Crying Out!

Crying Out!
Current mood: Hungry for More!
Category: Life

He Cried Out all the More!

This "Prayer Thing!" I can't shake it... even if I try! For years prayer has just been hard labor for me... and now... well... its like I'm on "Auto-Pilot!" I can't stop... I'm being strangly, and wonderfully, drawn to the "secret place" i.e. the place of his presence.

Everytime I open my Bible its about prayer... does that ever happen to you? God speaks to me in themes or topics and then everything I hear, see or experience revolves around that theme or topic. On this theme of prayer... God will not let it go!

My back porch has become my "prayer closet" where I go to meet God every morning... okay, most every morning. My car has become a sanctuary... I'm turning my radio off so that I can talk with God about the stuff of life. Listen, it has to be God if I'm turning off the Bose!

God keeps speaking to me about this guy in the Bible named Bartimaeus, let's call him "Bart" for short. He was a blind beggar who had heard that Jesus was in his town. Jesus was on his way out of town when Bart heard that Jesus and this crowd (notice there is always a "crowd" bumping into Jesus) was coming by... so Bart begins to scream at the top of his lungs... "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Now, all of us have been at Walmart or Target and some insecure teenager (could be an adult on this one!) starts yelling to their friends across the store... it's disconcerting, disrupting and even embarrassing! Just shut up! You're disturbing my peace!

In this case the crowd starts to warn Bart... "Dude! Just shut up! You're embarrassing... get a hold of yourself" (The King Jimmy Version!)! I love Bart's response... "Oh no... I am desperate... so here goes... Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!"

This guy would not shut up! He understood something... Jesus was present and he was not going to miss his moment... his opportunity!

Here's the kicker! Jesus "stood still." Okay, now that you've got God's attention... can you imagine that moment? Everything goes silent, the crowd stops... I suspect babies quit crying and the birds quit chirping... Bart had Jesus' full attention!

Why? Because he refused to quit! He refused to give up even when the crowd (The Spirit of Religion) warned and threatened him! One desperate determined voice overcame the noise of the crowd... overcame the multitude of voices that were cheering Jesus on. (Interesting thought: The crowd always cheers Jesus on until a demand is placed on them as individuals).

As for me... I want to be like Bart. At the end of the day, he got God's attention, stopped Jesus in his tracks and received what he came for! He went from being a "Beggar" to a "Victor" in a matter of moments because he refused to listen to the crowd, he refused to shut up and cried out to Jesus all the more!

Here's the takeaway: P.U.S.H. Pray Until Something Happens!

Refuse to give up... refuse to listen to the crowd... and be ready to give an answer when Jesus says, "What to you want Me to do for you!"

Crying Out!
Pastor J