Throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well. Immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 10:50-52
I had surgery on my back several years ago, and during the early part of my recovery the physical therapists came to my home to begin my therapeutic exercises. When I read about this blind man’s encounter with Jesus, and Jesus’ response to him, I thought about that therapist.
After introducing herself to me, she ask me the very same question that Jesus asked the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?”.
Now I am sure she knew exactly what therapy I needed, and how she would begin with me, but she asked me that question anyway.
My response was much like the blind man. I said, “I want to stand, walk, and live without back pain.”
Then she started me out doing leg exercises in my chair, then moved me to walking, with support to begin with, and then without support. I made laps through the kitchen, dining room, living room, den, hallway and back to the kitchen. She just wanted to make sure that I wanted to get that surgery behind me and return to moving around without pain in life as usual.
I have always been captivated by the way Jesus ask questions.
As the one true God, he always knew the answer to his question, before he asked it, but he wanted the person who came to him for help to voice the deepest desire of his or her heart.
He knows the deep desires of our hearts as well, but he want us to voice them.
However many times we fail to take the deepest needs that we carry around with us to the one who can truly help us, and bring healing to our souls.
When I read of how so many that Jesus healed shared their deepest needs openly with him, I am encouraged to share my deepest desires and needs with Jesus too. Things that I long for, for my family, and my friends, myself, my community, my church, and my country, I sometimes am almost afraid to speak them aloud.
But each time we come to Him in prayer Jesus is asking us, “What do you want me to do for you?”
This is the time to bare our souls and speak out the deepest desire of our hearts clearly to Jesus. God will answer our prayer in His timing and in His wisdom. We may not see the immediate results like the blind man did, but Jesus will answer our prayer in ways that we cannot even imagine. So go ahead. Respond to Jesus’ question today. Bare your souls!
Questions
- Is there something that you, or someone you know, needs that would bring healing to them or to you? Healing may be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or social.
- Do you have deep desires for yourself or for others for which you are afraid to ask God, or you feel God would not answer? Do you think they are too big for God, or too anything for God to deal with?
- What do you want from Jesus today?
Sue is NLS Spiritual Director, since 2019 and is a retired Lutheran Pastor (ELCA). Active in VdC since 1995, she has served two terms on the Board of the Texas VdC Secretariat, and also on the Texas Gulf Coast VdC Board as Spiritual Director since its start-up in 2017.
