Prayer

Good Morning,

Matthew 20:29-34 (NIV)
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Of all of the many miracles that could have been included in the Gospels, why would this one be there? The reason I ask this is because of what we read at the end of the Book of John, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." (John 21:25) So we know that hundreds, if not thousands, of miracles were performed by Jesus, so why is this one...not all that "big" of a miracle, if we consider things like feeding 5,000 with almost nothing, or raising someone from the dead...why is this one included in Matthew?

I think the answer isn't all that difficult to ascertain if we read closely. The two blind men cried out to Jesus, as a matter of fact, it says that they shouted. So we have to conclude they were loud. Then, when people told them to be quiet, they kept on and even "shouted all the louder" to the Lord. You see, they had persistence in their request for Him. They weren't going to give up their quest to have Jesus heal their eyes so they would see again. Somehow, even though they didn't know who Jesus really was, they knew in their hearts that He was Lord; knew He was compassionate; knew He would do as they asked if it was His will to do so. And so they kept on even in the face of adversity from the crowd around them. No quit in these guys!

The lesson we learn is simple, I think. Maybe a couple of lessons. First is simply that we need to cry out to God with our needs, with whatever requirements we have in our lives or in the lives of those whom we pray for. That seems elementary, I know, but we need to be reminded from time to time. The second lesson we learn is that we ought to be loud in our prayers and even shout them if we feel led, no matter what "the crowd" has to say about it. Will little, quiet prayers work? Well, of course they will. But, if we're loud in our prayer and let people know what it is we have need for in our lives, maybe...just maybe...some of them will join us and help us in our prayers. The third lesson we learn is that we ought to be persistent in our prayers. We should have no quit in us when it comes to prayer for what is needed and desired in our lives and the lives of those we pray for.

Three easy lessons are what we learn from this miracle. I believe that's why it's included in the Bible. Jesus probably performed other "huge" miracles like the feeding many and raising folks from the dead. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it in my heart and my mind. But, not all of those other miracles might have taught us valuable lessons. This one surely does.

Pray...Don't be quiet...Be persistent.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David