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Daily Devotion: John 11:1-4

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John 11:1-4    "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  (2)  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)  (3)  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.  (4)  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."

Chapter 10 ended with Jesus telling the people to believe Him for His works sake. The thought process continues to flow as we go into chapter 11. There is a traumatic event that takes place in the lives of three of Jesus' dear friends. His friend, Lazarus, is very sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, send for Him to come. Though it is not stated, we can know their intention, their desire, was for Jesus to come and heal their brother. As Jesus hears the messengers tell Him of this sickness, He makes a very profound statement. "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." It seems to be an immediate response to His statement from chapter 10.  "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.  (38)  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." (John 10:37-38)  Indeed, there could be no doubt as to the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

I think back on some of my prayers throughout my life.  At times, I have been caught up in the sudden blast of a traumatic event that I would just keep praying the same words over and over.  There have been times that I would lose myself in my prayers as I would continue to pray about something. Then there have been times when my prayers would consist of two or three words as I was suddenly impacted by an event. I might pray something such as, "Lord! Help me"  I'm not saying there is a right way or a wrong way of praying. It seems that prayers are in accordance with the impact of what we are facing.

Let us look at their request: "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick."  As I look at the brevity of this prayer, I am made to think about its impact. Their request (prayer) consisted of one sentence.  They addressed Jesus as He truly is: "Lord."  He is the Lord of all. He has all the power in heaven and in earth. They addressed Him as being the very One, the only One, who could ease their pain and help their situation. They addressed Him with respect and honour that belongs unto Him.  Then we look at their request as a whole, "Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick."  After addressing Jesus, they spoke of Lazarus in such a manner as to the love and care that Jesus had for Lazarus. We also can address Him with this same manner. "Behold, he whom thou lovest."

Then they addressed the need: Lazarus "is sick." Their request was simple yet straightforward. They did not try to tell Jesus what to do or how to remedy the situation. Their prayer was a request of faith directed toward the very One Who was capable of helping them.  I have much to learn from this simple prayer. I think of a song that was sung in the church where I grew up. "Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will guide till the day is done. There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No, not one. No, not one."  Our prayers should be statements of honor, statements of faith, statements of love, and statements of trust in the wisdom, power, grace, and love of our Saviour.

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