Need

There are so many needs around me that  I am overwhelmed by it all. However, I need to pray more at those moments, not less. 

It is easy to give into feelings of inadequacy when you feel like you don’t know how to help or solve what seem like impossible problems. The problems are probably impossible; you are probably right about that. However, since we have a God of the “impossible,” giving up and focusing on self is not the answer. We must pray and focus even more on getting to really know the God who has promised through Jesus’ words to heal and answer prayer.

In Matthew 19:26, it says, “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”  The word in the verse for “looked at them” means that Jesus “looked his disciples intently in the eye” to say this to them.

In saying this, Jesus wasn’t distracted or saying it in passing or just trying to placate His disciples. These words are a promise.

So much of the needs that come to our attention fit into the category, “Something that to man is impossible.” For example, when we or someone we know are sick, we might go to the doctor, try a supplement, complain to our friends, worry a lot, or maybe even just ignore it. This same approach is followed for lots of our problems, whether the problems are emotional, financial, relational, national, or something else. Sometimes we even pray about the problems that we see, but too often, those prayers start and end as monologues at God about how we wish “it” were different.  

If we are honest, we might recognize that we don’t expect God to have something to say to us about the situation or about our lives or what we should do. Maybe we just don’t bother to listen. If—or when—we get desperate enough, we pray really hard and maybe even try striking a bargain with God, such as, “God, if you answer this prayer, I will never smoke another cigarette” or “I promise to give money” or to become “better” or we pull out some other “bargaining chip.”

God doesn’t take or need our bargaining chips. All of that bargaining fails to hear what God may in fact be saying to us.

What I have just said is directed to those people not yet open to hearing what God has to say concerning their life. God certainly has something to say and what He has to say is always Good News. God Himself wants to speak and be a part of our lives. What really could be better news than that? 

What He says will be individualized to each person, just like when Jesus conversed with people in Bible times. He spoke to individuals about their individual needs. He saw what was really on each person’s heart–their hidden, inner, and personal needs. In the New Testament, Jesus’ interactions with those He healed show how He spoke directly and individually to the heart. Each conversation with people during His earthly ministry, was an opportunity to speak Good News into impossible situations.

For example, in Mark 2:3-11, some friends brought a paralyzed man to Jesus for healing. The friends were impeded by the crowds. The only way to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus was to drop him through the roof of where Jesus was preaching. They took the roof apart and let the man down through the hole. Upon seeing him, Jesus’ first words to the paralyzed man were, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus saw what was important to the man–his internal needs–then, healed the disease and restored the man’s mobility. Jesus was listening to the most important cry of that man’s heart, which was not evident to the friends or to the crowd, but was known to the man and to Jesus. However, Jesus did not ignore the man’s physical need; he healed the body as proof that He could forgive the sin. Jesus showed Himself as Lord of the physical world and through that, showed Himself to be Lord of the internal state of the man and the Spiritual world, too.

When we pray in Jesus’ Name to God, the Heavenly Father, our prayers are heard. Through prayer, we also have a chance to listen to the Good News that Jesus wants to speak into our lives today.

—Susan LaVelle

---

Recommended reading:

“Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God” Dallas Willard

“‘God spoke to me.’ ‘The Spirit spoke to my heart.’ ‘God revealed the idea to me.’

“Being close to God means communicating with him–telling him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing and understanding what he is saying to us. It is this second half of our conversation with God that is so important but that can also be so difficult. How do we hear his voice? How can we be sure that what we think we hear is not our own subconscious? What role does the Bible play? What if what God says to us is not clear? The key, says best-selling author Dallas Willard, is to focus not so much on individual actions and decisions as on building our personal relationship with our Creator. In this updated and expanded edition of Willard’s beloved book, originally published as In Search of Guidance, you’ll gain rich spiritual insight into how we can hear God’s voice clearly and develop an intimate partnership with him in the work of his kingdom. Including new material from Dallas Willard’s teaching at the Renovaré Institute and reformatted to be even easier to read, this classic continues to endure as one of today’s best resources for learning to listen closely to God.”