So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Mark 10:51a
One evening after dinner, my precocious and then three years old daughter wanted to go out for ice cream. “Where would you like to go?” we queried. “Askin`’ Beggin’s!” she exclaimed, and we joyfully complied with her request.
Have you ever struggled to ask Jesus to help you in some way—to solve a problem, meet a need, or guide your decisions? Or have you ever asked for His help, but not truly expected to receive a response? If you have, Blind Bartimaeus (the supplicant in Mark 10:46-52) cries out to you to increase your faith.
John proclaims Jesus is the Creator of the universe (John 1:3). Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is fully God, one with the Father, in whom the fullness of the Father was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:12). The New Testament record is that Jesus was never defeated in anything. Weather, illness, birth defects, chemistry, hunger, fear, possession, and even death all obeyed His commands. Intellectually, we should know Jesus is the one person with the power to answer all our prayers. Why do we refrain from asking?
I think there are two primary reasons.
First, we are timid. Timidity might result from concerns that our wants are not significant to command the time and attention of the Creator of the universe. Timidity might result from fear our request is illegitimate—as in asking Jesus to let us win the lottery, or make us rich, or something where we surmise the request may not be so “godly” in the first place.
Second, we are fearful the answer will not be as we hoped; sometimes, we don’t ask because we don’t want to have to dig deep into our faith. God is not a Genie, here to do our bidding when His will is something else. If God says, “No,” we have to come to grips with that answer; we have to consider such things as the depth of our faith, the integrity of our hearts, God’s love for us, and God’s plans for our lives—all relationship building, but troubling nonetheless.
Against these reasons stands Jesus, who instructs us to “ask, seek, and knock” (Matthew 7:7-11). Asking Jesus for the desires of our hearts demonstrates worship, faith, vulnerability, humility, humanity, hope, and courage. Jesus’ response will always be the best response for us—how could it be otherwise? By asking we invite Jesus to strengthen our faith and enhance our usefulness, to impart godly wisdom and manifest the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.
In business, we seem to always admire those who pull themselves up by their bootstraps when the going gets tough—self-made men and women who overcome great obstacles to win against all odds. The Bible, however, does not honor self-made men and women. Rather, the Bible honors those who rely upon God and not themselves—those who acknowledge God is Deliverer—in all events, in all circumstances, always. Hard work is important and perseverance and endurance are godly characteristics, but only when the object of our hope is God. Pharaoh had great perseverance against Moses, and all the first-born of Egypt died as a result.
If you find yourself in the midst of a trial or struggle and have not brought the matter to God, ask yourself why not? Then ask God for discernment of His heart in the matter you wish to set before Him. Do not become one chastised by Jesus for too little faith.