A Small Word That Says A Lot

While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy, and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Luke 5:12

The simplicity of this man’s prayer is striking. We are not told how long he had lived with his leprosy but it was very extensive. Leprosy affected more than a person’s health. A person with leprosy had to move away from their home and society. They were required by law to yell out “unclean” if they were approached. It was highly contagious, disfiguring, and stigmatizing. Human touch was no longer available to them. There was no medical cure for it. In Bible times, it was the most dreaded and feared disease a person could have.

I cannot imagine all that was going through this man’s mind when he saw Jesus. This was his only hope of healing and he literally laid it all on the line with a short but powerful prayer. As I look at his prayer of ten words, the smallest word becomes the most profound word to me…..IF. It is a word that denotes choice with no guarantee. He had most likely heard of the many healings that Jesus had already performed so he knew the ability was there. It was not a question of “can You?” but rather “will You?”

Each of us have times in our life when we come to God with the same dilemma as this leper. We have a need, we give voice to our desire, and the word “if” lives within our prayer or at least within our mind. For some of us, it is not a question of God’s ability but rather His will. Prayer can easily become an exercise whereby we are trying to talk God into something that we are convinced He does not really want to do. Much of this thinking comes from a wrong view of God. We misinterpret His sovereignty as a way to make our life uncomfortable. We question His heart, His motives, and His ways. How He must grieve to see us cower to make requests of Him!
I want to learn to approach God with the simplistic trust of this leper. I want to see His heart and His character in the right way when I come to Him with a need. May I stop thinking that God hands out more “No’s” than “Yes’s”. There area still misconceptions about Him that He longs to clear up for me.

Father, my prayers reveal a lot about how I view You. As You transform my view of You, my prayers will be radically changed. Amen.