Always Emily

Mark 10: 46-52 tells a story of a blind man that receives sight after calling out to Jesus for healing.

If you know the story and power of Jesus already, it can be a story you skim right over. Just a handful of verses, no intricate parable to ponder. I know that in my own hurry to just finish the chapter, I’ve skimmed over. Yay, he got healing! Thanks, Jesus!

Yet there is so much here.

I highly recommend you read the verses yourself, but I’ll summarize them here.

The blind man, Bartimaeus, calls out for Jesus to heal him. People tell him to be quiet. He keeps calling. Jesus hears and calls him over, heals him and credits his faith.

What amazes me in this story is the reaction of the crowd. When Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, they tell him to be quiet. Yet he doesn’t let them deter him. Once Jesus calls him over, ‘they’ tell him to ‘have courage.’

The energy shifted immediately from annoyance to awe. Their attitude towards him changes when they realize Jesus is responding.

What prayer of yours are people trying to silence?

It might not look like a literal silencing of ‘be quiet.’ It might look like “God has more important things to worry about” or “are you still praying for that?”

Jesus tells Bartimaeus that his faith saved him. There’s a few things he could be referring to: 1) the belief that Jesus could heal him, 2) he calls Jesus “Son of David,” a known name for the Messiah, and 3) he kept calling for Jesus even after others told him to stop.

That faith included resisting the influence of others, believing that Jesus was more important than their opinions.

Don’t let the voices of others silence yours. Don’t let them tell you to be quiet or calm down or get over it. They can’t stand between you and Jesus–call out to Him, let Him know what you need.

Their attitude will change when they see how Jesus responds.

Always,

Emily