Persistent Prayer

Peyton Johnston

September 16th, 2018

Mark 10:46-52

The blind man called out, “Lord have mercy on me!”

At first Jesus could not hear the man’s cry over the shouts of the surrounding crowd. They reprimanded this blind man for approaching Jesus. In those times, being blind was regarded as unclean and as a curse from God for unforgivable sins. So this man was considered to be unworthy and unwanted. But the blind man kept calling out and running after Jesus until He reached Him. When Jesus finally heard his cries, He turned to him and answered the man with great compassion. He said, “Go, your faith has healed you,” and the man immediately received His sight.

Many of us have a need that only the Lord can take care of. While we know that God can deliver us, we often allow outside influences to keep us from truly seeking the Lord’s help. The voices of the crowd around us persuade us to walk away from God when we should be drawing nearer to Him. They tell us we’re not good enough, or our problems are not important enough for God to really care about them. Other times we simply become tired in the pursuit. Or sometimes it’s the trials of this life and our own insecurities that convince us to give up on obtaining our blessing.

But what if the blind man had let the negative voices around him convince him he wasn’t worthy of Jesus’s healing touch? What if he had grown weary in chasing after Jesus and turned around before receiving what he needed? He would have remained blind – never being free of his affliction. This man was able to receive his blessing because he was persistent. He didn’t stop until he found Jesus and received his healing. And he didn’t allow anything or anyone to discourage him.

Will we be persistent in our prayers even when we feel oppressed? Will we seek for God’s word above the words of the world? Jesus saw the blind man’s faith by his persistence. Persistence in our prayer proves the depth of our faith. And ultimately, it’s our faith that produces our miracle. Never let others’ doubtful opinions or your own fears keep you from coming to the Lord and from getting your blessing. We must be careful who we allow to speak into our lives, and we must always guard our hearts from anything that could jeopardize our faith.

God hears our every cry and is quick to show us mercy. Think of the blind man: Jesus was on his way somewhere else, but dropped everything and turned around just to meet the need of one person – one person that everyone else had tossed aside. It doesn’t matter what your situation is. It doesn’t matter how others have labeled you. His love for you is matchless and He will always go out of His way to bless your life and meet your need. It’s never a question of if God will answer us, it’s a question of how desperate we are to reach Him. Your answer to your prayer is right around the corner. You just have to keep running after him with everything you

have until you push past your every obstacle. Keep crying out to Him until you get your answer. Be persistent in prayer.

Pray: ​“Jesus, I know that You are able and willing to fix every broken piece of my life. You can restore what’s been lost, heal every disease, and forgive the darkest sin. I won’t let anything stand in between me and the blessing You have for me. I’ll never stop calling Your name or chasing after You.”