Tidings for Tuesday

Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:29

A woman who had been experiencing severe anxiety attacks went to see her doctor. After examining her carefully, the doctor issued her some large brown tablets and told her to take one after breakfast and one after supper, every day. She was to be careful never to miss her medication. Three weeks later she returned to see the doctor, and reported that her anxiety attacks had gone away. The doctor credited the pills for the cure, never telling the woman that the pills contained nothing but brown sugar and an inert filler. He knew that the woman’s healing had been a result of her belief in the pills, not a result of the pills. Such placebos have proven very effective in many ailments. But no placebo has ever cured blindness. So how did the blind men in our text receive their sight?

If those blind men had approached the Lord Jesus with a ‘it can’t hurt to try’ attitude, they would have remained blind. But they had much more than that. They approached the Lord Jesus with the knowledge of Who He is. And because they knew He was the Messiah, they had confidence that He would restore their eyesight. In the previous verse, when Jesus asked if they believed that He was able to give them their sight, their response was ‘Yea, Lord’. Recognizing Jesus as Lord was critical to their healing. If they believed in His deity, of course they believed in His power. It is this same recognition that is the secret to the power in our prayers today.

Like the blind men, we have great needs today. And, like the blind men, we bring those needs to the Lord. And, as He did with the blind men, the Lord Jesus tests our faith. As with the blind men, the test is not whether our faith is strong enough, but whether we believe that He is able. Do we believe He is able when we gather to bring the needs of the Assembly before Him at our weekly prayer meeting? Of all the prayers that are uttered there, are there any that the Lord cannot answer? Of all the prayers that rise from our hearts during our day, do any contain elements that are beyond His power? Of the family needs that are brought daily to His throne, can any be said to exceed His ability? We know the answer to these questions. So why are prayers unanswered? There are several possibilities. But one of them could be our failure to submit them to His Lordship.

Requests made today in the will of our Lord will receive His response, if we understand Who it is we are praying to. Unlike a placebo, faith in Him has real power. -Jim MacIntosh

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