Louder. Bolder.

From my Established in Grace blog

I've been spiritually wrestling again.  A recent phone call with our adoption agency was discouraging to me about wait times to be matched.  What frustrated me is that before that phone call I had been feeling full of faith and belief that God would match us soon.  That phone call sucker-punched me.  And I was frustrated that it did.

There is this story in the Bible that grabbed me back in February.  It is the story found in Luke 18: 35-43.

There is a beggar.  A blind beggar who hears a huge group of people passing and asks what is going on.  When he is told that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by he begins to cry out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

The people passing by rebuke him.  Tell him to be quiet.

To me, this part is the part that arrests my soul: But he only shouted louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

I felt rebuked in my soul about my hope and belief that Jesus would hear my prayers to bring our daughter home very, miraculously soon.  I felt in my soul to "be quiet" and settle down.  No need to makes so much noise about it. But then I think of this story.  I think of all the promises and ways that God has already showed divine intervention.  And I press forward.  I shout louder, I pray bolder, I continue to be persistent.  Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

The Bible says that when Jesus heard him, He stopped and had the man brought to Him.

If the blind man had not continued to shout boldly and loudly it is possible that Jesus would have passed by.  How much do I want Jesus to stop?  I know this is a tricky ground spiritually--because it is not what I do that makes Jesus listen to me, and yet it is.  The Bible has many, many examples of why we are to pray persistently and not give up.  And this is an example of that same thing in one of Jesus' miracles.

This is the other part of the story that really gets me: Jesus asks the man, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Jesus knew.  He had to know.  Even those in the crowd must have thought it was a crazy question--the man was blind, of course he wanted to see.  But...Jesus makes him ask specifically for what he wants.

The man says, "Lord, I want to see!"

Direct and to the point but bold.  Faith pushing aside any doubts and just, "Lord, I want to see!"  There isn't a wavering of faith, but bold faith.  When we pray for our daughter we have very specific things we pray for her.  We have laid them out before Jesus, specifically asking Him for those things.  We are praying them in faith.  It is scary to pray specific prayers. Why? Because there is risk involved. It's bold to say that I want my daughter to have excellent medical care and loving and competent caregivers.  It's bold to ask Him to bring her home to us soon.  But, it was also bold to ask Him to help us with our first fundraising project--and in a month and 10 days we had completed it!  A miracle!  Bold specific prayers are scary but they are also faith building both in the wait and the answers.

And Jesus speaks directly to that saying, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Doesn't that make your heart race?  Make your heart beat a little faster?  It does for me. Thrills my soul actually.

Faith heals.  My faith in God and my faith that He will answer these prayers we are praying for our daughter.

Is it too bold for me to type here that I can't wait for God to say, "Receive your daughter; your faith has brought her to you."

I think not.

And so, instead of giving into the rebuke and discouragement I have felt, I wrestle against it, crying out louder, "Jesus, have mercy on me! Jesus, have mercy on our daughter!"

We won't give up praying.  We won't be silent.  We will pray boldly and persistently specific prayers of faith.

What are you afraid to ask for in prayer?  Search God's Word, ask for direction in accordance with His Word, and then pray boldly what He give you to pray.  Pray in faith.  And don't give up though you might feel discouraged or rebuke.  Pray louder.  Pray more boldly.  Pray in faith.

And you know what is crazy about all this prayer and boldness in our own lives?  When God does move in our lives, and we praise God for it, it affects others to praise God.

The last words on this story in Luke say, "When all the people saw it, they also praised God."

So in your boldness, in your loud persistent and specific prayers you can increase the faith of others.  

That's why I'm choosing to be vulnerable and tell you about my specific prayer request for our daughter.  To tell you about our faith and our prayers.  Because it is my prayer that as you see God's hand move in our lives that you too would praise God and be encouraged to seek Him.