MATT 11
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
This is one of the most profound statements in the NT if we think of it in spiritual terms. It is also happens to be one of the easiest text to put into a spiritual context.
5 The spiritually blind receive their sight, and the spiritually lame walk, the spiritual lepers are cleansed, and the spiritually deaf hear, the spiritually dead are raised up, and the spiritually poor have the gospel
preached to them.
When we think of this text in spiritual terms we can not help but notice that it was a lack of faith that caused John to send two men to question Jesus. John was the one chosen of God and raised from his youth to prepare the world for the coming of Christ. But here he sits, doubting the work he was sent to do.
But as these men approached Jesus, and saw all that He had done, did they notice at all the results? Did their minds comprehend the effects of the healing power of Jesus?
Was it a lack of faith that shut the eyes of these men? Or was it a lack of a personal relationship with God that kept the effects of these miracles from reaching the hearts of these men?
Too often we spend so much time praying for others we neglect our own personal needs. A personal relationship with God has always been far more then just asking for His blessings to be poured out upon others. A personal relationship is about being honest. Asking forgiveness. Being direct with our own needs. And even our desires. And being still and waiting for that still small voice to enter in and begin. That voice that finally lets us realize what our sins really are. And sets our desires on a level we can not see during the busy distractions of the day.
Prayer is a two way channel to God. It seems that only when we are alone, in the quite of our personal time with God, are we able to hear that voice of ultimate reason. That voice that when we are honest and searching with an open heart is able to cut through our deepest thoughts and fill our minds. It seems that the more we are willing to listen, the more we learn about ourselves. And the relationships we should have with others. And about the personal relationship with God Himself.