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The All or Nothing in Prayer
Nobody likes to be told ‘no,’ especially by God. It’s discouraging. It’s frustrating. For example, if I pray “God, please save my neighbor,” and He didn’t answer that prayer in a year or two, my prayer would become stagnant and I would stop praying, or just pray with a whole lot less passion. I think this is common in a lot of us. I was so caught up in praying for everything, that I thought the alternative was nothing, not something.
I find this story of Jesus in Mark 8 to be fascinating. Jesus touched the man and asked him if he could see anything. What a peculiar question. Anything? Not everything? The man really couldn’t see everything. He was just partially healed. I think if Jesus had an all or nothing mentality, He could have easily walked away and said, “Woe to you of little faith!” But Jesus was persistent, and touched the man again, and he could eventually see everything.
Should we not be encouraged to break the “all or nothing” habit and pray that today something powerful be done by God in the body of our loved one? And tomorrow something more? And the next day something more? If Jesus touched a man twice, should we not expect to touch the sick often before they are healed?
I am not saying that the all or nothing prayers are essentially bad. Just look at the Lord’s Prayer for example of all or nothing. But I don’t think it should be the only way we pray.
I am finding it helpful to see my prayers as God’s appointed injections of his healing power. Just like taking an antibiotic, you keep taking the pill until the bottle is empty, and prayer is the same to me. Keep praying for something… a little more each day.
Thanks Chris. So true. I’m stopping now to pray some of my “tired-out” prayers with a bit more insight, passion, and hope. I appreciate the your challenge and perspective. Take care friend, Doug
I have wondered about this story a lot over the years. I don’t know that we can explain why this healing was different from the others. Maybe He did it this way just to show that we can’t put God in a box; that He will operate as he sees fit. If He chooses to heal or not, his decision is perfect. If He chooses to heal instantaneously or over years, the healing is still of, by, and through Him. I think you hit on a good way of handling it.
Thanks Chris this is so helpful to me. Little by little is often God’s way.