“1 When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him, 2 and there was a man with a skin disease who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately his skin disease was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
14 When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; 15 he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and cured all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases”
Matthew 8:1-17.
The Roman centurion offers us a model for approaching Jesus in prayer. He does not rush in and tell Jesus how to solve His problem. Rather, he comes to versus in his dire situation and humbly states his need. “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress” (8:6). He gives to the Lord the way the problem will be solved. While asking God for a specific solution, prayers of petition, are important parts of our prayer, leaving the solution to the Lord is often the best prayer we can make. We sometimes think we understand what the solution needs to be, so our prayer too often turns out to be nothing short of telling God what He should do.
So consider in your prayer how to humbly present your need to Jesus, and remain wide open to Jesus answering your prayer in the best way possible. To have faith in God is to trust God, and trusting God to answer our prayer in the best way is a fabulous way to pray and approach God. After all, Jesus knows infinitely more than we do what is best for us!
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“With the humble is wisdom” Proverbs 11:2.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” Colossians 3:12.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” 1 Peter 5:6.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” Luke 14:11.
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