Most know petition prayers. We have a list of requests that we give to Jesus for Him to do for us. As did Mary, at the Wedding Feast of Cana, she petitioned Jesus to do something about the lack of wine; so too we ask Jesus to do something for us when we see a need.
Of course, we can petition Jesus as Bartimaeus did. Bartimaeus prayed fervently. He did not let the negativity and criticisms misdirect his focus. In fact, when rebuked by the crowd, “He cried out all the more!”
As he cried out Jesus called him and asked: what do you want? Jesus asks everybody first: What do you want? Knowing we are His beloved sons or daughters, Jesus patiently awaits our petition because we need to know what we need before we can ask. He does this so we know exactly what we are asking for.
Many think Jesus does not answer our prayers, but He does. We have to be ready to receive what He offers. Sometimes Jesus will answer our prayers directly, other times indirectly. The difficulty is our ability to recognize the gift when we receive it.
Prayer, however, is more than petition. Notice Bartimaeus’ first prayer. It was not to cure his blindness, but acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David. In this prayer, he adored Jesus calling Him Rabboni, meaning My Lord and My Master.
Prayer begins with adoration. We adore Jesus as Lord because as Lord, He adores us. He delights when we see and receive his admiration for us. Yes, He wants to answer our petitions, but before He can heal us of our blindness, for we are all blind in some way, He wants us to recognize and adore his glory. Faith embraces his glory seeing his power to perfect us by his presence in our lives. Bartimaeus adored Jesus acknowledging Him as God before petitioning Him. So must we. Bartimaeus also saw Jesus as the high Priest Who offered sacrifices for his sins. Sin blinds us to God’s presence in our lives. The priest, as understood in the Old Testament, offered these sacrifices for his own and his people, as Hebrews reveals (Heb 5:1–2):
“Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.”
Jesus, sinless, offers sacrifice for our sins. He offers Himself as the acceptable sacrifice that takes away all sin. As High Priest, He offers Himself upon the cross removing our blindness so we can see the way we are to walk. Those who know they are blind cry out, acknowledging Jesus as the Divine Messiah and High Priest: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy (pity) on me a sinner.
Freed from our blindness, we thank Jesus as our High Priest Who takes away our sins and restores our lives. Thanksgiving is part of every prayer. Thanking Jesus humbles us for we know that without Him answering, our plight would still plague us.
Restored, we walk by faith not by sight for our faith sees what our eyes cannot. Jesus is Lord, Who enlightens us with his presence. Truly present, Jesus calls us to come, follow me. As Bartimaeus sprang up when Jesus called him, we too ought to spring up when He calls us. Springing up, we are ready when Jesus calls. We are bold and brave as Bartimaeus following the call.
Faith responds to the call of Christ, but discernment is necessary. How do we discern Christ’s calling? First, true discernment acknowledges Jesus as Our Lord and Master, our High Priest and King Who takes away sin and death. Adoring Jesus as Priest and King, fearlessly and faithfully, we follow Him so we may love Him. Following Him, we see Him as He truly is, God, and trust Him to answer all our prayers.
Next, does Christ’s call challenge us to be brave. Following Jesus breaks us from mediocrity. We have a bold resolve to do the impossible, knowing with God all things are possible. Facing impossibilities, trust builds and so does prayer. Our prayer becomes intense. As though we are wrestling with God as did Jacob, we persevere. Finally, our Christian call unabashedly commits to Christ. We are not ashamed of the name of Jesus, despite any persecution.
Bartimaeus is not just a blind beggar crying out to be fixed. This is what many Christians do. They want Jesus to fix their lives so they can go on their merry way. This is not Jesus’ mission. He is not a fixer. He is our Savior! His mission makes us his disciples who, after the encounter with Him, know we have seen the divine, transform our lives. Transformed, we evangelize and spread the Good News that Jesus healed us of our blindness and transformed us by the delight He bestows upon us. So He will do for you!