Given July 2, 2017

Each morning I rise, go into the kitchen to make coffee then sit in my favorite chair for my time with God. Part of this time, of course, is reading my Bible.  At our church, Zion Family Ministries, we do the Project 345 Bible Reading Plan which takes us through the 260 New Testament chapters each year, five days a week, 260 days.  There is also a plan which adds the Old Testament, I do that at night.

 

The other morning, I was reading in Mark 10: 46-52 about the healing of Blind Bartimaeus and something stood out to me.  When the blind man heard that Jesus was passing by, he called out to Him and Jesus stopped.  He waited for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him and then He asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Now, we know that Jesus knew what the man needed but He asked him anyway.  Bartimaeus replied, “Lord, that I might receive my sight.” (v. 51).  And Jesus granted his request.  In this case, it was important for Bartimaeus to be specific.  I’m sure he had other needs but being able to see was his greatest need and that’s what he asked for.

So, I thought about us as Christians.  Are we praying specific prayers?  God already knows what we need. Or are all our prayers pretty general?  Are we praying daily at all?  This concept has changed my prayer life.  When I’m praying for something I need, I think of the very specifics of my need and ask for that.  If someone asks me to pray for them, I want to know specifically what they need.  An example would be, “Lord, heal my body.”, very general and God could answer that prayer all at once.  Or how about this, “Lord, I want these floaters to be gone from my eyes and my sight to return to 20/20.”?  Sometimes if we are not specific, how will we know if God answered our prayer?  Now, when we’re praying for, “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), it would be impossible to be specific for all the people in the world but this gives us something to think about as we pray.  Be specific!

One more thought that came to me yesterday.  As I was driving, praying and thinking about being specific, I thought, “What specifically do I need the most?”  And then Matthew 6:33 came to my mind, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  That is specific.  God wants me to put Him first in my life, give Him full control and trust Him to handle it. “Lord, help me to seek You and Your Kingdom first and I won’t have to be concerned about the rest of that stuff.”

Keep these things in mind the next time you pray and see what God speaks to you about.