DESPERATE PRAYING

A man with leprosy came to Jesus and prayed with utter desperation. He “came to him and, on his knees, begged him, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he told him. ‘Be made clean.’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean” (Mark 1:40-42)

Notice the leper’s humility and reverence. He “came to him and, on his knees, begged him.”

In my imagination, I can see the leper. What started as a minor skin irritation became grotesque sores, bloody and oozing. His hands and arms are wrapped in filthy bandages. I suspect that the gangrene has robbed him of feeling in his extremities so he walks with an obvious limp. Dramatically weakened by the deadly disease, He looked old and crippled.

He was dying and desperate. And so, he pleaded with the Master, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

You don’t have to be on your deathbed to pray desperately. Are you desperate to see a family member or friend come to saving faith in Jesus? Are you desperate for your marriage to be mended? Are you desperate for your prayer-life to be revitalized?

Are your prayers passionate? urgent? faithful? persistent? desperate?

They could be…

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).