What are we asking

Matt. 20:20-28
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

"What is it you want?" he asked.

She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"

"We can," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Matt. 20:29-34
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

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These two scriptures caught my attention this morning because of their relationship to one another.

The first scripture is about a proud momma who wants the best for her boys. Jesus asks "What is it you want?" as he will grant a request or do a miraculous thing for her. The momma asks for a special position for her boys in the kingdom of God.

The second scriptures is about blind beggars who are crying out in desperation for a miracle of healing. They are so loud and desperate in crying out to Jesus that the crowd tries to shush them. But Jesus asks nearly the same thing, "What do you want me to do for you?".

It is curious that these scriptures follow one another. Someone who is asking out of a position of pride for a political favor and others who are nearly screaming, crying out in desperation for a basic and real need for healing of their eyes.

When I think back in my life to the answers to prayer via miraculous events, they almost always were around the circumstances of great need. Myself, my family or a group of us would be crying out like those blind beggars. Mercy Lord, we need your mercy!

When I get in a comfortable position in my life, my prayers turn into requests for promotions and some glory bestowed upon me or the ones I love. The desperation gets diluted into some sort of request for a reply.

I understand that God wants the best for our lives and that we should pray for good things to occur. But we should certainly voice our prayers wisely and thoughtfully. There are so many tremendous needs all around us, directly where God has placed us individually. In the last month I've brushed elbows with a young mother whose husband had recently discovered he has leukemia and another person who is suffering from regular heart attacks.

How can I have prayers for self-promotion or happy days in my life, when I have the opportunity for focusing prayer and effort in helping others around me. It becomes a bit like seeing the world through rose colored glasses.

Christ was demonstrating his great love by granting miraculous events to occur for some. In the first scripture, he only granted half the request. That the cup that he would drink from, the bitterness of his death, would be similar for them. He did not say where they would be in the kingdom of heaven as the mother originally requested. He said that "Only the Father can grant that".In the second scripture those sadly wrought and desperate blind people received their sight.

During our prayers over our meals, my wife has thoughtfully corrected me in the way I approach the blessing for the meal. She stops me if I ask God out of habit with these words, "Lord please bless this meal". In those times she has looked at the table and said, "Dear, the Lord has already blessed us with this wonderful food, just thank Him!"

I will pray again and again, thank You Lord for what you have done. Thank you for Your blessings. There are many desperate among us Lord. Some are crying out loudly to You. Please hear them. Let me not shush their prayers to You Lord, but help me to find a way to get them closer to You Lord so that You can apply Your wondrous healing power.

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