Luke 5:15,16 The news about him spread even more, and large crowds gathered to listen and be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to deserted places and prayed. (EHV)
There are amazing treatments and devices out there in the world, but not everyone can afford them or make use of them. Only the most wealthy among us can travel to the best clinics and receive cutting-edge therapies. Wheelchairs with all-terrain tracks could be really useful for a lot of people, but very few will ever be able to own one. In short, just because something works doesn’t mean it will work for you. It can be frustrating to know that there is help out there for you, but it just isn’t going to get to you.
It can be frustrating on a certain level to read about all the healings in the Bible when a person you love and care for isn’t receiving the healing that you are praying for. But while our attention might be drawn to all of the healings that Jesus performed in his ministry, there’s an even more important part of his work that’s easy to miss. While large crowds sought Jesus out to receive miraculous healing, Jesus, we’re told, would often leave those crowds to spend time alone in prayer.
And for whom did Jesus pray? He prayed for those same large crowds that were seeking his miraculous help. He also prayed for himself, of course, but only so that he would be given the strength to minister to those crowds and give them what they needed. And they needed more than they even knew they needed!
We can easily start making lists of all that we need to care for our children, especially differently-abled children. We need the right equipment. We need the proper food. We need correct medical diagnoses and applicable treatments and medicines. And we trust our God to give us these things as he sees fit. But we need more than that. We need enough patience, understanding and love so that we can not only do what we need to do, but do it in a Christian way. We need forgiveness for all those times we fail to be the parents God has called us to be.
That’s why Jesus went off by himself to pray. He knew what the crowds really needed. He knows what we need, too, and he continues to speak to the Father on our behalf. He reminds the Father that he has paid the price for our sins. He sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts with his unique ability to help us produce spiritual fruit.
If the crowds had seen Jesus walking away from them, what would they have thought? That he was abandoning them? That he didn’t care? The truth was that Jesus cared so much for them that he left them to work even harder for them. And the same is true with us. Has Jesus not done for us what we have asked him to do in granting miraculous healing, in making our lives smooth and easy? He hasn’t left us. He is working hard for us – because he knows exactly what we need.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, many times I think I know what I and my loved ones need. Sometimes my thinking is on the right track, but sometimes not. Thank you that you, in your divine wisdom, not only know exactly what we all need but have the power and desire to give us what we all need. I humbly ask you to give me and those I care about everything that we need today for both our bodies and souls. In your name, Amen.
by Stephen and Margo Schmidt