This chapter included Jesus calling His first disciples, the healing of a paralytic and leper, and a conversation about fasting.
“While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him… even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (v12-13, 15-16 abr)
We’ll only highlight two things from today’s passage (though there are more in there).
The leprous man had absolute faith in Jesus, and said “…if you will…”. Many I hear pray today say “…if you can…”, which disempowers God to act. The leprous man knew Jesus had the power to heal him, he just wasn’t sure if his healing was in alignment with God’s sovereign will. We should pray in absolute faith that God has the power to do anything we ask, and then recognize that not everything we ask may be in perfect alignment with His sovereign will, or be granted within our desired time frame.
Jesus, though God, was also fully human. This means He got tired and needed to rest (His physical limitations matched our own). There are many mentions in scripture of Jesus withdrawing to places of solitude to pray. This may sound funny – Jesus is God incarnate, yet He prayed to God the Father in Heaven. I think this was His way of resting physically and being replenished spiritually. If Jesus needed replenishment in God’s presence, how much more do we need it?
Let’s do our utmost to align our actions, words, and prayers to God’s holy will, and rest in His presence (daily). By doing these two things we can love our neighbors and serve our Lord far more effectively.
Father God, our Provider and Place of Rest, we seek to honor, glorify and serve You. Please help us to refresh ourselves at the Fountain of Living Water so we may have the physical, mental, and spiritual nourishment we need to obey You. May we submit ourselves to You and Your work, each and every day. Amen.
~ Conqueror in Training