“1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. 2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:1–3).
The leper was reaching out in faith to be healed. We know this because he was taking a chance approaching Jesus who was surrounded by the multitudes. He could have been stoned being in public like he was. He was suppose to stay separated from others. Yet, he approached Jesus knowing Jesus could heal him.
We see something very important in what the leper said. His faith wasn’t complete. He had questions that needed to be answered before he could receive the power of God in his life. The leper new that Jesus could heal, but he didn’t know if Jesus would heal. He needed to personally know if Jesus would heal him.
Many of us are like the leper. We know that Jesus can heal us if He wants, but we don’t know if He wants too. Often we’re hoping we can get enough people praying to get the job done. I’m all for people praying (thank God for prayer), but wouldn’t it be nice to know also that Jesus wants heal us? The leper didn’t have a prayer chain, yet, he was healed, and all he needed was one question answered.
I want you to notice also that Jesus didn’t condemn the man for wanting an answer to his question. God wants to answer the questions to our dilemmas, but we have to ask Him. He’s given us the scriptures to go to and His Spirit to enlighten us to His will. The written Word was given to reveal the Living Word.
When in need of answers, the first thing we need to do is open the Word and ask the Lord for answers. He knows how to get the answers to us. In some things, like healing, it is wise not to wait until we’re sick to find out how to receive healing. Waiting makes for a rougher journey than it needs to be.
Doubt is a killer to our receiving. Doubt is what the leper was eliminating when he approached Jesus. What doubts do you have? Fill in the blanks of your doubts, and set your faith free to receive.
Stay strong and prepared!
A Journal of Edification and Exhortation 