Marveling the Master

Now when Jesus heard this He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” Luke 7:9 NASB

Can you imagine a prayer so radical that it makes Jesus marvel?! This verse and the duplicate account in Matthew 8 are the only places in the Bible that tell of Jesus marveling. It is a word that denotes admiration and wonder. While the crowds were marveling over the miracles Jesus performed, Jesus was marveling over the incredible faith of a centurion.

In short, this centurion had a servant who was gravely ill and close to death. Upon hearing about Jesus, he sent some men to Jesus to request that He heal his servant. The centurion knew with just a word spoken his servant would be healed. He likened Jesus’ authority over disease and sickness to that of the authority he had over soldiers under his command. They did what he told them to do. In his thinking, men obeyed him and illnesses obeyed Jesus. He took the idea that Jesus is Lord over all creation to mean just that…..Lord over all creation.

I look at the accounts in Scripture of things Jesus controlled and it is an extensive list. The weather, waves, animals, demons, death, blindness, deafness, leprosy, food, and fishing expeditions. He was not limited by the boundaries of His creation. He walked on water, turned water into wine, multiplied bread and fish, caused a fig tree to wither with just a spoken word, and raised the dead. Whatever this centurion was told about Jesus he took it literally. He had no doubt in Jesus’ ability to heal his servant. His faith was such that Jesus’ marveled over it and granted the man his request.

I want that kind of prayer life with Jesus! I want Him to marvel at the things I ask Him to do on my behalf. Beth Moore once said, “If you can’t think of anything else to pray for, pray for God to just be BIG!” In other words, pray extravagantly! Pray knowing that God’s power is unlimited and so available to us. I am challenged today to be as radical in my prayer life as this centurion and many others in the Bible.

Father, each time I approach Your throne of grace may I come with boldness and expectancy. May timidity and faithlessness no longer describe my prayer life. Amen!