How well do you know what you want God to do for you?

I mean, we understand very well what it is to cry out for mercy. But what if in the middle of our cry for help, Jesus stopped in front of us and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

That’s exactly what he did for two blind men outside of Jericho one day.  They called out for him. He stopped and asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

When we look at what Jesus did, we find ourselves asking whether this is a command for us or a story for then. Is there a model here about making requests to God (what we know as prayer) or is this just one of those cool stories to taunt us with the healing for these guys that often doesn’t happen for us?

What makes this particular question even more challenging is that there are several times when Jesus says, “ask my Father.” For example, we talked once about how he tells his followers to ask and to seek and to knock.

So why does it work this time and not every time we ask?

Because Jesus stopped and asked.

We can always ask and suggest and invite and plead with God to work. There will always be an answer. Sometimes it may be no or maybe or some other answer. But sometimes, God clearly says, “What do you want me to do?”

For these guys, the answer was simple: “We want to see.”  It would free them from darkness, would connect them to work, to faces, to creation. Because the culture blamed sickness on sin, it would vindicate them spiritually.

If he stopped for you today, do you know what you want?