“And when [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
…And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.”
Mark 10:47&51 [KJV]
From The Bluff, Victor Harbour
Two Saturdays ago, my sister and I went whale watching. We stared at the ocean until we imagined flippers and tails. We squinted at rocks until the dark shapes started swimming. We watched waves until our heads turned dizzy. And yet we saw no whales.
Finally, my sister turned to me. “Would it be selfish to pray that we see a whale?”
“I was pondering praying,” I admitted, “I really want to see a whale too.”
“But would it be the right thing to do? Is it too specific a request?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
Yet I kept thinking about whether God would want us to pray that we would see a whale. Are certain things in life too minor to be prayed over? Does God want us to pray specific prayers, or is He better pleased with more generic ones that use phrases such as “Lord, we pray for the salvation of the lost,” or “May your Word be glorified.” These prayers are certainly not wrong: Paul prays for the salvation of Israel in Romans 10:1 and asks the church to pray that the “word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified” (2 Thessalonians 3:1b). But if we only ever pray in general terms, is it the same as having repeated conversations with a person and only ever talking about the weather?
On the other hand, can prayers be too specific? What if I pray for something that isn’t God’s will for me? If I pray for something ‘small’, am I wasting God’s time when there are so many other weightier things to pray about, like the salvation of lost souls?
As I thought about praying specifically, I read the story of Bartimaeus’ encounter with Jesus, in Mark 10:46-52. Bartimaeus was a blind man begging by the roadside when a large crowd passed by. “And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me” (v47). The crowd repeatedly told him to be quiet, but Bartimaeus persisted, and Jesus halted. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way” (v51-52).
In this passage, Bartimaeus prayed two prayers. The basic definition of prayer is ‘talking to God’ and Bartimaeus did exactly that. His first prayer was a general one for Jesus to have mercy on him. The second prayer was a specific request for Jesus to give him physical sight. From this passage, let’s consider some thoughts about making specific requests.
Before we focus on the specifics, here are a few foundational principles. Firstly, start praying. Those early, general prayers gave Bartimaeus that audience with Jesus where he then shared his specific request. If you don’t know what to say, or how to articulate your need, pray anyway. Romans 8:26 says the Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we “know not what we should pray for”. Just like Bartimaeus repeating his request until he could speak with Jesus, we also need to keep praying until we receive an answer, as “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1b). The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to pray about everything (Philippians 4:6). We also need to come to God with the right attitude. Bartimaeus came humbly to the one he called ‘Lord’ and the ‘Son of David’, indicating he believed Jesus was the promised Messiah (2 Samuel 7:12–16). He also came in faith, believing that Christ could and would heal. Because Christ is the Messiah, the one who took away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and we have believed on Him (John 3:16-18), we too can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrew 4:16).
But why do I find it so hard to pray for specific things in my life or others’ lives? Because I’m proud. Bartimaeus’ prayer acknowledged that he couldn’t heal himself. What about us? Why don’t we pray for the Lord’s help with everyday cooking? Or routine meetings? Or ministries we have done many times before? Because we feel we have everything under control. Yet prayer is acknowledging Jesus was right when He said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5d). Another reason I don’t always pray about details is that I have a wrong view of how much God cares about His people’s lives. Mark recounts that many people told Bartimaeus to ‘hold his peace’. But, like Bartimaeus, we need to ignore those voices that would stop us from coming to God with specific requests. We do need to focus on eternal things (2 Corinthians 4:18), such as praying for the lost, and to pray for all men (1 Timothy 2:1). But the Bible never tells us to pretend temporal needs don’t exist. Jesus tells us to pray for physical food, forgiveness and protection against yielding to temptation (Matthew 6:11-13), and reminds us that our Heavenly Father cares about physical needs such as food, drink and clothing. My mind cannot comprehend how God can simultaneously hear prayers about someone’s financial difficulties, a person’s eternal destiny and my lost toothbrush. But by faith, I’m coming to the great I AM, the one who promised “that, if we ask any thing according to his will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:14b).
Specific prayers help us see God’s specific answers. Bartimaeus could see for himself (no pun intended!) that the Lord said yes to his request for eyesight (Mark 10:52). When we pray specific prayers, God answers with yes, no, or wait–direct responses that help us discern His will for our life. Sometimes we don’t pray over specific requests because we don’t want God to say no. We cling to our dreams like toddlers over a toy and scream, ‘Mine, mine!’ But God does not withhold good things from those who walk righteously (Psalms 84:11); and gives good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11-12). We are always to have the attitude ‘if the Lord will’ (James 4:15). If God says no to a request, we can be confident He has a better plan in mind, and that He will reward faithful obedience (Matthew 25:14-30).
Specific prayers also deepen our relationship with God. We learn to persist in prayer, going back again and again to spend time talking to our Heavenly Father (Luke 18). Especially as we pray over scripture, we learn more of His character and understand how to pray according to His will (1 John 5:14). We start to see that He isn’t just the God who is in control of the universe (Isaiah 46:9-10), but He is also the God in control of my life, my finances, my family, my church and my future. We come in faith, knowing that whatever way God answers will be best for our spiritual growth. We start to discern the difference between wants and needs. We understand that seeing a whale is a want, rather than a need. On this occasion, God did not grant the request, but He did answer. He knew that I needed a lesson on prayer more than I needed to see a whale.
Pray specifically and watch God answer specifically. May we all be women of prayer, praying always and in all things. May we be willing to do the heart-searching and reflection we need to pray specifically. And may God’s answers encourage us to be like Bartimaeus and follow ‘Jesus in the way’ (Mark 10:52).
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