Over the weekend, our congregation hosted a singles’ lectureship. This is always a wonderful event. I’m not a single, but I prepare the brunch for Saturday morning and then stay for their morning lecture.

This year the singles chose Isaiah 9:6-7 as their study. Verse 6 reads, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (ESV).

One of the speakers spoke of how this wonderful Counselor was a man full of pity. Over and over in the New Testament we read how Jesus had pity on those who followed Him, and then He healed them or fed them.

The speaker gave a couple of examples of Jesus expressing compassion for someone, and something struck me in this as I thought about Jesus as a Counselor.  I was amazed at the way these people approached the Savior.

In Matthew 8:2-4 there is a story about a leper that approached Jesus and knelt before Him. He said, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and said, “I will; be clean.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

In verses 5-13 of the same chapter, a centurion approached the Lord and said, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

This centurion did not feel worthy for Jesus to come to his home so he told Jesus, “Only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus responded to the centurion, “Go’ let it be done for you as you have believed.” The scripture says that the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 9:20-22 relates the story of a woman with a blood disease. This woman had been ill for 12 years. She worked her way through the crowd to touch the hem of His garment. She said, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.”

When this woman touched Jesus’ garment He said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” Instantly this woman was cured of her illness.

Matthew 20:30-34 relates the story of two blind men sitting by the roadside. Jesus passed by them, and they called out to Him. They said, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

The people around them told them to be quiet, but they just keep calling out to Him, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Jesus stopped and asked them what they wanted Him to do. They told Him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Immediately, they received their sight.

What do these people have in common? The leper, the centurion, the woman with the issue of blood, and the two blind men asked for help, and they were healed.

There is something else they all had in common. They all made a request of Jesus, and they expressed confidence that He would help them. All of them expressed confident faith.

Our speaker on Saturday said, “Pray Big.” He expressed to us that we often limit God because we fail to ask for the really big things.

Prayer is a supplication, a request. It is to entreat or implore. Since we don’t have miracles today, the only way we can implore the Father is to approach Him in prayer.

When you pray do you say to God, “You Can”, “Say the word”, “ I will be”, or “Let our eyes be opened”? For what do you pray? Do you find yourself saying, “Bless this or that”, “Give me this or that”, and you never really open up your heart to God?

These people approached the Lord with boldness and confidence, but they did it because they were confident that He could do what they asked. They had faith in His ability to do whatever they needed, and He knew their needs were real.

When we approach God in prayer, we need to think about what the writer of Hebrews told us. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

God will always answer our prayers. We may not always get the answer we want, because God knows what is best for us; but we should not hesitate to pray big. We should pour out our hearts to the Father. He wants to hear us. He wants to know that we trust Him to do what is best for us.

Sandra Oliver