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To Pray Like Bartimaeus

When you ask God for something - peace, patience, healing, answers to work, life, or people problems, etc. - do you stop what you're doing and turn your brain off of everything but Jesus? Do you actually look at Jesus? Or do you, like I so often do, suddenly remember something you told someone you'd pray about for them and rattle off a quick request? Maybe you find yourself in traffic when you're late or unable to find a solution to a problem at work or with your child or a friend, you're frustrated or irritated, you say a prayer something like, "God, help me!" Then you move rapidly on to the next issue at hand.

This morning I read the story of Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10: 46-52). Actually, I read it three or four times. I've read it before. It's a fairly well-known Gospel story, but this time was different. I got emotional as I read it. I wondered why Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Wasn't that fairly obvious? I mean, the guy was blind and Jesus was a known healer. Duh, Jesus! Right?

As I read it over and over again, I sensed the tenderness behind Jesus' question. He knew Bartimaeus wanted to be healed. He could have healed him as he walked by without slowing His stride, without speaking a word, without anyone knowing He'd done anything, but He let Bartimaeus shout out after Him. He let the crowd try to shush him. He let Bartimaeus cry out again, "Mercy! Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Bartimaeus wanted Jesus desperately. Jesus was his only hope, and he knew it. He wasn't about to let a few reprimands keep him quiet. On Jesus' part, He didn't want to just heal Bartimaeus, like I said, He could have done that without even a twitch of His pinky. No, He wanted more. He wanted a relationship. He wanted Bartimaeus to know that He loved him. He wanted to look into Bartimaeus' eyes the second they could see, and He wanted Bartimaeus to look into His.

I want to pray with the hope of Bartimaeus. I want to make my requests with the same determination he had. I want to be ready to run to Jesus when He says to me, "come here." And when He opens my eyes, I want to be looking straight into His.

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