READ MATTHEW 20:29-34!
The story of
the two blind beggars, found in Matthew 20:29-34, seems pretty cut and dry;
it’s one of many miracles of Christ Jesus recorded in scripture. Two men in
need asked the Messiah for help and He rendered it. “…Jesus went about doing
good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil...” (Acts 10:38). End of
story. According to Matthew Henry (in his enduring Bible study guide, Matthew
Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible) though, there is a lot of spiritual
meat offered up in this account. This story of healing reinforces a few solid
things about prayer and how to approach our Lord in the holy of holies in such
a way as to gain His ear.
*Henry
points out something that I have felt in my spirit for a long time; not only is
joint-prayer pleasing to God (Matthew 18:19-20), but when we pray with someone
concerning something we ourselves are experiencing or a trial that we have
already walked through, there is so much power in our prayers! We encourage one
another’s fervency (James 5:16) when we bear the same or similar burdens and we
can build up each other’s faith (Jude 1:20) when we testify that the Lord can and will deliver from that specific
storm.
*We must be
passionate in our prayers. We must refuse to be put-off or offended by a
seeming lack of response. God never fails to respond to a sincere and
faith-filled prayer. Sometimes we must wait, sometimes we must be still and
listen, sometimes we must accept that the response is different than we
expected; but there is always a response. Pour your heart out to the Lord, He
is waiting to hear from you. (Philippians 4:6)
*We must be
humble. (James 4:6) Ask the Lord for His
mercy in your situation, do not prescribe to Him how it should be with your
blueprints and plans in hand, ready to set Him straight. He is the Creator and
Orchestrator of the universe and all its design. I believe He can handle your
circumstance “exceedingly and abundantly [better than] you could ask or hope
for” (Ephesians 3:20).
*We must
pray with faith. These two beggars cried out, “O Lord, Son of David”. They
recognized His authority and His power to bring their healing then and there;
they exhibited faith through their proclamations that He was who He claimed to
be and therefore able to grant their request. Several places in the books of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying, “your faith has
made you well” or “your faith has
saved you”. According to Hebrews 11:6 (But without faith it
is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He
is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.), faith is the essential
element.
*We must
pray with perseverance. Luke 18:1-8 is the account of a parable Jesus told
about a persistent widow. She came to an earthly judge day after day seeking
justice until finally her persistence won out and he did for her what she had
been asking. Luke 18:7-8a says, “And
shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He
bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.”
The two
blind men were humble, persistent, passionate, and full of faith. They asked
Jesus for a healing and He stopped what He was doing to give them what they
asked for. Jesus is full of compassion towards us and He has the power to tend
to any need we have. Trust Him and seek Him and you will not be disappointed.
“Ask, and it will be
given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Mango Salsa
1 mango
½ medium red onion
3 T fresh cilantro leaves
1 small cucumber
1 tomato
1 jalapeno with seeds and ribs removed
juice from 4 limessalt and pepper to taste
Dice all ingredients. Mix together and store in refrigerator until ready to serve. The longer you allow the salsa to sit in the fridge before serving, the better it will be. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.*Tostitos Hint of Lime chips are really good with this salsa.
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