing something wrong, shouldn’t you let them know? You can usually tell by the fruit. Are you happy when you find someone doing something wrong? Does it give you a thrill of power? You can tell further by how you act. Do you provide helpful answers about what to do, or do you go off and conspire with other people?

If you’re one of the critics, then you are evil’s helpers. Those are the folks Jesus confronted. He found a situation when their activities had to be challenged. He had to “answer the fools according to their foolishness.” You see, what Jesus was about to do didn’t actually violate Jewish law, at least according to most interpretations. These guys were taking a hard line so they could catch him.

There was a major issue at stake as well: Are people more important or are rituals? So Jesus got up, jumped right into the critics’ face, and confronted them.

Many of us would choose instead to take the man aside and heal him quietly. If people are going to be offended, why not avoid the conflict? Because in this case, the conflict is the important thing. The religious spirit that says, “Our worship service is more important than this man’s pain,” is the spirit that has destroyed communities of faith ever since there were any to destroy.

Can your life be interrupted by human pain? If your pastor interrupted the service to deal with a homeless person, or to offer prayer for someone in the congregation for healing, or to let the congregation listen to someone’s testimony, would it offend you? If it would, you’re headed toward the critics’ side, and you don’t want to be there.

Don’t be offended if Jesus interrupts your routine today.

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Tuesday Morning Devotion (Critic or Rejoicer)

Posted on May 1, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

(1) A few days later when he returned to Capernaum it was heard that he was at home. (2) And many gathered until there was no more room for them, not even around the door, and he was conversing with them about the word. (3) And some came bringing a paralytic to him, carried by four men. (4) And when they were unable to bring him in because of the crowd, they took off the part of the roof where he was, and when there was a hole they let down the paralytic’s mat. (5) And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, “Child! Your sins are forgiven you.” (6) Now there were certain scribes there sitting and considering in their hearts, (7) What is this that this man is saying? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God? (8) And immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that they were considering this in themselves, and he said to them, “What is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you?’ or to say, ‘Arise and take your mat, and walk?’ (10) But so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins–he says to the paralytic, (11) ‘I say to you, Arise, take your mat and go to your house. (12) And he rose up and immediately took his mat and went out before them all, so that everyone was astounded and was glorifying God saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!” — Mark 2:1-12

Over the last few days I’ve been talking about the forgiving and healing of the paralytic in Mark 2. I hope God has been speaking to you through this story. The wonderful thing about stories is that you can’t really wring out all the meaning in one devotional.

The question I have now is not for the person who was seeking healing and received both forgiveness and healing. My question is for the audience.

Are you a critic or a rejoicer?

It’s a simple question but it will catch many of us on the wrong side, I think. It is so easy to become a critic. The reason is that we often do so starting from good motivations. Let me start with my temptation. A few months ago at our church we had a wonderful Sunday. During the service, there was one planned baptism of a young man who had accepted Christ during the week. Following this, there was a wild 45 minute period when at least five more people came forward, accepted Christ and were baptized.

Now there are lots of criticisms that could come up in a United Methodist Church. Did these people really know what they were doing? Do we have good contact information so they can be discipled? Why would the pastor baptize them within minutes of their decision? Those are all theological issues that good United Methodist theologians and pastors would think about.

I’m right there with the discipleship issue. Do we take whatever steps are necessary to make these people disciples? It’s important. But it’s easy to take working on the important things and turn it into simply being a critic. Because however important all the other things may be, there’s one fact that we need to look at. During that service, half a dozen people gave their hearts to Jesus. That’s something to rejoice about. That shouldn’t stop you or anyone else from getting active with the discipleship, and working to resolve any problems. For example, if you’re afraid the contact information hasn’t been gathered, go and make sure to get it. Make it happen yourself, while you rejoice in what God has done.

Do you see the scribes in the meeting thinking about what Jesus has done? He’s forgiven sins! Blasphemy! Now they could have construed what Jesus said as simply pointing out that God had forgiven the man, but they didn’t. They put the worst construction possible on the event. Critics often do that. They were less concerned with the needs of that man than they were with their theology.

Jesus shows them with the miracle, but I wonder whether the critics were really impressed.

Here’s my question for the day. Are you a critic or a rejoicer?

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Monday Morning Devotion (What is your Real Need?)

Posted on April 30, 2007 by Henry Neufeld

(5) And when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, “Child! Your sins are forgiven you.” (6) Now there were certain scribes there sitting and considering in their hearts, (7) What is this that this man is saying? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God? (8) And immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that they were considering this in themselves, and he said to them, “What is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you?’ or to say, ‘Arise and take your mat, and walk?’ (10) But so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins–he says to the paralytic, (11) ‘I say to you, Arise, take your mat and go to your house. (12) And he rose up and immediately took his mat and went out before them all, so that everyone was astounded and was glorifying God saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!” — Mark 2:5-12

In verses 1-4 four men let the paralytic down into the room through the roof. After that determined effort I’m pretty sure the paralytic knew what he wanted. He wanted Jesus to heal him, make him whole, make him walk.

So what does Jesus do? He says, “Your sins are forgiven you.” My wife and I were once involved in praying for the healing of someone’s foot. I know, it doesn’t sound all that glamorous, praying for a foot, but it was what we were called to do, and along with a number of friends, we did it.

But the foot was very stubborn and remained unhealed. In prayer and some conversation with the man whose foot was injured, we found that he had an issue of forgiveness, specifically of forgiving himself and of accepting God’s forgiveness on a particular issue. Finally he expressed that forgiveness, and meant it, and suddenly he got up, was able to put on his shoe, and could walk. He even helped us move a piano.

Now what this man wanted was healing for his foot, which was swollen, wouldn’t take his weight, and wouldn’t fit his shoe. What he got was forgiveness and healing both.

When we come to Jesus we often come with our agendas. We could some it up in this prayer: “Make me healthy, wealthy, wise, and happy!” I think Jesus wants all those things for you at the right time and in the right measure. But the question is this: What do you really need? Jesus is going to look into you and discover what it is that you really are searching for, that you can’t do without.

When he offers you that one thing, will you recognize it? Will you realize what you’re getting? It may be that everything else you’re asking for will come with it. It may be that you’re going to go through hardships.

If you can’t lay your agenda aside for long enough to let Jesus fulfill his agenda in your life, and give you what you really need, you’re probably going to keep ending your times of prayers dissatisfied.

If you haven’t already done so, why don’t you try asking Jesus to do to and for you whatever it is he wills? Can you trust him that much?

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