How many times have I dropped to my knees, begging Jesus for something. Many. So when I read about the royal official whose son was sick, close to death, I can relate.
What about you? Is there anything you have begged for, but are still waiting on?
Scripture says that the man went to Jesus and begged him to come and heal his son who was close to death. Who wouldn’t beg in this situation? We have probably all pleaded for things that were not so life and death.
I know I have. A job, financial provision, healing of a relationship.
This official obviously knew who Jesus was and what He could do. Yet Jesus says something to him that perplexes me, something I never really caught before.
“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus said, “you will never believe.”
This statement makes me pause. To me, it seems like the man did believe. He knew Jesus had the ability and the power to heal. So he begged Him.
The man persisted, even after it appears as if Jesus rebuked him. He persisted because of his faith, I think. Jesus then told him to go, that his son would live.
John 4:50 says “the man took Jesus at His word and departed.”
Wow.
Shortly after, the man is met by a servant who informs him that his son is alive. When the official asks as to what time his son got better, he is told the boy’s fever left him at one in the afternoon, the exact time that Jesus told the man his son would live!
The man — and his entire household — believed. I think this is amazing. Not just the man, but his entire family!
I think the official’s demeanor indicated he had faith, belief that Jesus could do a miracle, and knowledge of who Jesus was. I’m no Biblical scholar, but this is how the man appears to me.
A bigger issue for me in this story is the fact that the man begged and Jesus delivered. I have pleaded with God over many things, including the salvation of friends and family, for years. To no avail.
Yet.
Why was this man’s son healed, even after Jesus apparently rebuked him? We know that people needed to see His power when He walked the Earth. But people need to see His power now.
I need to see His power now.
And I have. But not always in the ways I expected. And perhaps not in such a dramatic way.
So I wait.
And I beg.
And I wait some more.
keep my sister Patty and my husband in your prayers both need healing.
I’ve wondered if some prayers are indeed valid and deserve years of agonizing prayer - or - perhaps if God has not answered a certain prayer it is in my best interest to accept some things and make choices and move on.
Of course, it’s all highly contextual.
For one thing I may pray my entire life and keep waiting, but… if I’m still praying for a big break as an artist and I’ve not sold a single painting in 25 years maybe it’s past time to move on to some other goals.