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- Oct 26, 2007
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One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me." John 5:5-7 ESV
At the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, blind, lame, and paralyzed people waited. Occasionally, the waters would stir. Word on the street was that an angel was causing the movement, and the first person into the pool would be healed.
Jesus, in Jerusalem for “one of the Jewish festivals” (John 5:1), saw a particular man who had been disabled nearly four decades. The Lord asked a simple question: “Do you want to be healed?” Notice the man’s answer: not an immediate “Yes!” but a roundabout “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.”
Compare this man’s reply with a blind man Jesus met in Jericho. The Lord asked the begging Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” His answer was as specific as Jesus’ query: “Rabbi, I want to see” (Mark 10:51).
Both men received a miraculous healing. But how much better is Bartimaeus’ example? Be specific in your prayers, then thank God for His specific answers.
Prayer: Father, help me to pray clearly and with a heart of expectancy for Your particular answers.
At the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, blind, lame, and paralyzed people waited. Occasionally, the waters would stir. Word on the street was that an angel was causing the movement, and the first person into the pool would be healed.
Jesus, in Jerusalem for “one of the Jewish festivals” (John 5:1), saw a particular man who had been disabled nearly four decades. The Lord asked a simple question: “Do you want to be healed?” Notice the man’s answer: not an immediate “Yes!” but a roundabout “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.”
Compare this man’s reply with a blind man Jesus met in Jericho. The Lord asked the begging Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” His answer was as specific as Jesus’ query: “Rabbi, I want to see” (Mark 10:51).
Both men received a miraculous healing. But how much better is Bartimaeus’ example? Be specific in your prayers, then thank God for His specific answers.
Prayer: Father, help me to pray clearly and with a heart of expectancy for Your particular answers.
