When You Don't Know What To Ask Him To Do...

“As [Jesus and His disciples] went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ And stopping, Jesus called them and said, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.” [1]

If Jesus was to appear before you at this very moment, asking, “What do you want Me to do for you?” what would you say? What I’m asking is for you honestly to acknowledge what the one thing is that weighs most heavily on your heart. What one need is so great in your life that you dare not mention it even to your best friend because what you have desired for such a long time seems so out of reach, seems so preposterous? Alternatively, perhaps the need that presses down on you is so sensitive in your mind that you cannot mention that particular need even to your spouse? Everyone has one such need, though few of us will feel the freedom to voice that need to others.

Right now, let me ask each of you to take a moment to write in your bulletin, or to write a brief notation in the margin of your Bible next to our text for this day. Write, “Lord, above all else at this time, I want You to…” Write out in full what weighs on your heart at this hour. Then, date the request you have written as a statement of what you want God to do for you. Perhaps that desire will be different by the conclusion of the message; almost certainly, since life always introduces change that great felt need will be different at some point in the future. What I am challenging you to do is to witness the manner in which God answers the deepest longing of your heart. He may change your deep desire, or He may give you precisely what you are now longing to happen. What is important for you to know as one who follows the Master is that He will not ignore you.

I don’t want you to share your request with anyone else at this time—it is your request to the Saviour. In most cases, the great need that we ask Jesus to answer will be for health concerns for ourselves, of perhaps for a member of our immediate family. That should not be surprising; we are physical creatures, and we live in the physical world. If our health suffers, it becomes difficult, and at times almost impossible, to focus on anything else when we are experiencing pain or physical distress. Of course, we will ask the Master to relieve our distress. And if the pain is experienced by one we love, we will not give ourselves rest until the Master answers our request.

Throughout the Gospel accounts we witness people who came to Jesus asking Him for various needs. What is astounding to me is that the need of the individual almost inevitably pushed aside what Jesus was saying at that moment. We have to read the Gospels rather carefully in order to see what Jesus was teaching. The requests that were being made of Him pushed aside what He was teaching. It is much like that today, isn’t it? Our needs are so pressing that we sometimes fail to actually hear what He says.

I know that the statement may seem harsh, but stop and think of the requests we make when we ask others to join us in prayer. When did you last hear a fellow worshipper ask you to pray with her for a better understanding of the Word of God? When did you last hear a request that God would enable a brother to have greater insight into the promises of God? We ask for health concerns to be addressed, for financial problems to be resolved, for family relationships to be healed.

I’m not suggesting that such requests are illegitimate or unnecessary; I’m only taking note that our immediate needs can crowd out our need to hear the Master speak. And what is encouraging is that Jesus never dismissed or demeaned the request made of Him to address these personal needs. He knew, and He knows, that the press of daily cares can crowd out the desire to hear Him. Therefore, when the pressure that we feel is at last relieved, we are able to listen for His voice. So, let’s be careful to ask the Master to hear our cry and to answer in accordance with His will for us.