Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tricia's Return (my first ICL assignment for 13-17 year olds)

I stormed down the hall and slammed the door. I’d had enough! Dumping my books out of my backpack, I began shoving in clothes – anything I could grab. I dug through the junk on the floor of my closet and found my stash – my life’s savings. I shoved it on top of my clothes. In the midst of this frenzy, I heard a soft knock on my door. "Tricia?" It was my mom. “What now?” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice. She was just going to launch into another tirade. Her list of my shortcomings was endless, and I didn’t want to hear them anymore. I didn’t open the door; I climbed out my window, backpack in tow, grabbed my bike and took off for the bus station. Jeremy didn’t know I was coming. He’d be so surprised. I couldn’t wait to see him! We’ve been together for a year; but since his family moved to St. Louis four months ago, we haven’t seen each other. We haven’t even been able to talk much He'd made the varsity soccer team; and with all the games and practices, he hadn’t h...

How Do You Wait?

The barren one is now in her sixth month.  Not one promise from God is empty of power  for nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1: 37 The Passion Translation I've never thought that much about Elizabeth. Gabriel speaks here to Mary - the mother-to-be of none other than GOD Himself! Who has a thought to spare for this side character in THE story of divine visitation? God come to earth. Wow. Talk about a headline for the New York Times! Why does Gabriel even mention Elizabeth? I don't know, but I'm glad he did.  I read these verses with a different perspective this morning.  "The barren one." Elizabeth is now past childbearing years. It's not a secret. Everyone in her community knows she's barren (it's obvious). The life part of her life is over. There is no hope for her to have her dream - a life like her friends have. She's different from her family, her neighbors. In a time when children are everything, she has nothing.  And now it's too late...

Rethinking My Rightness

I used to label myself as a conservative Christian. Used to. Lately, I'm almost ashamed to even be called a "christian" (that lowercase "c" is on purpose). It seems that over the last eight to ten years, being "christian" has become more about being right than about being Christ-like. It's more about enforcing a perceived level of moral behavior that has nothing to do with a person's heart (what was that Jesus said about a "whitewashed tomb" in Matthew 23:27?). Being "christian" has become more about power, control, and supremacy than it is about loving your neighbor or your God. I'm deeply saddened by the current "christian" focus on the sins of others (LGBTQ anyone?), by the lack of humility, by the pain inflicted (knowingly and unknowingly) on those who are unlike us. I've recently seen the ugliness of my own whitewashed tomb. I don't like it. I cried to see that my heart contains such haughtiness an...